Cation channel sperm-associated auxiliary subunit theta is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CATSPERQ gene (previously TMEM249). The CATSPERQ protein is part of the CatSper complex which is involved in the movement of sperm (in particular hyperactivation).
Locus CATSPERQ is located near the end of the long arm of chromosome 8 in humans.
Common aliases CATSPERQ is also known as TMEM249 or C8orfk29.
Primary sequence and variants or isoforms
The primary sequence found at NCBI and Aceview on NCBI predicts there are five spliceforms, with four closely resembling one another and the fifth missing a large 5' intron region. Softberry reinforces the Aceview data by predicting five exons, which are seen in four of the five spliceforms of Aceview.
The general structure of the CATSPERQ transcript has a large 5' UTR followed by exon 1, then a large intron followed by exon 2, a small intron then exon 3. The rest of the protein follows exon 3 with a large intron, exon 4 a small intron then exon 5, the 3' UTR.
The primary transcript contains all five exons and produces a protein that is 235 amino acids long. Transcript 1 and 2 are translated in the 3' to 5' direction while transcripts 3 through 5 are translated in the 5' to 3' direction. The gene is encoded on the minus strand within the chromosome.
References
Further reading