Patent ID: 6875854

Claim:
An isolated nucleic acid molecule selected from the group consisting of: (a) nucleic acid molecules which hybridize under stringent conditions to a molecule consisting of a nucleotide sequence set forth as SEQ ID NO:1 and which code for a human vasa polypeptide, wherein the stringent conditions are: (1) hybridization at 65° C. in hybridization buffer (3.5×SSC, 0.02% Ficoll, 0.02% polyvinyl pyrrolidone, 0.02% Bovine Serum Albumin, 2.5 mM NaH 2 PO 4 (pH7), 0.5% SDS, 2 mM EDTA), wherein SSC is 0.15 M sodium chloride/0.015 M sodium citrate, pH7; SDS is sodium dodecyl sulphate; and EDTA is ethylenediaminetetracetic acid, and (2) washing in 2×SSC at room temperature and washing in 0.1×SSC/0.1 SDS at 68° C., (b) nucleic acid molecules that differ from the nucleic acid molecules of (a) in codon sequence due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, or (c) full-length complements of (a) or (b).