Expression of murine novel zinc finger proteins highly homologous toDrosophila ovogene product in testis

We have cloned two isoforms of cDNAs encoding novel zinc finger proteins. One form encodes a 274-amino acid protein containing an acidic amino acid and serine-rich domain and a zinc finger domain which shows high sequence homology to that of Drosophila Ovo protein. The other form encodes a 179-amino acid protein containing only the zinc finger domain. Expression of both proteins possessing an antigenic epitope in COS cells revealed that they are localized in the nucleus. The 1.3-kbp mRNAs are predominantly expressed in testis, and the expression increases from 3 weeks postnatal, implying that these proteins may play important roles in the development of the testes.