Degnan B M, Degnan S M, Giusti A, Morse D E
Marine Biotechnology Center, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106, USA.
Gene. 1995 Apr 3;155(2):175-7. doi: 10.1016/0378-1119(94)00908-b.
The hox/hom homeobox genes code for DNA-binding proteins that confer positional information during animal development; these genes have been found in a wide range of triploblasts and in cnidarians. We report here the identification of a hox/hom gene and two other homeobox genes in the genomes of sponges. This finding extends the detection of hox/hom genes to the lowest metazoan phylum and suggests a monophyletic origin of the kingdom Animalia. Because, in culture, sponge cells quickly reaggregate, differentiate and construct tissue after disaggregation, they can provide a useful model system for characterization of the basic roles of homeobox genes in the control of cellular differentiation.
Hox/Hom 同源异型框基因编码在动物发育过程中赋予位置信息的 DNA 结合蛋白；这些基因已在广泛的三胚层动物和刺胞动物中被发现。我们在此报告在海绵基因组中鉴定出一个 Hox/Hom 基因和另外两个同源异型框基因。这一发现将 Hox/Hom 基因的检测扩展到了最低等的后生动物门，并暗示了动物界的单系起源。由于在培养中，海绵细胞在分散后能迅速重新聚集、分化并构建组织，它们可为表征同源异型框基因在控制细胞分化中的基本作用提供一个有用的模型系统。
