Vinagre, TâniaMoncaut, NataliaCarapuço, MartaNóvoa, AnaBom, JoanaMallo, Moisés2016-06-282016-06-282010-04-20Tânia Vinagre, Natalia Moncaut, Marta Carapuço, Ana Nóvoa, Joana Bom, Moisés Mallo, Evidence for a Myotomal Hox/Myf Cascade Governing Nonautonomous Control of Rib Specification within Global Vertebral Domains, Developmental Cell, Volume 18, Issue 4, 20 April 2010, Pages 655-661, ISSN 1534-5807, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2010.02.011.http://hdl.handle.net/10400.7/669Hox genes are essential for the patterning of the axial skeleton. Hox group 10 has been shown to specify the lumbar domain by setting a rib-inhibiting program in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). We have now produced mice with ribs in every vertebra by ectopically expressing Hox group 6 in the PSM, indicating that Hox genes are also able to specify the thoracic domain. We show that the information provided by Hox genes to specify rib-containing and rib-less areas is first interpreted in the myotome through the regional-specific control of Myf5 and Myf6 expression. This information is then transmitted to the sclerotome by a system that includes FGF and PDGF signaling to produce vertebrae with or without ribs at different axial levels. Our findings offer a new perspective of how Hox genes produce global patterns in the axial skeleton and support a redundant nonmyogenic role of Myf5 and Myf6 in rib formation.engAnimalsBone DevelopmentFibroblast Growth FactorsHomeodomain ProteinsMiceMice, TransgenicModels, BiologicalModels, GeneticMuscle DevelopmentMyogenic Regulatory Factor 5Myogenic Regulatory FactorsPhenotypePlatelet-Derived Growth FactorGene Expression Regulation, Developmentaljournal article10.1016/j.devcel.2010.02.011