The evolution of Fox genes and their role in development and disease.
The forkhead box (Fox) family of transcription factors, which originated in unicellular eukaryotes, has expanded over time through multiple duplication events, and sometimes through gene loss, to over 40 members in mammals. Fox genes have evolved to acquire a specialized function in many key biological processes. Mutations in Fox genes have a profound effect on human disease, causing phenotypes as varied as cancer, glaucoma and language disorders. We summarize the salient features of the evolution of the Fox gene family and highlight the diverse contribution of various Fox subfamilies to developmental processes, from organogenesis to speech acquisition.
Hannenhalli
Sridhar
S
Department of Genetics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. sridharh@pcbi.upenn.edu; Kaestner@mail.med.upenn.edu
Kaestner
Klaus H
KH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics; D016678:Genome; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013060:Speech
D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear