BACKGROUND The genetic basis of nonobstructive azoospermia is unknown in the majority of infertile men. METHODS We performed array comparative genomic hybridization testing in blood samples obtained from 15 patients with azoospermia, and we performed mutation screening by means of direct Sanger sequencing of the testis-expressed 11 gene (TEX11) open reading frame in blood and semen samples ob...

Genome-wide recombination is essential for genome stability, evolution, and speciation. Mouse Tex11, an X-linked meiosis-specific gene, promotes meiotic recombination and chromosomal synapsis. Here, we report that TEX11 is mutated in infertile men with non-obstructive azoospermia and that an analogous mutation in the mouse impairs meiosis. Genetic screening of a large cohort of idiopathic infer...

Meiotic silencing of sex chromosomes may cause their depletion of meiosis-specific genes during evolution. Here, we challenge this hypothesis by reporting the identification of TEX11 as the first X-encoded meiosis-specific factor in mice. TEX11 forms discrete foci on synapsed regions of meiotic chromosomes and appears to be a novel constituent of meiotic nodules involved in recombination. Loss ...

Background: About 15% of couples worldwide suffer from infertility problem that half of these cases are related to male infertility. Spermatogenesis is a cumulative process and thousands of genes are involved in it. Change in one of these genes or their products can cause male infertility. Tex11 is a germ cell specific gene that is located on the X chromosome (Xq13.1 region). This gene was iden...

Study question Can novel meiotic RNA targets of DAZL (deleted in azoospermia-like) be identified in the human foetal ovary? Summary answer SYCP1 (synaptonemal complex protein-1), TEX11 (testis expressed 11) and SMC1B (structural maintenance of chromosomes 1B) are novel DAZL targets in the human foetal ovary, thus DAZL may have previously unrecognised roles in the translational regulation of R...

Antisense transcripts can influence the sense partner gene function by modifying the transcriptional and/or posttranscriptional regulation processes. Here, we report the identification of 13 cases of human-specific antisense transcripts induced by transposable element insertions from the analysis of primate genome alignment and human transcriptome data. The original sources of the insert includ...