Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về y học được đăng trên tạp chí y học Minireview cung cấp cho các bạn kiến thức về ngành y đề tài: Hox go omics: insights from Drosophila into Hox gene targets. | Minireview Hox go omics insights from Drosophila into Hox gene targets Anastasios Pavlopoulos and Michael Akam Address Laboratory for Development and Evolution University Museum of Zoology Department of Zoology Downing Street Cambridge CB2 3EJ UK. Correspondence Anastasios Pavlopoulos. Email ap448@ Published 29 March 2007 Genome Biology 2007 8 208 doi gb-2007-8-3-208 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http 2007 8 3 208 2007 BioMed Central Ltd Abstract Genetic studies of the targets of the Hox genes have revealed only the tip of the iceberg. Recent microarray studies that have identified hundreds more transcriptional responses to Hox genes in Drosophila will help elucidate the role of Hox genes in development and evolution. Hox genes are well known for their role in specifying segmental identities 1 a role highlighted by homeotic mutant flies with a leg in place of an antenna or four wings instead of two. Present in all bilaterian animals Hox genes encode homeodomain transcription factors that operate in many different tissues and cell types and modulate a wide range of cell responses by controlling the expression of subordinate target genes 2 . The complexity of the regulatory networks controlled by Hox genes together with the short and degenerate DNA sites at which Hox proteins bind have hampered the identification of their target genes 3 . Nevertheless the identification of Hox-regulated gene networks is fundamental if we are to understand the developmental processes of morphogenesis and cell differentiation in animals and in particular the evolution and functional diversification of serially homologous structures. Many groups have started to use microarray profiling to systematically detect genes differentially expressed as the result of the activity of Hox genes. The sensitivity of this technique for identifying biologically relevant targets of Hox genes has been questioned .
