Members of the Sox gene family are characterized by an HMG-box that shows sequence similarity with that of the mouse testis-determining gene Sry. Using degenerate primers PCR, seven and eight HMG-box motifs of Sry-related genes were cloned and sequenced from genomic DNA of Trionyx sinensis (termed TS41-47) and Alligator sinensis (AS41-48) with TSD (temperature-dependent sex determination). Among 15 Sry-related genes, TS41, TS42, AS41, and AS42 shared 80, 72, 81, and 79% amino acid identity, respectively, with each HMG-box domain of the mouse Sox-1, -2, and -3 genes by Blast analysis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the clustering of TS41-42 and AS41-42 was distant to the clustering of the nonreptilian vertebrate Sox-1, -2, -3 homologs, including fish, amphibian, bird, and mammals. The amino acid identity among TS41-42, AS41-42, and the nonreptilian vertebrate Sox-1, -2, -3 homologs is lower than identities among the Sox-1, -2, -3 homologs, suggesting that the sequence changes in TS41-42 of Trionyx sinensis and AS41-42 of Alligator sinensis might have occurred after the diversification of amniotes.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors sincerely thank Miss Mingjuan Liao, Dr. Jiaxing Zhang, and Mr. Jianglin Wu for their help. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 39770420) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 04JJ40021).
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Zheng, J., Zhu, M. Isolation and Sequence Analysis of the Sox-1, -2, -3 Homologs in Trionyx sinensis and Alligator sinensis Having Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination. Biochem Genet 44, 98–109 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-006-9019-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10528-006-9019-0