Mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, a number that remains remarkably constant. I
propose that the lack of variation is caused by developmental constraints: to wit, changes in …

Ever since their first report in 1984, Antennapedia-type homeobox (Hox) genes have been
involved in such a series of interesting observations, in particular due to their conserved …

HOX genes specify cell fate in the anterior-posterior axis of animal embryos. Invertebrate
chordates have one HOX cluster, but mammals have four, suggesting that cluster duplication …

Contemporary research in the field of evolutionary developmental biology, or'evo-devo', has
to date been predominantly devoted to interpreting basic features of animal architecture in …

Gene targeting experiments have shown that the murine Hoxa-13 and Hoxd-13 paralogous
genes control skeletal patterning in the distal region of the developing limbs. However, both …

External genital development begins with formation of paired genital swellings, which
develop into the genital tubercle. Proximodistal outgrowth and axial patterning of the genital …

Classical embryological experiments suggest that a posterior signal is required for
patterning the developing anteroposterior axis. In this paper, we investigate a potential role …

The Hox genes are implicated in conferring regional identity to the anteroposterior axis of
the developing embryo. We have characterized the organization and expression of hox …

The segmental heritage of all vertebrates is evident in the character of the vertebral column.
And yet, the extent to which direct translation of pattern from the somitic mesoderm and de …

The vertebrate Dlx gene family consists of homeobox-containing transcription factors
distributed in pairs on the same chromosomes as the Hox genes. To investigate the …