MORC Family CW-Type Zinc Finger Protein 1 (MORC1)

MORC1 encodes the human homolog of mouse morc and like the mouse protein it is testis-specific. Mouse studies support a testis-specific function since only male knockout mice are infertile; infertility is the only apparent defect. These studies further support a role for this protein early in spermatogenesis, possibly by affecting entry into apoptosis because testis from knockout mice show greatly increased numbers of apoptotic cells.Sequence analysis detected a bipartite nuclear localization signal, 2 coiled-coil domains, and a leucine zipper motif. The human ortholog, like the mouse gene, showed testis-specific expression.MORC defines a novel gene family whose members may serve important biologic functions in both meiotic and mitotic cells of multicellular organisms.