Hox proteins provide positional cues along the anterior posterior axis in majority of animals on this planet. This positional information is crucial in segment specific morphogenesis. Hox proteins is a part of antennapedia class of proteins, which consists of about 100 genes in bilaterians , divided into 30 gene families belonging to four major groups: HOX / PARAHOX genes (45 genes, four gene families), HOX-related genes (nine genes, five gene families), NK genes (16 genes, seven gene families), and NK-related genes (28 genes, 18 pseudogenes, 14 gene families). (1041)

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Two developmental biologists Nicholas Gompel and Benjamin Prudhomme from the Institute of Developmental Biology of Marseilles-Luminy in France, and their colleagues  have unraveled the origin and evolution of helmets in treehoppers, This means these hemipterans have achieved what no other insect was able to in more than 300 million years of evolution : a third pair of wing in first segment of thorax which is modified in helmet by tinkering the developmental cues required for dorsal appendage formation. (278)

Today in the third and last part of “Top 15 articles on Hox function” series ( In case if you are new here ,the first two parts can be read here and here ),we see five outstanding articles related to Hox function. So here it goes:
11) Study by Passner et al determined the crystal structure of an Ultrabithorax-Extradenticle-DNA complex at 2.4A° resolution, using the minimal polypeptides that form a cooperative heterodimer. It was first of its kind, where crystal structure of proteins was determined on physiological target. The HD …

So moving further into the series of “Top 15 articles on Hox function” ( In case you missed, read part I here ).
6) This article in fact set the trend for many to follow and one of my all time favorite- Steve cohen lab’s showed for the very first time that Distalless (dll) is a direct hox target and repression of this gene by Hox is vital for abdominal specification in fly. Vachon et al. had identified a minimal cis-regulatory enhancer element that directs Dll expression in the larval …

Ever since the landmark Paper of Ed Lewis in Nature 1978 ,deciphering the Bithorax complex in Fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster ,a number of papers contributed significantly in our understanding hox gene function in Drosophila and other metazoans. Today we take a look at my Favourite 15 Hox articles ( mostly on Drosophila ) that helped understanding function of these master regulators.Remember this list doesn’t include articles related to regulation of Hox genes , but only about discovery and function of Hox genes.
1) No points for guessing correct,The list begins with …

A novel mechanism of Hox proteins was deciphered by the group of Brian Gebelein ,where in Hox protein Abdominal -A (abd-A) permits secretion of EGF in Peripheral nervous system(PNS) by promoting rhomboid expression and by competing out senseless.
Hox genes are known for their selector activity which sculpt the body plan along anterior posterior axis. Hox protein control patterning of body plan in almost all metazoans by regulating distinct cells, tissues, and organs. So understanding how Hox proteins function is utmost important for better understanding of development and evolution. (416)

Genetics is a discipline initially worked out by Gregor Mendel (Austrian monk) using common pea plants in his garden.Since then many great minds used genetics to understand important problems of biology, including the study of evolution and how plants and animals develop. The power of genetics and its importance to mankind was first time recognized by the award of Nobel prize in Physiology or medicine in 1933 to T.H.Morgan . The role of his students, especially A.H.Sturtevant, C.B. Bridges and H.J.Muller was immense in making Drosophila, a powerful model system …