Bithorax complex

Homeobox gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster

The Bithorax complex (BX-C) is a group of homeotic genes in Drosophila melanogaster which are believed to control the differentiation of the abdominal and posterior thoracic segments, located on chromosome III.[1] When these genes are mutated, the third thoracic segment becomes a repeat of the second thoracic segment, creating what is essentially a second thorax. This can result in a second pair of wings, a second stomach, and duplicated thoracic features in varying degrees.[2]

The complex includes Ultrabithorax (Ubx), Abdominal A (abd-A) and Abdominal B (Abd-B).[3]

Calvin Bridges discovered Bithorax (mutation/gene) in the fly in 1915; after that, Edward B. Lewis named and worked on the Bithorax complex[4] and proposed a model in a classic Nature paper in 1978 and was given a Nobel Prize.[5]

References

  1. ↑ McGinnis, W.; Levine, M. S.; Hafen, E.; Kuroiwa, A.; Gehring, W. J. (1984). "A conserved DNA sequence in homoeotic genes of the Drosophila Antennapedia and bithorax complexes". Nature 308 (5958): 428–33. doi:10.1038/308428a0. PMID 6323992.
  2. ↑ Dang, KD; Dutt, PB; Forsdyke, DR (1998). "Chargaff difference analysis of the bithorax complex of Drosophila melanogaster". Biochemistry and Cell Biology 76 (1): 129–37. doi:10.1139/bcb-76-1-129. PMID 9666315.
  3. ↑ Developmental biology. Scott F. Gilbert
  4. ↑ Crow, JF; Bender, W (2004). "Edward B. Lewis, 1918-2004". Genetics 168 (4): 1773–83. PMC 1448758. PMID 15611154.
  5. ↑ Lewis, E. B. (1978). "A gene complex controlling segmentation in Drosophila". Nature 276 (5688): 565–70. doi:10.1038/276565a0. PMID 103000.


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