The exocrine-gland secreting peptide (ESP) gene family encodes proteinaceous pheromones that are recognized by the vomeronasal organ in mice. For example, ESP1 is a male pheromone secreted in tear fluid that regulates socio-sexual behavior, and ESP22 is a juvenile pheromone that suppresses adult sexual behavior. The family consists of multiple genes and has been identified only in mouse and rat genomes. The coding region of a mouse ESP gene is separated into two exons, each encoding signal and mature sequences. Here, we report the origin and evolution of the ESP gene family. ESP genes were found only in the Muridea and Cricetidae families of rodents, suggesting a recent origin of ESP genes in the common ancestor of murids and cricetids. ESP genes show a great diversity in number, length, and sequence among different species as well as mouse strains. Some ESPs in rats and golden hamsters are expressed in the lacrimal gland and the salivary gland. We also found that a mature sequence of an ESP gene showed overall sequence similarity to the α-globin gene. The ancestral ESP gene seems to be generated by recombination of a retrotransposed α-globin gene with the signal-encoding exon of the CRISP2 gene located adjacent to the ESP gene cluster. This study provides an intriguing example of molecular tinkering in rapidly evolving species-specific proteinaceous pheromone genes.

中文翻译：

---

啮齿动物蛋白质信息素（外分泌腺分泌肽）基因家族的起源和进化。

外分泌腺分泌肽（ESP）基因家族编码蛋白质信息素，该信息素可被小鼠的犁鼻器识别。例如，ESP1是一种泪液中分泌的雄性信息素，它调节着社会性行为，而ESP22是一种抑制成人性行为的少年信息素。该家族由多个基因组成，仅在小鼠和大鼠基因组中得到鉴定。小鼠ESP基因的编码区分为两个外显子，每个外显子编码信号和成熟序列。在这里，我们报告ESP基因家族的起源和进化。ESP基因仅在啮齿动物的Muridea和Cricetidae家族中发现，这表明ESP基因的近来起源于鼠类和cr类动物的共同祖先。ESP基因在数量，长度，和不同物种以及小鼠品系之间的序列。大鼠和金黄仓鼠中的一些ESP在泪腺和唾液腺中表达。我们还发现，ESP基因的成熟序列显示出与α-珠蛋白基因的总体序列相似性。祖先的ESP基因似乎是由逆转位的α-球蛋白基因与邻近ESP基因簇的CRISP2基因的信号编码外显子重组而产生的。这项研究为快速发展的物种特异性蛋白质信息素基因中的分子修补提供了一个有趣的例子。祖先的ESP基因似乎是由逆转位的α-球蛋白基因与邻近ESP基因簇的CRISP2基因的信号编码外显子重组而产生的。这项研究为快速发展的物种特异性蛋白质信息素基因中的分子修补提供了一个有趣的例子。祖先的ESP基因似乎是由逆转位的α-球蛋白基因与邻近ESP基因簇的CRISP2基因的信号编码外显子重组而产生的。这项研究为快速发展的物种特异性蛋白质信息素基因中的分子修补提供了一个有趣的例子。