The International Journal of Developmental Biology

Volume 62 > Issue 11-12 (Special Issue)

Cover Vol. 62 N. 11-12

Homeobox genes

Edited by: Françoise Gofflot, Lucie Jeannotte and René Rezsohazy

Cover Legend

The pioneering work of Ed Lewis, summarized in his founding paper published in Nature in 1978, forty years ago, revealed that the “homeotic” genes of the bithorax complex confer distinct identities to the different segments of the Drosophila melanogaster fruit fly. Mutations in the Ubx gene lead to transformation of appendages in the T2 and T3 segments, resulting in a second set of wings observed in the "bithorax" phenotype, illustrated on the cover. For further details, see Lewis, E.B. (1998), The bithorax complex: the first fifty years, Int. J. Dev. Biol. 42: 403-415, and Krumlauf, R. (2018), Hox genes, cluster and collinearity, Int. J. Dev. Biol. 62: 659-663. As early as 1978, it appeared that Hox genes contribute to controling the development of all bilaterian animals and are involved in a vast repertoire of biological activities. The seminal discoveries of homeotic genes paved the way for a wealth of research and engendered a community of scientists who perpetuate the excitement of revealing the world of Hox genes and HOX proteins.

Preface

Four decades of Hox gene investigation and many more to go

Françoise Gofflot, Lucie Jeannotte and René Rezsohazy

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 653-657

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180332fg

Introductory papers

Hox genes, clusters and collinearity

Robb Krumlauf

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 659-663

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180330rr

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

Françoise Gofflot, Lucie Jeannotte and René Rezsohazy

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

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

Origin and regulation

Hox cluster genes and collinearities throughout the tree of animal life

Stephen J. Gaunt

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 673-683

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180162sg

The remote transcriptional control of Hox genes

Claudia Gentile and Marie Kmita

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 685-692

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180198mk

Regulatory landscape of the Hox transcriptome

Ana Casaca, Gabriel M. Hauswirth, Heidi Bildsoe, Moisés Mallo and Edwina Mcglinn

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 693-704

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180270em

Contributions of 5’HoxA/D regulation to actinodin evolution and the fin-to-limb transition

Robert L. Lalonde and Marie-Andrée Akimenko

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 705-716

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180248rl

Mouse embryo Hox gene enhancers assayed in cell culture: Hoxb4, b8 and a7 are activated by Cdx1 protein

Stephen J. Gaunt

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 717-722

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180157sg

HOX protein characteristics and action

Hox transcription factors: an overview of multi-step regulators of gene expression

Julie Carnesecchi, Pedro B. Pinto and Ingrid Lohmann

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 723-732

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180294il

Post-translational modifications of HOX proteins, an underestimated issue

Amandine Draime, Laure Bridoux, Yacine Graba and René Rezsohazy

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 733-744

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180178rr

Evolution of the activation domain in a Hox transcription factor

Ying Liu, Annie Huang, Rebecca M. Booth, Gabriela Geraldo Mendes, Zabeena Merchant, Kathleen S. Matthews and Sarah E. Bondos

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 745-753

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180151sb

Fattening the perspective of Hox protein specificity through SLiMming

Lucrezia Rinaldi, Andrew J. Saurin and Yacine Graba

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 755-766

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180306yg

Biological and pathological functions of HOX proteins and co-factors

Developing roles for Hox proteins in hindbrain gene regulatory networks

Priyanjali Ghosh and Charles G. Sagerström

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 767-774

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180141cs

Hox genes in the pharyngeal region: how Hoxa3 controls early embryonic development of the pharyngeal organs

Julie Gordon

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 775-783

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180284jg

HOXA5 protein expression and genetic fate mapping show lineage restriction in the developing musculoskeletal system

Miriam A. Holzman, Jenna M. Bergmann, Maya Feldman, Kim Landry-Truchon, Lucie Jeannotte and Jennifer H. Mansfield

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 785-796

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180214jm

Role of Hox genes in regulating digit patterning

Rocío Pérez-Gómez, Endika Haro, Marc Fernández-Guerrero, María F. Bastida and María A. Ros

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 797-805

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180200mr

Emerging roles for HOX proteins in synaptogenesis

Françoise Gofflot and Benoit Lizen

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 807-818

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180299fg

OPEN ACCESS

The genetics and the molecular functions of the PREP1 homeodomain transcription factor

Divya Purushothaman and Francesco Blasi

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 819-825

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180238fb

Prep1 (pKnox1) transcription factor contributes to pubertal mammary gland branching morphogenesis

Lara Sicouri, Federica Pisati, Salvatore Pece, Francesco Blasi and Elena Longobardi

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 827-836

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180278fb

Hox and Tale transcription factors in heart development and disease

Fabienne Lescroart and Stephane Zaffran

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 837-846

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180192sz

HOX genes in normal, engineered and malignant hematopoiesis

Emma M. Collins and Alexander Thompson

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 847-856

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180206at

Lung cancer susceptibility genetic variants modulate HOXB2 expression in the lung

Alisson Clemenceau, Olivier Boucherat, Kim Landry-Truchon, Maxime Lamontagne, Sabrina Biardel, Philippe Joubert, Stéphane Gobeil, Blandine Secco, Mathieu Laplante, Mathieu Morissette, Ma’en Obeidat, Wim Timens, Lucie Jeannotte and Yohan Bossé

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 857-864

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180210yb

A systematic survey of HOX and TALE expression profiling in human cancers

Yunlong Jia, Françoise Bleicher and Samir Merabet

Int. J. Dev. Biol. (2018) 62: 865-876

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.180286fb