Tektin 1 (TEKT1)

TEKT1 belongs to the tektin family of proteins. Tektins comprise a family of filament-forming proteins that are coassembled with tubulins to form ciliary and flagellar microtubules. This gene is predominantly expressed in the testis and in mouse, tektin 1 mRNA was localized to the spermatocytes and round spermatids in the seminiferous tubules, indicating that it may play a role in spermatogenesis. TEKT1 contains about 76.3% alpha helix, which they predicted forms extended rod homodimers with 4 major coiled-coil segments. TEKT1 has 4 evolutionarily conserved cysteines and a tektin-specific peptide sequence. Tekt1 weakly expressed in pachytene spermatocytes at postnatal day 12, with stronger Tekt1 expression in spermatocytes and round spermatids at later developmental stages.