Hox Genes: Studies from the 20th to the 21st Century (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 689)

In his 1894 book, Materials for the Study of Variation, William Bateson coined the term Homoeosis with the following prose: The case of the modification of the antenna of an insect into a foot, of the eye of a Crustacean into an antenna, of a petal into a stamen, and the like, are examples of the same kind. It is desirable and indeed necessary that such Variations, which consist in the assumption by one member of a Meristic series, of the form or characters proper to other members of the series, should be recognized as constituting a distinct group of phenomena. ...I therefore propose...the term HOMOEOSIS...; for the essential phenomenon is not that there has merely been a change, but that something has been changed into the likeness of something else. The book was intended as a listing of the kinds of naturally occurring variation that could act as a substrate for the evolutionary process and Bateson took his examples from collections, both private and in museums, of materials displaying morphological oddities. Interestingly the person who also coined the term “Genetics” proffered little in the way of speculation on the possible genetic underpinnings of these oddities. It wasn’t until the early part of the next century that these changes in meristic series were shown to be heritable. Regulation of hox activity : insights from protein motifs / Samir Merabet ... [et al.] CIS-regulation in the drosophila : bithorax complex / Robert K. Maeda and François Karch Maintenance of hox gene expression patterns / Samantha Beck ... [et al.] Control of vertebrate hox clusters by remote and global CIS-acting regulatory sequences / François Spitz The early evolution of hox genes : a battle of belief? / Bernd Schierwater and Kai Kamm Evolution of hox complexes / David E.K. Ferrier The nematode story : hox gene loss and rapid evolution / Aziz Aboobaker and Mark Blaxter Are the deuterostome posterior hox genes a fast-evolving class? / Robert Lanfear Hox genes and the body plans of chelicerates and pycnogonids / Wim G.M. Damen Hox3/zen and the evolution of extraembryonic epithelia in insects / Urs Schmidt-Ott, Ab. Matteen Rafiqi and Steffen Lemke Hox genes and brain development in drosophila / Heinrich Reichert and Bruno Bello Homeosis and beyond : what is the function of the hox genes? / Jean S. Deutsch. Front Matter....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Regulation of Hox Activity: Insights from Protein Motifs....Pages 3-16 Cis -Regulation in the Drosophila Bithorax Complex....Pages 17-40 Maintenance of Hox Gene Expression Patterns....Pages 41-62 Control of Vertebrate Hox Clusters by Remote and Global Cis -Acting Regulatory Sequences....Pages 63-78 Front Matter....Pages 79-79 The Early Evolution of Hox Genes: A Battle of Belief?....Pages 81-90 Evolution of Hox Complexes....Pages 91-100 The Nematode Story: Hox Gene Loss and Rapid Evolution....Pages 101-110 Are the Deuterostome Posterior Hox Genes a Fast-Evolving Class?....Pages 111-122 Front Matter....Pages 123-123 Hox Genes and the Body Plans of Chelicerates and Pycnogonids....Pages 125-132 Hox3/zen and the Evolution of Extraembryonic Epithelia in Insects....Pages 133-144 Hox Genes and Brain Development in Drosophila....Pages 145-153 Homeosis and Beyond. What Is the Function of the Hox Genes?....Pages 155-165 Back Matter....Pages 167-169 The purpose of this book is to argue, and to convince those who may not agree, that the Hox genes are indeed so important that their study will not end with the 20th century. The book is divided into three major sections. The first section covers aspects of the regulation of Hox gene expression and the structure and function of the now justifiably well-known homeobox. The second section offers insights and discussions of the sometimes contentious issues of the origin and evolution of the aforementioned Hox complexes. In the third and last section the role of the resident loci in the specification of body plans and meristic identity of the arthropods is presented