No missense mutations, associated with the development of POF, were identified in the coding region of BMP15. As the coding region of the BMP15 protein is highly conserved across species (40), it was hypothesized that BMP15, although involved in the pathogenesis of POF, may not be the major factor causing diminished ovarian function, which may be explained by other specific mechanisms, including disorders of pre-translation processing, including mRNA splicing. The gene discussed is BMP15; the disease is premature menopause.