Family With Sequence Similarity 54, Member A (FAM54A)

Dufd1 is a gene involved in the regulation of antioxidant activity in the mouse testis. Dufd1 is expressed as a 2 kb mRNA and has a more specific tissue pattern compared to Mtfr1, with highest level of expression in testes, lower level in spleen, and negligible levels in other organs and/or tissues. In the male gonad, Dufd1 mRNA expression increases during postnatal development, similarly to Mtfr1. In situ hybridization and real-time PCR analyses show that Dufd1 is expressed in the seminiferous tubules by middle-late pachytene spermatocytes and spermatids. In transfected cells, the Dufd1-tagged protein is located in mitochondria, associated with the tips of mitochondrial tubules and to tubules constrictions, and induces mitochondrial fission although with a lesser efficiency than Mtfr1.