title: Is there a link between changes in the vertebral "hox code" and the shape of vertebrae? A quantitative study of shape change in the cervical vertebral column of mice.
abstract: Homeobox (hox) genes are of considerable importance in the formation of the body axis of invertebrates and vertebrates. The postulation of a hox-code (i.e. the simultaneous activity of a certain subset of hox genes) for structures at different metameric levels and which differ from each other in shape suggests a relationship between hox-code and shape, which is reinforced by the possibility of homeotic transformation when the hox-code is changed experimentally. This paper considers the possible nature of such a relationship between the hox genes governing vertebral formation in the upper part of the mouse vertebral column and the shape of the adult vertebrae formed in this region.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Biology, University of Leeds, W. Yorkshire, U.K.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Higgins
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000235:genetics*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D015870:Gene Expression; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D005815:Genetic Code; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA