Characterization of the porcine testis-expressed gene 11 (Tex11).

Testis expressed gene 11 (Tex11) is essential for meiosis and male fertility in the mouse. Currently, little is known about the control of spermatogenesis in non-rodent animal models such as pigs. Here, we characterized the sequence and expression profile of the porcine Tex11 gene. We showed that the porcine Tex11 is an X-linked gene that is exclusively expressed in germ cells in the adult pig testis. The expression of porcine Tex11 is correlated with the onset of meiosis and the expression pattern is highly conserved between the Tex11 homologs in pig and mouse. The DNA sequence analysis and the estimated molecular weight also suggested a high level of homology across species. As the mouse Tex11 proved to be essential for male fertility, the important biological function during meiosis is likely conserved in the porcine Tex11.