HOX genes encode transcriptional factors that play a pivotal role in specifying regional
identity in nearly every bilateral animal. The birth of HOX gene cluster and its subsequent …

Background The human chromosomes 2q, 7, 12q and 17q show extensive intra-genomic
homology, containing duplicate, triplicate and quadruplicate paralogous regions centered …

Although all bilaterian animals have a related set of Hox genes, the genomic organization of
this gene complement comes in different flavors. In some unrelated species, Hox genes are …

As a result of two-round whole genome duplications, four or more paralogous Hox clusters
exist in vertebrate genomes. The paralogous genes in the Hox clusters show similar …

While the proposal that large-scale genome expansions occurred early in vertebrate
evolution is widely accepted, the exact mechanisms of the expansion—such as a single or …

Background Ever since the theory about two rounds of genome duplication (2R) in the
vertebrate lineage was proposed, the Hox gene clusters have served as the prime example …

The fact that there are four homeobox (Hox) clusters in most vertebrates but only one in
invertebrates is often cited as evidence for the hypothesis that two rounds of genome …

Hox genes in vertebrates are clustered, and the organization of the clusters has been highly
conserved during evolution. The conservation of Hox clusters has been attributed to …

Recent years have seen a plethora of ideas and hypotheses, and lots of debate, about the
origin and evolution of the Hox gene cluster. Here I will attempt to summarize these …

Many chromosome regions in the human genome exist in four similar copies, suggesting
that the entire genome was duplicated twice in early vertebrate evolution, a concept called …