Why are Hox genes clustered?
The evolutionarily conserved genomic organization of the Hox genes has been a puzzle ever since it was discovered that their order along the chromosome is similar to the order of their functional domains along the antero-posterior axis. Why has this colinearity been maintained throughout evolution? A close look at regulatory sequences from the mouse Hox clusters suggests that enhancer sharing between adjacent Hox genes may be one reason. Moreover, characterizing the activity of one of these mouse enhancers in Drosophila illustrates that despite many similarities, not all Hox clusters are built in the same way.
Mann
R S
RS
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. rsm10@columbia.edu
D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004330:Drosophila; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008957:Models, Genetic; D005810:Multigene Family; D012045:Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid