A genomewide survey of homeobox genes and identification of novel structure of the Hox cluster in the silkworm, Bombyx mori.
Homeobox genes encode transcriptional factors that play crucial roles in a variety of developmental pathways from unicellular to multicellular eukaryotes. We have identified 102 homeobox genes in the typical insect of Lepidoptera, Bombyx mori, based on the newly assembled genome sequence with 9X coverage. These identified homeobox genes were categorized into nine classes including at least 74 families. The available ESTs and microarray data at present confirmed that more than half of them were expressed during silkworm developmental processes. Orthologs of pb, zen and ftz were newly identified in the Bombyx Hox cluster on chromosome 6. Interestingly, a special group of 12 tandemly duplicated homeobox genes was found located between Bmpb and Bmzen in the Bombyx Hox cluster, suggesting that Hox cluster might have experienced a lineage-specific expansion in the silkworm. A detailed analysis on genome data reveals that a split exists between Bmlab and Bmpb. Our data provide valuable information for future research on the development and evolution of silkworm.
Chai
Chun-Li
CL
The Key Sericultural Laboratory of Agricultural Ministry, College of Biotechnology, Institute of Sericulture and Systems Biology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
Zhang
Ze
Z
Huang
Fei-Fei
FF
Wang
Xian-Yan
XY
Yu
Quan-You
QY
Liu
Bin-Bin
BB
Tian
Tian
T
Xia
Qing-You
QY
Lu
Cheng
C
Xiang
Zhong-Huai
ZH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D012831:Bombyx / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D005801:Genes, Homeobox; D017344:Genes, Insect; D049750:Genome, Insect; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny
D019476:Insect Proteins