Sry and the hesitant beginnings of male development.
In mammals, Sry (sex-determining region Y gene) is the master regulator of male sex determination. The discovery of Sry in 1990 was expected to provide the key to unravelling the network of gene regulation underlying testis development. Intriguingly, no target gene of SRY protein has yet been discovered, and the mechanisms by which it mediates its developmental functions are still elusive. What is clear is that instead of the robust gene one might expect as the pillar of male sexual development, Sry function hangs by a thin thread, a situation that has profound biological, medical and evolutionary implications.
Polanco
Juan Carlos
JC
Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Koopman
Peter
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D024282:Genes, sry; D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics
D006609:High Mobility Group Proteins; D055758:SOX9 Transcription Factor; C527932:SOX9 protein, human; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors