First published online May 5, 2004
Development 131, 1005e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Face the homeotic truth
During vertebrate development, the facial skeleton forms from the segmental
pharyngeal arches. Hox genes specify segmental identity throughout the
pharyngeal arches: altered Hox expression causes homeotic transformations of
facial skeletal elements. Now, Miller and co-workers report that Moz
(monocytic leukaemia zinc finger) regulates Hox expression and pharyngeal
segmental identity in zebrafish (see
p. 2443). To identify
genes involved in specifying segmental identity, the researchers looked for
mutations affecting cartilage patterning in the zebrafish larval pharynx. They
homed in on a mutant with a mirror image duplication of jaw cartilages in
place of the normal second-arch cartilages, a pattern seen in zebrafish with
reduced hox2 expression. They identify the mutated gene as a
zebrafish orthologue of the human oncogene MOZ, a histone acetyltransferase.
Inhibition of histone deacetylase activity rescues the defective Hox gene
expression and homeosis in moz mutants. These results indicate that
Moz maintains Hox gene expression through a process involving chromatin
remodelling.
Related articles in Development:
- moz regulates Hox expression and pharyngeal segmental identity in zebrafish
- Craig T. Miller, Lisa Maves, and Charles B. Kimmel
Development 2004 131: 2443-2461.
[Abstract]
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