Abstract
The first reports of the presence of the homeobox domain in Drosophila homeotic genes and the subsequent suggestion that this domain was conserved in a wide range of organisms generated a great deal of excitement among researchers interested in mammalian development. This domain contains 61 amino acids and provides the DNA binding function to a larger protein (McGinnis et al 1984 a,b; Scott and Weiner 1984). The suggestion that these proteins are transcription factors, now supported by a substantial amount of data, provides an activity consistent with these acting as regulators of developmental processes (Krasnow et al 1989; Struhl et al 1989; Ohkuma et al 1990). The vertebrate developmental biologists using these conserved domains as molecular probes have a direct route to genes which would predictably have similar properties in their chosen organisms of study.
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Hill, R.E., Davidson, D.R. (1991). Expression of the Msh-Like Homebox-Containing Genes during Mouse Limb Development. In: Hinchliffe, J.R., Hurle, J.M., Summerbell, D. (eds) Developmental Patterning of the Vertebrate Limb. NATO ASI Series, vol 205. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3310-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3310-8_3
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