Hox gene

Hox genes (also known as homeotic genes) are a group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the cranio-caudal (head-tail) axis. After the embryonic segments have formed, the Hox proteins determine the type of segment structures (e.g. legs, antennae, and wings in fruit flies or the different types of vertebrae in humans) that will form on a given segment. Hox proteins thus confer segmental identity, but do not form the actual segments themselves.

Hox genes are defined as having the following properties:

Hox genes code for transcription factors

The products of Hox genes are Hox proteins. Hox proteins are transcription factors, which are proteins that are capable of binding to specific nucleotide sequences on the DNA called enhancers where they either activate or repress genes. The same Hox protein can act as a repressor at one gene and an activator at another. The ability of Hox proteins to bind DNA is conferred by a part of the protein referred to as the homeodomain. The homeodomain is a 60-amino-acid-long DNA-binding domain (encoded by its corresponding 180-base-pair DNA sequence, the homeobox). This amino acid sequence folds into a "helix-turn-helix" (i.e. homeodomain fold) motif that is stabilized by a third helix. The consensus polypeptide chain is (typical intron position noted with dashes):

Gene

A gene is a locus (or region) of DNA that encodes a functional RNA or protein product, and is the molecular unit of heredity. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as the gene–environment interactions. Some genetic traits are instantly visible, such as eye colour or number of limbs, and some are not, such as blood type, risk for specific diseases, or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life.

Genes can acquire mutations in their sequence, leading to different variants, known as alleles, in the population. These alleles encode slightly different versions of a protein, which cause different phenotype traits. Colloquial usage of the term "having a gene" (e.g., "good genes," "hair colour gene") typically refers to having a different allele of the gene. Genes evolve due to natural selection or survival of the fittest of the alleles.

November 23

November 23 is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 38 days remaining until the end of the year.

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Homeobox

A homeobox is a DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, found within genes that are involved in the regulation of patterns of anatomical development (morphogenesis) in animals, fungi and plants. These genes encode homeodomain protein products that are transcription factors sharing a characteristic protein fold structure that binds DNA.

Discovery

Homeoboxes were discovered independently in 1983 by Ernst Hafen, Michael Levine, and William McGinnis working in the lab of Walter Jakob Gehring at the University of Basel, Switzerland; and by Matthew P. Scott and Amy Weiner, who were then working with Thomas Kaufman at Indiana University in Bloomington. The existence of homeoboxes was first discovered in Drosophila, where the radical alterations that resulted from mutations in homeobox genes were termed homeotic mutations. One of the most famous such mutation is antennapedia, in which legs grow from the head of a fly instead of the expected antennae.

Homeodomain proteins

A homeobox is about 180 base pairs long and encodes a protein domain that binds DNA. The following shows the consensus homeodomain (~60 amino acid residue chain), with typical insertion sites noted with dashes:

Wikipedia

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