NCBI Summary:
This gene 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.
General function
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Cellular localization
Nuclear
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Ovarian function
Early embryo development
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Expression regulated by
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Ovarian localization
Oocyte
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Implication of Nucleolar Protein SURF6 in Ribosome Biogenesis and Preimplantation Mouse Development. Romanova LG et al. The step-wise assembly of a functional nucleolus that occurs over the first few cell cycles during preimplantation development is poorly understood. In this study we examined the function of the evolutionary conserved nucleolar protein SURF6 in preimplantation mouse embryo development. Immunocytochemical analyses revealed that the localization of SURF6 is similar to, but not identical, to that of fibrillarin and B23/nucleophosmin 1, which are involved in rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis in mammalian somatic cells. Surf6 mRNA, which is expressed in oocytes and maternally inherited in the zygote, reveals a peak level of expression during the 8-cell stage of embryo development, when rDNA is highly transcribed. Knock-down of Surf6 mRNA by RNAi leads to a decrease in both the mRNA and protein, and results in developmental arrest at the 8-cell/morula stage, as well as a decrease in 18S rRNA. These results suggest that Surf6 is essential for mouse preimplantation development, presumably by regulating ribosome biogenesis.
Follicle stages
Comment
Implication of Nucleolar Protein SURF6 in Ribosome Biogenesis and Preimplantation Mouse Development. Romanova LG et al. The step-wise assembly of a functional nucleolus that occurs over the first few cell cycles during preimplantation development is poorly understood. In this study we examined the function of the evolutionary conserved nucleolar protein SURF6 in preimplantation mouse embryo development. Immunocytochemical analyses revealed that the localization of SURF6 is similar to, but not identical, to that of fibrillarin and B23/nucleophosmin 1, which are involved in rRNA processing and ribosome biogenesis in mammalian somatic cells. Surf6 mRNA, which is expressed in oocytes and maternally inherited in the zygote, reveals a peak level of expression during the 8-cell stage of embryo development, when rDNA is highly transcribed. Knock-down of Surf6 mRNA by RNAi leads to a decrease in both the mRNA and protein, and results in developmental arrest at the 8-cell/morula stage, as well as a decrease in 18S rRNA. These results suggest that Surf6 is essential for mouse preimplantation development, presumably by regulating ribosome biogenesis.