Issue |
Genet. Sel. Evol.
Volume 34, Number 1, January-February 2002
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Page(s) | 129 - 137 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/gse:2001008 |
Genet. Sel. Evol. 34 (2002) 129-137
DOI: 10.1051/gse:2001008
SRY-related genes in the genome of the rice field eel (Monopterus albus)
Rongjia Zhoua, Hanhua Chenga, Quiyang Zhangb, Yiqing Guoa, Richard K. Cooperb and Terrence R. Tierschca Department of Genetics and Center for Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, PR China
b Department of Veterinary Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
c Aquaculture Research Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
(Received 4 December 2000; accepted 12 June 2001)
Abstract
The mammalian sex determining gene, SRY, is the founding
member of the new growing family of Sox (SRY-like
HMG-box gene) genes. Sox genes encode transcription factors
with diverse roles in development, and a few of them are involved in
sex determination and differentiation. We report here the existence of
Sox genes in the rice field eel, Monopterus albus,
and DNA sequence information of the HMG box region of five
Sox genes. The Sox1, Sox4 and
Sox14 genes do not have introns in the HMG box region. The
Sox9 gene and Sox17 gene, which each have an intron
in the conserved region, show strong identity at the amino acid level
with the corresponding genes of mammals and chickens. Similar
structure and identity of the Sox9 and Sox17 genes
among mammals, chickens and fish suggest that these genes have
evolutionarily conserved roles, potentially including sex
determination and differentiation.
Key words: fish / Sox / cloning / sex determination
Correspondence and reprints: Rongjia Zhou
e-mail: rjzhou@public.wh.hb.cn
© INRA, EDP Sciences 2002