Metallothionein Like Protein 5, Testis Specific (MTL5)

Tesmin encodes a predicted cysteine-rich, 295-amino acid protein that is 76.3% homologous to mouse tesmin. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of 2 metallothionein (MT)-like motifs. MT expression has been observed to be higher in testes than in liver tissue and to be actively expressed in a developmentally regulated fashion in mouse male germ cells.

Tesmin shows no homology to other testis-specific genes. In situ hybridization of adult mouse testicular sections showed that expression of tesmin is restricted to spermatocytes. RT-PCR analysis on testicular transcripts from mice showed that expression of tesmin occurs as early as day 8 and coincides with the entry of germ cells in meiosis.