Koopman P
Centre for Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
EXS. 2001(91):25-56. doi: 10.1007/978-3-0348-7781-7_3.
Sry is the Y-chromosomal gene that acts as a trigger for male development in mammalian embryos. This gene encodes a high mobility group (HMG) box transcription factor that is known to bind to specific target sequences in DNA and to cause a bend in the chromatin. DNA bending appears to be part of the mechanism by which Sry influences transcription of genes downstream in a cascade of gene regulation leading to maleness, but the factors that cooperate with, and the direct targets of, Sry remain to be identified. One gene known to be downstream from Sry in this cascade in Sox9, which encodes a transcription factor related to Sry by the HMG box. Like Sry, mutations in Sox9 disrupt male development, but unlike Sry, the role of Sox9 is not limited to mammals. This review focuses on what is known about the two genes and their likely modes of action, and draws together recent data relating to how they might interconnect with the network of gene activity implicated in testis determination in mammals.
Sry是Y染色体上的基因，它作为哺乳动物胚胎雄性发育的触发因素。该基因编码一种高迁移率族（HMG）盒转录因子，已知其能与DNA中的特定靶序列结合并使染色质发生弯曲。DNA弯曲似乎是Sry在导致雄性特征的基因调控级联中影响下游基因转录的机制的一部分，但与Sry协同作用的因子以及Sry的直接靶标仍有待确定。在这个级联中已知位于Sry下游的一个基因是Sox9，它编码一种通过HMG盒与Sry相关的转录因子。与Sry一样，Sox9中的突变会破坏雄性发育，但与Sry不同的是，Sox9的作用并不局限于哺乳动物。本综述重点关注关于这两个基因及其可能的作用模式的已知信息，并汇总了有关它们如何与哺乳动物睾丸决定中涉及的基因活性网络相互连接的最新数据。
