Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (4): 999-1009.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.04.001

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Hox Gene Family and Its Effects on Spine Formation in Animals

LI Taotao1, JIN Meilin1, FEI Xiaojuan1, WANG Huihua1, LU Jian2, DI Ran1, WEI Caihong1,*   

  1. 1. Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    2. National Animal Husbandry Station, Beijing 100193, China
  • Received:2021-08-17 Online:2022-04-23 Published:2022-04-25

Abstract: Hox genes encode conserved transcription factors that control skeletal patterning in the developing embryo. They are expressed in restricted domains and function to regulate the morphology of specific vertebral elements. It has been more than 40 years since the gene family was first discovered in drosophila. The updated studies allow an emerging understanding of Hox genes function in patterning the vertebrate axial skeleton. This review summarizes genetic and embryologic findings regarding the role of Hox genes in establishing axial morphology and how these combined results impact the current understanding for the vertebrate Hox control, which will be of great help in studying vertebrate morphology and quantitative variation of animals.

Key words: Hox genes, embryo, axial skeleton, vertebrate morphology

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