Int. J. Dev. Biol. 62: 665 - 671 (2018)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180305rr

Vol 62, Issue 11-12

Special Issue: Homeobox genes

A scientific journey in the garden of the Hox genes: an interview with Jacqueline Deschamps

Published: 12 December 2018

Françoise Gofflot*^,1, Lucie Jeannotte*^,2 and René Rezsohazy*^,1

¹Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium and ²Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval, CRCHU de Québec, Québec, Canada

Abstract

For this Special Issue of The International Journal of Develomental Biology on Hox genes, the guest editors met Jacqueline Deschamps for an interview about her research career dedicated to understanding how Hox gene expression is initiated, maintained and functionally utilized in the mouse embryo. We describe here her journey through some of the main discoveries which led to our current knowledge about how Hox genes contribute to shaping the animal body plan. This journey was a human adventure also, of more than 30 years, in the light of which Jacqueline Deschamps delivers here messages to the younger generations of scientists.

Keywords

Hox, Cdx, Wnt, mouse embryo, body plan, embryo patterning, embryo elongation, gene regulation