Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster
The Hox gene cluster, responsible for patterning of the head–tail axis, is an ancestral feature of all bilaterally symmetrical animals (the Bilateria) that remains intact in a wide range of species. We can say that the Hox cluster evolved successfully only once since it is commonly the same in all g...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Developmental Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2221-3759/10/4/48 |
| _version_ | 1797456978396577792 |
|---|---|
| author | Stephen J. Gaunt |
| author_facet | Stephen J. Gaunt |
| author_sort | Stephen J. Gaunt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Hox gene cluster, responsible for patterning of the head–tail axis, is an ancestral feature of all bilaterally symmetrical animals (the Bilateria) that remains intact in a wide range of species. We can say that the Hox cluster evolved successfully only once since it is commonly the same in all groups, with <i>labial</i>-like genes at one end of the cluster expressed in the anterior embryo, and <i>Abd-B</i>-like genes at the other end of the cluster expressed posteriorly. This review attempts to make sense of the Hox gene cluster and to address the following questions. How did the Hox cluster form in the protostome-deuterostome last common ancestor, and why was this with a particular head–tail polarity? Why is gene clustering usually maintained? Why is there collinearity between the order of genes along the cluster and the positions of their expressions along the embryo? Why do the Hox gene expression domains overlap along the embryo? Why have vertebrates duplicated the Hox cluster? Why do Hox gene knockouts typically result in anterior homeotic transformations? How do animals adapt their Hox clusters to evolve new structural patterns along the head–tail axis? |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:15:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1691d83a2c364978bda7d350699a7052 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2221-3759 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:15:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Developmental Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-1691d83a2c364978bda7d350699a70522023-11-24T15:48:30ZengMDPI AGJournal of Developmental Biology2221-37592022-11-011044810.3390/jdb10040048Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene ClusterStephen J. Gaunt0Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UKThe Hox gene cluster, responsible for patterning of the head–tail axis, is an ancestral feature of all bilaterally symmetrical animals (the Bilateria) that remains intact in a wide range of species. We can say that the Hox cluster evolved successfully only once since it is commonly the same in all groups, with <i>labial</i>-like genes at one end of the cluster expressed in the anterior embryo, and <i>Abd-B</i>-like genes at the other end of the cluster expressed posteriorly. This review attempts to make sense of the Hox gene cluster and to address the following questions. How did the Hox cluster form in the protostome-deuterostome last common ancestor, and why was this with a particular head–tail polarity? Why is gene clustering usually maintained? Why is there collinearity between the order of genes along the cluster and the positions of their expressions along the embryo? Why do the Hox gene expression domains overlap along the embryo? Why have vertebrates duplicated the Hox cluster? Why do Hox gene knockouts typically result in anterior homeotic transformations? How do animals adapt their Hox clusters to evolve new structural patterns along the head–tail axis?https://www.mdpi.com/2221-3759/10/4/48Hox clustercollinearityevolutionaxial morphologygene knockoutBilateria |
| spellingShingle | Stephen J. Gaunt Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster Journal of Developmental Biology Hox cluster collinearity evolution axial morphology gene knockout Bilateria |
| title | Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster |
| title_full | Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster |
| title_fullStr | Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster |
| title_short | Seeking Sense in the Hox Gene Cluster |
| title_sort | seeking sense in the hox gene cluster |
| topic | Hox cluster collinearity evolution axial morphology gene knockout Bilateria |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2221-3759/10/4/48 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT stephenjgaunt seekingsenseinthehoxgenecluster |