Sex Development Laboratory, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC 3168, Australia.
Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
Genes (Basel). 2021 Mar 26;12(4):486. doi: 10.3390/genes12040486.
Sex determination occurs early during embryogenesis among vertebrates. It involves the differentiation of the bipotential gonad to ovaries or testes by a fascinating diversity of molecular switches. In most mammals, the switch is (sex determining region Y); in other vertebrates it could be one of a variety of genes including or Downstream of the switch gene, upregulation is a central event in testes development, controlled by gonad-specific enhancers across the 2 Mb locus. is a 'hub' gene of gonadal development, regulated positively in males and negatively in females. Despite this diversity, SOX9 protein sequence and function among vertebrates remains highly conserved. This article explores the cellular, morphological, and genetic mechanisms initiated by for male gonad differentiation.
性别的确定发生在脊椎动物胚胎发生的早期。它涉及到双能性腺向卵巢或睾丸的分化，这是由一系列令人着迷的分子开关所驱动的。在大多数哺乳动物中，这个开关是（性别决定区域 Y）；在其他脊椎动物中，它可能是包括（SRY 基因）或（SOX9 基因）在内的多种基因之一。在开关基因的下游，上调是睾丸发育的一个核心事件，由 2 Mb 基因座上的性腺特异性增强子控制。SOX9 是性腺发育的“枢纽”基因，在雄性中被正向调节，在雌性中被负向调节。尽管存在这种多样性，但 SOX9 蛋白在脊椎动物中的序列和功能仍然高度保守。本文探讨了 SOX9 基因启动的雄性性腺分化的细胞、形态和遗传机制。
