Open AccessClass 3 Hox genes in insects and the origin of zen.
Author(s) -
Francesco Falciani,
Bernhard Hausdorf,
Reinhard Schröder,
Michael Akam,
Diethard Tautz,
Robin E. Denell,
Susan J. Brown
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.93.16.8479
Subject(s) - hox gene , biology , homeobox , gene , homeotic gene , genetics , drosophila (subgenus) , lineage (genetic) , gene cluster , function (biology) , locust , evolutionary biology , phenotype , transcription factor , botany
We have cloned, from a beetle and a locust, genes that are homologous to the class 3 Hox genes of vertebrates. Outside the homeobox they share sequence motifs with the Drosophila zerknüllt (zen) and z2 genes, and like zen, are expressed only in extraembryonic membranes. We conclude that the zen genes of Drosophila derive from a Hox class 3 sequence that formed part of the common ancestral Hox cluster, but that in insects this (Hox) gene has lost its role in patterning the anterio-posterior axis of the embryo, and acquired a new function. In the lineage leading to Drosophila, the zen genes have diverged particularly rapidly.