DISCRETE SPLICING ALTERNATIVES IN MESSENGER-RNA ENCODING THE EXTRACELLULAR DOMAIN OF THE TESTIS FSH RECEPTOR IN THE NORMAL AND HYPOGONADAL (HPG) MOUSE

The structure of RNA encoding the mouse testis FSH receptor was studie d using reverse transcription and the polymerase chain reaction. Four major bands were observed by ethidium bromide staining and by hybridiz ation to an FSH-receptor cDNA probe. The largest of these bands was th e expected size (779 bp) while the other bands were spaced approximate ly 70 bp apart. Using alternative primers, each of the products was sh own to contain exons 1, 9 and 10. Exons 2-8 in the FSH receptor gene a re between 68 and 77 bp in size, suggesting that these multiple produc ts arise by alternate splicing of the region encoding the extracellula r domain of the receptor. A similar pattern of splicing was observed i n cDNA from the testes of hypogonadal mice, showing that this alternat ive splicing pattern is not gonadotrophin-dependent.