A review on sox genes in fish

Abstract

The Sry-related high mobility group box (Sox) genes family is a group of transcription factors playing crucial roles during reproduction and development. At least 50% amino acid sequences of Sox protein family are similarity to the sex-determining region on the Y chromosome (Sry). The sox family exists throughout the invertebrates and vertebrates and plays an important role in sex determination and differentiation, gonadal development, neurogenesis, formation of multiple tissues and organs, early embryonic development, chondrocyte differentiation, cardio-vascular system, and other features in fish. The full characters of sox genes at the genome-wide level have been reported in many fish species, due to the rapid development of high-throughput DNA sequencing technique and massive accumulation of genomic data. Here, the research progress of fish sox gene family is reviewed to provide the latest information for the research in this field.