Tigger Transposable Element Derived Protein 7 (TIGD7)

TIGD7 belongs to the tigger subfamily of the pogo superfamily of DNA-mediated transposons in humans. These proteins are related to DNA transposons found in fungi and nematodes, and more distantly to the Tc1 and mariner transposases. They are also very similar to the major mammalian centromere protein B. The exact function of this gene is not known.

The deduced 511-amino acid protein has a calculated molecular mass of 55.6 kD. Like other Tigger subfamily proteins, TIGD7 contains a DDE domain, which is involved in catalysis of DNA cleavage and the subsequent strand transfer reaction, and CENPBN and CENPB domains, which are involved in DNA binding. PCR analysis detected TIGD7 in all tissues examined, with highest expression in testis and ovary. Database analysis suggested the existence of TIGD7 splice variants.