Expression of a Hox gene, Cnox-2, and the division of labor in a colonial hydroid.

Cartwright, P; Bowsher, J; Buss, L W · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 1999

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We report the isolation and expression of the Hox gene, Cnox-2, in Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus, a hydrozoan displaying division of labor. We found different patterns of aboral-to-oral Cnox-2 expression among polyp polymorphs, and we show that experimental conversion of one polyp type to another is accompanied by concordant alteration in Cnox-2 expression. Our results are consistent with the suggestion that polyp polymorphism, characteristic of hydractiniid hydroids, arose via evolutionary modification of proportioning of head to body column.

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