Organization and expression of rat Tspy.

We have isolated both a full-length rat Tspy cDNA from testicular mRNA by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and RT-PCR and a full-length rat Tspy gene from genomic DNA by PCR. In contrast to the mouse, where Tspy is present in a single copy and is apparently functionless, and to man and cattle, where TSPY is organized in a moderately repetitive cluster, the rat Tspy locus apparently consists of one complete functional and one truncated, probably nonfunctional, copy, coherently localized on Yp, as revealed by FISH analysis.