Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 29 September 2006:
Vol. 313. no. 5795, pp. 1918 - 1922
DOI: 10.1126/science.1132040
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Review

Genomic Evolution of Hox Gene Clusters

Derek Lemons and William McGinnis

The family of Hox genes, which number 4 to 48 per genome depending on the animal, control morphologies on the main body axis of nearly all metazoans. The conventional wisdom is that Hox genes are arranged in chromosomal clusters in colinear order with their expression patterns on the body axis. However, recent evidence has shown that Hox gene clusters are fragmented, reduced, or expanded in many animals—findings that correlate with interesting morphological changes in evolution. Hox gene clusters also contain many noncoding RNAs, such as intergenic regulatory transcripts and evolutionarily conserved microRNAs, some of whose developmental functions have recently been explored.

Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: wmcginnis{at}ucsd.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
How Did Indirect Development With Planktotrophic Larvae Evolve?.
C. Nielsen (2009)
Biol. Bull. 216, 203-215
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Atypical relaxation of structural constraints in Hox gene clusters of the green anole lizard.
N. Di-Poi, J. I. Montoya-Burgos, and D. Duboule (2009)
Genome Res. 19, 602-610
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A web-based software system for dynamic gene cluster comparison across multiple genomes.
K. V. Revanna, V. Krishnakumar, and Q. Dong (2009)
Bioinformatics 25, 956-957
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A myelopoiesis-associated regulatory intergenic noncoding RNA transcript within the human HOXA cluster.
X. Zhang, Z. Lian, C. Padden, M. B. Gerstein, J. Rozowsky, M. Snyder, T. R. Gingeras, P. Kapranov, S. M. Weissman, and P. E. Newburger (2009)
Blood 113, 2526-2534
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Adaptive Evolution of 5'HoxD Genes in the Origin and Diversification of the Cetacean Flipper.
Z. Wang, L. Yuan, S. J. Rossiter, X. Zuo, B. Ru, H. Zhong, N. Han, G. Jones, P. D. Jepson, and S. Zhang (2009)
Mol. Biol. Evol. 26, 613-622
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Multigenome DNA sequence conservation identifies Hox cis-regulatory elements.
S. G. Kuntz, E. M. Schwarz, J. A. DeModena, T. De Buysscher, D. Trout, H. Shizuya, P. W. Sternberg, and B. J. Wold (2008)
Genome Res. 18, 1955-1968
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Caudal, a key developmental regulator, is a DPE-specific transcriptional factor.
T. Juven-Gershon, J.-Y. Hsu, and J. T. Kadonaga (2008)
Genes & Dev. 22, 2823-2830
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
SNAREing the Basis of Multicellularity: Consequences of Protein Family Expansion during Evolution.
T. H. Kloepper, C. N. Kienle, and D. Fasshauer (2008)
Mol. Biol. Evol. 25, 2055-2068
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Epigenetic Marking Prepares the Human HOXA Cluster for Activation During Differentiation of Pluripotent Cells.
S. P. Atkinson, C. M. Koch, G. K. Clelland, S. Willcox, J. C. Fowler, R. Stewart, M. Lako, I. Dunham, and L. Armstrong (2008)
Stem Cells 26, 1174-1185
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Deciphering deuterostome phylogeny: molecular, morphological and palaeontological perspectives.
B. J Swalla and A. B Smith (2008)
Phil Trans R Soc B 363, 1557-1568
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The Glucose Transporter (GLUT4) Enhancer Factor Is Required for Normal Wing Positioning in Drosophila.
U. Yazdani, Z. Huang, and J. R. Terman (2008)
Genetics 178, 919-929
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
SRY and the Standoff in Sex Determination.
L. DiNapoli and B. Capel (2008)
Mol. Endocrinol. 22, 1-9
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Lsh controls Hox gene silencing during development.
S. Xi, H. Zhu, H. Xu, A. Schmidtmann, T. M. Geiman, and K. Muegge (2007)
PNAS 104, 14366-14371
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The rise and fall of Hox gene clusters.
D. Duboule (2007)
Development 134, 2549-2560
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Wnt signaling is a key mediator of Cdx1 expression in vivo.
N. Pilon, K. Oh, J.-R. Sylvestre, J. G. A. Savory, and D. Lohnes (2007)
Development 134, 2315-2323
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Early Diversification of the TNF Superfamily in Teleosts: Genomic Characterization and Expression Analysis.
G. W. Glenney and G. D. Wiens (2007)
J. Immunol. 178, 7955-7973
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A new paradigm for developmental biology.
J. S. Mattick (2007)
J. Exp. Biol. 210, 1526-1547
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)