Surfeit 6 (SURF6)

Surfeit locus protein 6 is located in the surfeit gene cluster, a group of very tightly linked genes that do not share sequence similarity. The gene demonstrates features of a housekeeping gene, being ubiquitously expressed, and the encoded protein has been localized to the nucleolus. The protein includes motifs found in both the mouse and fish orthologs, which suggests a putative function as a nucleolar-matrix protein with nucleic acid-binding properties, based on characteristics determined in mouse. The deduced mouse Surf6 protein contains 355 amino acids and is highly basic. Surf6 has features common to housekeeping genes, including ubiquitous expression of its transcript. Immunofluorescence and immunoblot analyses localized the Surf6 protein to the nucleolus.