We amplified the 197 bp HMG box sequence by using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) with primers according to the known SRY sequence from male raccoon genomic DNA, and then cloned and sequenced. The nucleic acid and amino acid sequence comparison between raccoon and other mammals revealed high conservation of the SRY HMG box in mammals (about 80%), which implied that the DNA binding activity was crucial to mediate the action of SRY in sex determination. The variation of raccoon HMG box sequence mainly occurred on purine by replacement and missense mutation, which implicated that only the HMG box protein with advanced structure had efficient activity. The homology and difference between mammals HMG box was accorded to the evolution systematic tree.
