<it>Sox </it>genes in grass carp (<it>Ctenopharyngodon idella</it>) with their implications for genome duplication and evolution

• Main Authors: Tong Jingou, Yu Xiaomu, Zhong Lei
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: BMC 2006-11-01
• Series: Genetics Selection Evolution
• Subjects: grass carp (<it>Ctenopharyngodon idella</it>); <it>Sox</it>; genome duplication; co-ortholog; molecular clock
• Online Access: http://www.gsejournal.org/content/38/6/673

<p>Abstract</p> <p>The <it>Sox </it>gene family is found in a broad range of animal taxa and encodes important gene regulatory proteins involved in a variety of developmental processes. We have obtained clones representing the HMG boxes of twelve <it>Sox </it>genes from grass carp (<it>Ctenopharyngodon idella</it>), one of the four major domestic carps in China. The cloned <it>Sox </it>genes belong to group B1, B2 and C. Our analyses show that whereas the human genome contains a single copy of <it>Sox4</it>, <it>Sox11 </it>and <it>Sox14</it>, each of these genes has two co-orthologs in grass carp, and the duplication of <it>Sox4 </it>and <it>Sox11 </it>occurred before the divergence of grass carp and zebrafish, which support the "fish-specific whole-genome duplication" theory. An estimation for the origin of grass carp based on the molecular clock using <it>Sox1</it>, <it>Sox3 </it>and <it>Sox11 </it>genes as markers indicates that grass carp (subfamily <it>Leuciscinae</it>) and zebrafish (subfamily <it>Danioninae</it>) diverged approximately 60 million years ago. The potential uses of <it>Sox </it>genes as markers in revealing the evolutionary history of grass carp are discussed.</p>