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homeobox
EntityQ898769· pop 24· linked from 1,077 articles

Also known as Genes, Homeobox, homeodomain

A homeobox is a DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, that regulates large-scale anatomical features in the early stages of embryonic development. Mutations in a homeobox may change large-scale anatomical features of the full-grown organism.

Key facts

Protein family.Symbol
Homeodomain
Protein family.Name
Homeodomain
Protein family.image
Homeodomain-dna-1ahd.png
Protein family.caption
The Antennapedia homeodomain protein from Drosophila melanogaster bound to a fragment of DNA. The recognition helix and unstructured N-terminus are bound in the major and minor grooves respectively.
Protein family.Pfam
PF00046
Protein family.Pfam_clan
CL0123
Protein family.InterPro
IPR001356
Protein family.SMART
SM00389
Protein family.PROSITE
PDOC00027
Protein family.SCOP
1ahd
Protein family.PDB
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

via Wikipedia infobox

~16 min read

Encyclopedic overview

18 sections
Contents
  • Discovery
  • Homeodomain structure
  • Sequence specificity
  • Biological function
  • Regulation
  • Mutations
  • Evolution
  • Types of homeobox genes
  • Hox genes
  • LIM genes
  • Pax genes
  • POU genes
  • Plant homeobox genes
  • Human homeobox genes
  • See also
  • References
  • Further reading
  • External links

A homeobox is a DNA sequence, around 180 base pairs long, that regulates large-scale anatomical features in the early stages of embryonic development. Mutations in a homeobox may change large-scale anatomical features of the full-grown organism.

Homeoboxes are found within genes that are involved in the regulation of patterns of anatomical development (morphogenesis) in animals, fungi, plants, and numerous single cell eukaryotes. Homeobox genes encode homeodomain protein products that are transcription factors sharing a characteristic protein fold structure that binds DNA to regulate expression of target genes. Homeodomain proteins regulate gene expression and cell differentiation during early embryonic development, thus mutations in homeobox genes can cause developmental disorders.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “homeobox” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (6)