title: A hox/hom homeobox gene in sponges.
abstract: The hox/hom homeobox genes code for DNA-binding proteins that confer positional information during animal development; these genes have been found in a wide range of triploblasts and in cnidarians. We report here the identification of a hox/hom gene and two other homeobox genes in the genomes of sponges. This finding extends the detection of hox/hom genes to the lowest metazoan phylum and suggests a monophyletic origin of the kingdom Animalia. Because, in culture, sponge cells quickly reaggregate, differentiate and construct tissue after disaggregation, they can provide a useful model system for characterization of the basic roles of homeobox genes in the control of cellular differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Marine Biotechnology Center, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Degnan
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Degnan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giusti
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Morse
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011161:Porifera / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment