NCBI Summary:
This gene encodes a serine/arginine protein kinase specific for the SR (serine/arginine-rich domain) family of splicing factors. The protein localizes to the nucleus and the cytoplasm. It is thought to play a role in regulation of both constitutive and alternative splicing by regulating intracellular localization of splicing factors. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple transcript variants. Additional alternatively spliced transcript variants have been described for this gene, but their full length nature have not been determined.[provided by RefSeq, Jul 2010]
General function
Enzyme, Transferase
, Epigenetic modifications
Comment
Cellular localization
Cytoplasmic, Nuclear
Comment
Ovarian function
Oogenesis, Oocyte maturation, Early embryo development
Comment
Initiation of Parental Genome Reprogramming in Fertilized Oocyte by Splicing Kinase SRPK1-Catalyzed Protamine Phosphorylation. Gou LT et al. (2020) The paternal genome undergoes a massive exchange of histone with protamine for compaction into sperm during spermiogenesis. Upon fertilization, this process is potently reversed, which is essential for parental genome reprogramming and subsequent activation; however, it remains poorly understood how this fundamental process is initiated and regulated. Here, we report that the previously characterized splicing kinase SRPK1 initiates this life-beginning event by catalyzing site-specific phosphorylation of protamine, thereby triggering protamine-to-histone exchange in the fertilized oocyte. Interestingly, protamine undergoes a DNA-dependent phase transition to gel-like condensates and SRPK1-mediated phosphorylation likely helps open up such structures to enhance protamine dismissal by nucleoplasmin (NPM2) and enable the recruitment of HIRA for H3.3 deposition. Remarkably, genome-wide assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) analysis reveals that selective chromatin accessibility in both sperm and MII oocytes is largely erased in early pronuclei in a protamine phosphorylation-dependent manner, suggesting that SRPK1-catalyzed phosphorylation initiates a highly synchronized reorganization program in both parental genomes.//////////////////