Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA, UK.
Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2010 Mar;42(3):378-80. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2009.12.003. Epub 2009 Dec 31.
The Sox gene family was discovered in 1990 through the cloning of Sry, the mammalian Y-linked testis-determining gene. This was long before genome sequencing was routine, but it was an exciting time when rapid progress was being made in gene discovery, through positional and functional cloning techniques, and via homology within and between species. It had become clear that many genes were members of often quite substantial families, related by the possession of similar domains within their coding sequences and corresponding proteins. Members of the SOX protein family were subsequently shown to have many diverse roles during development in metazoan species, but are all related by a similar HMG box type of DNA binding domain, which gives them functional properties distinct from other transcription factors. This is a brief account of how the first Sox genes were found.
Sox 基因家族于 1990 年通过克隆哺乳动物 Y 连锁的睾丸决定基因 Sry 而被发现。当时基因组测序还不常见，但这是一个令人兴奋的时期，通过定位和功能克隆技术，以及物种内和物种间的同源性，基因发现取得了快速进展。人们已经清楚地认识到，许多基因都是通常相当大的家族的成员，它们的编码序列和相应的蛋白质中都具有相似的结构域。随后发现，SOX 蛋白家族的成员在后生动物物种的发育过程中有许多不同的作用，但它们都具有相似的 HMG 盒类型的 DNA 结合域，这使它们具有与其他转录因子不同的功能特性。本文简要介绍了最初的 Sox 基因是如何被发现的。
