A novel splice variant of the bovine GALNTL5 gene identified in Chinese Holstein bull testis tissue and its mRNA expression

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-like protein 5 (GALNTL5) is a newly identified protein that is specifically expressed in testis tissue and participates in spermatogenesis. In this study, we characterized a novel bovine GALNTL5 splice variant, designated as GALNTL5-AS, by using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and clone sequencing methods. The novel GALNTL5 isoform was derived from the complete transcript, GALNTL5-complete, via alternative splicing (AS). The pattern of the splice variant was exon skipping. Bovine GALNTL5 transcripts were expressed in the testis, as demonstrated by RT-PCR. The expression levels of both transcripts were higher in adult testes than in calf testes (P < 0.05). In addition, prediction analysis showed that the GALNTL5-AS transcript only encoded 122 amino acids and lost its glycosyltransferase 1 and Gal/GalNAc-T motifs, which may result in a dysfunctional protein compared with the predominant transcript GALNTL5-complete. This study improves our understanding of the bovine GALNTL5 gene function during bull sperm formation.

Proteome Profiling of Canine Epididymal Fluid: In Search of Protein Markers of Epididymal Sperm Motility

“…Currently, GALNTL was found in male reproductive organs in rodents and cattle [40][41][42][43]. A KEGG pathway analysis indicated that GALNT6 participates in mucin-type-O-glycan biosynthesis in the canine ES [31].…”

Molecular Biomarkers of Canine Reproductive Functions

“…N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-like proteins (GALNTL) were found in male reproductive organs in rodents and cattle [ 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 ]. In canines, it has been shown that polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 6 (GALNT6) is important for epididymal sperm motility [ 27 ] and participates in mucin-type-O-glycan biosynthesis [ 26 ].…”