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Hox genes and the making of sphincters

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Hoxd genes are needed for the formation of sphincters to subdivide the developing gut.

Abstract

As well as their shared role in the anteroposterior patterning of vertebrates1, particular Hox gene com-plexes have evolved specific functions. For example, four consecutive genes of the HoxD cluster contribute to making proper digits2,3. Functional studies of such traits are difficult because there is a high genetic redundancy4, which means that several gene inactivations in cis are needed to analyse these global regulations. We have used a HoxD mini-complex in mice to show that an overlapping, yet different, set of Hoxd genes contributes to the formation of a major anatomical and physiological subdivision of the gut, the ileocaecal sphincter, which divides the small intestine from the large bowel.

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Figure 1: Hoxd genes and subdivision of the gut.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Geneva, Sciences III, Quai Ernest Ansermet 30, Geneva, 1211 4, Switzerland

    József Zákány & Denis Duboule

Authors
  1. József Zákány
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  2. Denis Duboule
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Correspondence to Denis Duboule.

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Zákány, J., Duboule, D. Hox genes and the making of sphincters. Nature 401, 761–762 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/44511

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