The isolation of conserved DNA sequences related to the human sex-determining region Y gene from the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus).
The sex-determining region gene (SRY) is a recently discovered candidate for the mammalian testis determining factor (TDF). The gene appears to form part of a family with several autosomal representatives. I have investigated the occurrence of SRY-related sequences in birds. The polymerase chain reaction was used to isolate six homologues of the conserved motif of the SRY gene from the lesser black-backed gull (Larus fuscus). Female unique copies of the motif are apparently absent. Sequence similarity and phylogenetic parsimony methods suggest that, irrespective of avian or mammalian origin, SRY-type sequences fall into two subfamilies. This is consistent with the presence of two archetypal genes in an ancestor common to both taxonomic classes.
Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, U.K.
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Griffiths
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001717:Birds / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D014998:Y Chromosome
D004247:DNA