Hox genes

Hox genes encode transcription factors that help assign positional identities to cells along animal body axes. Their ordered expression helps organize structures from head to tail.

Homeobox: A conserved DNA sequence encoding a protein domain that binds specific DNA sites. Hox proteins use this domain to regulate genes at particular positions.
Transcription factor: A protein that binds DNA or associated proteins to regulate gene transcription. Hox genes encode this broad class of regulators.
Homeotic gene: A developmental gene whose mutation can transform one body part or region into another. Hox genes are a major group of animal homeotic genes.
Drosophila melanogaster: A fruit fly species widely used in genetics and developmental biology. Its Hox mutations made transformations of segment identity experimentally visible.
Hox protein: A transcription factor encoded by a Hox gene and containing a homeodomain. These proteins translate Hox gene expression into changes in target-gene activity.
Gene expression: The processes by which information in a gene is used to produce functional RNA or protein. Hox function depends on where and when these genes are expressed.
Antennapedia complex: A cluster of Drosophila Hox genes that patterns the head and anterior thorax. It is one of the two gene clusters in the classic fly Hox system.
Ubx: A Hox gene in Drosophila that helps specify identity of posterior thoracic and abdominal segments. Ubx loss can transform haltere-bearing segments toward wing-bearing identity.
Colinearity: The correspondence between gene order in a cluster and the spatial or temporal order of gene expression. Hox clusters often activate in sequence matching their arrangement and domains along the body.
Embryonic development: The process by which an embryo forms and organizes its tissues and structures. Hox genes act during development to assign regional identities.

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