Srag Regulates Autophagy via Integrating into a Preexisting Autophagy Pathway in Testis.

ABSTRACT: Spermatogenesis is an essential process for producing sperm cells. Reproductive strategy is successfully evolved for a species to adapt to a certain ecological system. However, roles of newly evolved genes in testis autophagy remain unclear. In this study, we found that a newly evolved gene srag (Sox9-regulated autophagy gene) plays an important role in promoting autophagy in testis in the lineage of the teleost Monopterus albus. The gene integrated into an interaction network through a two-way strategy of evolution, via Sox9-binding in its promoter and interaction with Becn1 in the coding region. Its promoter region evolved a cis element for binding of Sox9, a transcription factor for male sex determination. Both in vitro and in vivo analyses demonstrated that transcription factor Sox9 co

SUBMITTER: Cheng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7782868 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature