Hox genes and regional patterning of the vertebrate body plan

Mallo, Moises; Wellik, Deneen M.; Deschamps, Jacqueline

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.7/668

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Mallo et al 2010.pdf	artigo principal	1.42 MB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Mallo, Moises

Wellik, Deneen M.

Deschamps, Jacqueline

Abstract(s)

Several decades have passed since the discovery of Hox genes in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Their unique ability to regulate morphologies along the anteroposterior (AP) axis (Lewis, 1978) earned them well-deserved attention as important regulators of embryonic development. Phenotypes due to loss- and gain-of-function mutations in mouse Hox genes have revealed that the spatio-temporally controlled expression of these genes is critical for the correct morphogenesis of embryonic axial structures. Here, we review recent novel insight into the modalities of Hox protein function in imparting specific identity to anatomical regions of the vertebral column, and in controlling the emergence of these tissues concomitantly with providing them with axial identity. The control of these functions must have been intimately linked to the shaping of the body plan during evolution.

Keywords

Animals Body Patterning Body Size Developmental Biology Drosophila melanogaster Homeodomain Proteins Humans Mice Models, Biological Mutation Phenotype Vertebrates Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental Genes, Homeobox

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.7/668

Citation

Moises Mallo, Deneen M. Wellik, Jacqueline Deschamps, Hox genes and regional patterning of the vertebrate body plan, Developmental Biology, Volume 344, Issue 1, 1 August 2010, Pages 7-15, ISSN 0012-1606, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2010.04.024. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012160610002691)