Meiosis Specific Nuclear Structural 1 (MNS1)

The MNS1 gene encodes a meiosis-specific structural protein expressed at the pachytene stage during spermatogenesis, thought to have a role in the control of meiotic division and germ cell differentiation through regulation of pairing and recombination during meiosis.

The 1,855-nucleotide mouse Mns1 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1,476 nucleotides, encoding a putative 491-amino acid polypeptide with a molecular weight of approximately 60 kD. Computer-based secondary structure prediction indicated that the Mns1 protein has 1 central rod domain containing 4 alpha-helical tracts and 2 globular peripheral domains, organized as a long alpha-helical coiled-coil structure