Science News August 29, 2019
Every animal, from an ant to a human, contains in their genome pieces of DNA called Hox genes which dictate how embryos grow into adults, including where a developing animal puts its head, legs and other body parts. An international team of researchers (Spain, Columbia University) stumbled upon a small piece of regulatory DNA, called vvI1+2, that appeared to be regulated by all the fruit fly’s eight Hox genes. Their analyses provided a precise road map of Hox binding sites in vvI1+2, which could be applied to a living fruit fly. By employing a combination of elegant genetic manipulations in living, or in vivo, fly embryos, together with advanced biochemical and computational analysis, they could then systematically manipulate Hox target activity with an unprecedented level of precision. The finding offers a new path forward for researchers hoping to make sense of a process that is equal parts chaotic and precise, and that is critical to understanding not only growth and development but also aging and disease…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE