Extraordinary intraspecific diversity in oyster sperm bindin.

ABSTRACT: In free-spawning invertebrates sperm-egg incompatibility is a barrier to mating between species, and divergence of gamete recognition proteins (GRPs) can result in reproductive isolation. Of interest are processes that create reproductive protein diversity within species, because intraspecific variants are potentially involved in mate choice and early speciation. Sperm acrosomes of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas contain the protein bindin that bonds sperm to egg during fertilization. Oyster bindin is a single-copy gene encoding a diversity of protein variants. Oyster bindins have a conserved N-terminal region followed by one to five tandem fucose-binding lectin (F-lectin) domains. These repeats have diversified by positive selection at eight sites clustered on the F-lectin's fucose b

SUBMITTER: Moy GW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2538870 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature