Remarkable evolutionary conservation of SOX14 orthologues

Abstract

SOX proteins constitute a large family of diverse, well-conserved transcription factors present in vertebrates and invertebrates, and also implicated in control of many developmental processes. Our objectives have been to identify Sox14 gene of goat (Capra hircus), cow (Bos taurus) and rat (Rattus norvegicus), and to perform comparative analyses and mapping of SOx14 orthologues from numerous vertebrate species. PCR based approach was used to identify Sox14 of goat, cow and rat, while nucleotide and amino acid sequence alignments and mapping were performed using information currently available in public database. Comparative sequence analysis revealed remarkable identity among Sox14 orthologues and helped us to identify highly conserved motifs that represent molecular signatures of SOX14 protein that might have structural or functional significance. Further, determined chromosomal locations of numerous predicted group B Sox genes and their neighbouring genes using currently available genome database. In conclusion, our study has not only supported the proposed model of group B Sox genes evolution in chicken and mammals, but has also revealed that additional evolutionary events split Sox B genes into different chromosomes in some mammals. Mapping data presented in this study could help in refining the understanding of the evolution of group B Sox genes in vertebrates.