SMA20/PMIS2 Is a Rapidly Evolving Sperm Membrane Alloantigen with Possible Species-Divergent Function in Fertilization

Abstract

Immunodominant alloantigens in pig sperm membranes include 15 known gene products and a previously undiscovered Mr 20,000 sperm membrane-specific protein (SMA20). Here we characterize SMA20 and identify it as the unannotated pig ortholog of PMIS2. A composite SMA20 cDNA encoded a 126 amino acid polypeptide comprising two predicted transmembrane segments and an N-terminal alanine- and proline (AP)-rich region with no apparent signal peptide. The Northern blots showed that the composite SMA20 cDNA was derived from a 1.1 kb testis-specific transcript. A BLASTp search retrieved no SMA20 match from the pig genome, but it did retrieve a 99% match to the Pmis2 gene product in warthog. Sequence identity to predicted PMIS2 orthologs from other placental mammals ranged from no more than 80% overall in Cetartiodactyla to less than 60% in Primates, with the AP-rich region showing the highest divergence, including, in the extreme, its absence in most rodents, including the mouse. SMA20 immunoreactivity localized to the acrosome/apical head of methanol-fixed boar spermatozoa but not live, motile cells. Ultrastructurally, the SMA20 AP-rich domain immunolocalized to the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane, the outer acrosomal membrane, and the acrosomal contents of ejaculated spermatozoa. Gene name search failed to retrieve annotated Pmis2 from most mammalian genomes. Nevertheless, individual pairwise interrogation of loci spanning Atp4a–Haus5 identified Pmis2 in all placental mammals, but not in marsupials or monotremes. We conclude that the gene encoding sperm-specific SMA20/PMIS2 arose de novo in Eutheria after divergence from Metatheria, whereupon rapid molecular evolution likely drove the acquisition of a species-divergent function unique to fertilization in placental mammals.