Selective constraints on protamine 2 in primates and rodents

Background: Protamines are sperm nuclear proteins with a crucial role in chromatin condensation. Their function is strongly linked to sperm head morphology and male fertility. Protamines appear to be affected by a complex pattern of selective constraints. Previous studies showed that sexual selectio...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lüke, Lena, Tourmente, Maximiliano, Dopazo, Hernán, Serra, François, Roldán, Eduardo R. S.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/128180
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/128180
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Protamine
Evolution
Sexual selection
Sperm competition
Primates
Rodents
Spermatozoa
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Protamines are sperm nuclear proteins with a crucial role in chromatin condensation. Their function is strongly linked to sperm head morphology and male fertility. Protamines appear to be affected by a complex pattern of selective constraints. Previous studies showed that sexual selection affects protamine coding sequence and expression in rodents. Here we analyze selective constraints and post-copulatory sexual selection acting on protamine 2 (Prm2) gene sequences of 53 species of primates and rodents. We focused on possible differences in selective constraints between these two clades and on the two functional domains of PRM2 (cleaved- and mature-PRM2). We also assessed if and how changes in Prm2 coding sequence may affect sperm head dimensions.