The sex determination in mammals refers to the development of an initial bipotential organ, termed the bipotential gonad/genital ridge, into either a testis or an ovary at the early stages of embryonic development, under the precise regulation of transcription factors. SOX9 (SRY-box transcription factor 9) is a multifunctional transcription factor in mammalian development and plays a critical role in sex determination and subsequent male reproductive organs development. Recent studies have shown that several enhancers upstream of SOX9 also play an important role in the process of sex determination. In this review, we summarize the progress on the role of SOX9 and its gonadal enhancers in sex determination. This review will facilitate to understand the regulatory mechanism of sex determination of SOX9 and provides a theoretical basis for the further development of animal sex manipulation technologies.
性别决定指的是胚胎发育早期，在转录因子的精确调控下，具有双重分化潜能的性腺向睾丸(雄性)或卵巢(雌性)方向转变的过程。SOX9(SRY-box transcription factor 9)是哺乳动物发育过程中的多功能转录因子，在性别决定及随后的雄性生殖器官发育中发挥关键作用。近年来相关研究表明，SOX9上游的多个增强子也在性别决定过程中扮演着重要的角色。本文主要对SOX9及其与性腺发育相关的增强子在性别决定中的研究进展进行了综述，以期加深人们对SOX9在性别决定中调控作用机制的认识，为加快动物性别控制技术研究提供理论参考。.
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