<i>Drosophila</i> Protamine-Like Mst35Ba and Mst35Bb Are Required for Proper Sperm Nuclear Morphology but Are Dispensable for Male Fertility

Abstract

During spermiogenesis, histones are massively replaced with protamines. A previous report showed that Drosophila males homozygous for a genomic deletion covering several genes including the protamine-like genes Mst35Ba/b are surprisingly fertile. Here, we have precisely deleted the Mst35B locus by homologous recombination, and we confirm the dispensability of Mst35Ba/b for fertility.