SRYlike

SRY-like refers to genes and proteins that are related to the sex-determining region Y (SRY) gene and share the SRY-related high-mobility group box DNA-binding domain (HMG-box). These genes are often grouped within the SOX family and are found across metazoans. As transcription factors, SRY-like proteins regulate gene expression during development, typically by binding DNA and influencing chromatin structure to modulate transcription.

In vertebrates, SRY initially emerged as a key driver of male sex determination in therian mammals, but many SRY-like genes have broader developmental roles. Members of the SOX family, including SOX9, SOX2 and SOX3, are well-studied examples of SRY-related proteins with diverse functions in sex determination, neural development, stem cell maintenance, and organogenesis. Not all SRY-like genes determine sex; some contribute to cartilage formation, neurogenesis, or other lineage-specifying pathways, and in some species these genes may be absent or nonfunctional.

Evolutionarily, SRY-like genes arose through duplication and divergence from an ancestral SRY-related sequence, with the HMG-box domain remaining highly conserved. The term is used in genomics and comparative biology to denote proteins that share sequence similarity to SRY and contain the characteristic HMG-box. Functional assignment of SRY-like genes can be species-specific, and in certain lineages the presence of an SRY-like gene does not imply a role in sex determination.