New insights into SRY regulation through identification of 5' conserved sequences

BACKGROUND: SRY is the pivotal gene initiating male sex determination in most mammals, but how its expression is regulated is still not understood. In this study we derived novel SRY 5' flanking genomic sequence data from bovine and caprine genomic BAC clones. RESULTS: We identified four intervals of high homology upstream of SRY by comparison of human, bovine, pig, goat and mouse genomic sequences. These conserved regions contain putative binding sites for a large number of known transcription factor families, including several that have been implicated previously in sex determination and early gonadal development. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal potentially important SRY regulatory elements, mutations in which might underlie cases of idiopathic human XY sex reversal.