The rise and fall of Hox gene clusters
Open accessAbstract
Although all bilaterian animals have a related set of Hox genes, the genomic organization of this gene complement comes in different flavors. In some unrelated species, Hox genes are clustered; in others, they are not. This indicates that the bilaterian ancestor had a clustered Hox gene family and that, subsequently, this genomic organization was either maintained or lost. Remarkably, the tightest organization is found in vertebrates, raising the embarrassingly finalistic possibility that vertebrates have maintained best this ancestral configuration. Alternatively, could they have co-evolved with an increased `organization' of the Hox clusters, possibly linked to their genomic amplification, which would be at odds with our current perception of evolutionary mechanisms? When discussing the why's and how's of Hox gene clustering, we need to account for three points: the mechanisms of cluster evolution; the underlying biological constraints; and the developmental modes of the animals under consideration. By integrating these parameters, general conclusions emerge that can help solve the aforementioned dilemma. “See my son, here time becomes space” Gurnemanz, in Parsifal (R. Wagner)
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Hox genes in bilaterian animals often occur in a cluster, the order of which is generally conserved across animal groups that diverged hundreds of millions of years ago.
“In perhaps the most famous case, Hox genes in bilaterian animals often occurs in a cluster, the order of which is generally conserved across animal groups that diverged hundreds of millions of years ago (147).”
From Topological Approaches in Animal Comparative Genomics (2026) · cites this paper as [147]
Cites
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Self-citationMinimal ProtoHox cluster inferred from bilaterian and cnidarian Hox complements
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- Authors
- Duboule, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Geneva (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Duboule, Denis
- ORCID
- Duboule, Denis
- Venue
- Development
- Publisher
- The Company of Biologists
- Published
- 2007-07-15
- Volume
- 134
- Issue
- 14
- Pages
- 2549-2560
- ISSN
- 0950-1991 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-9129
- OpenAlex
- W2135271831
- Cited by
- 525
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 28 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 36
- FWCI
- 2.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- infoscience.epfl.ch
- Locations
- Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion)
- Infoscience (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Chromosomal and Genetic Variations
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics
- Keywords
- Hox genes, Hox gene clusters, genome organization, gene amplification, evolutionary constraints, developmental mode
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Multigene Family, Humans, Phylogeny, Homeodomain Proteins, Evolution, Molecular
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