The role of sex-determining region Y-box 6 in melanogenesis in alpaca melanocytes

The sex-determining region Y-box (SOX) family consists of 20 genes [1]. These genes encode transcriptional factors with a high-mobility group (HMG) box DNA-binding domain, which is very similar to that of the sex-determining region (Sry) protein [2]. Based on the sequence identity inside and outside of this domain, the SOX genes are classified into 8 groups, named as SOXA through SOXH. SOX6 belongs to the SOXD group in most vertebrates, together with SOX5 and SOX13 [2].