Tektin 4 (TEKT4)

Tektins are evolutionarily-conserved flagellar (and ciliary) filamentous proteins present in the axoneme and peri-axonemal structures in diverse metazoan species.TEKT4 is essential for coordinated and progressive sperm motility in mice. Male mice null for TEKT3 produce sperm with reduced motility (47.2% motility) and forward progression, and increased flagellar structural bending defects. Male TEKT3-null mice however maintain normal fertility in two different genetic backgrounds tested, in contrast to TEKT4-null mice. Furthermore, male mice null for both TEKT3 and TEKT4 show subfertility on a mixed B6;129 genetic background, significantly different from either single knockouts, suggesting partial non-redundant roles for these two proteins in sperm physiology. Tektins are potential candidate genes for non-syndromic asthenozoospermia in humans.