 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (June 2015) |
| Homeotic protein antennapedia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | |||||||
| Organism | |||||||
| Symbol | antp | ||||||
| UniProt | P02833 | ||||||
| |||||||
Antennapedia (abbreviated Antp) is a Hox gene first discovered in Drosophila which controls the formation of legs during development. Loss-of-function mutations in the regulatory region of this gene result in the development of the second leg pair into ectopic antennae. By contrast gain-of-function alleles convert antennae into ectopic legs.[1]
This is just one illustration of the tendency of organisms to exhibit variations on a theme: modulated repetition. Legs and antennae are related to one another as much as molars are to incisors, fingers are to toes, and arms are to legs.
Antp also refers to a gene complex (ANT-C) in Drosophila ending with the Antp gene. It is responsible for formation and differentiation of the thoracic and head segments of the fly's body.
- ^ Schneuwly S, Klemenz R, Gehring WJ (1987). "Redesigning the body plan of Drosophila by ectopic expression of the homoeotic gene Antennapedia". Nature. 325 (6107): 816–8. Bibcode:1987Natur.325..816S. doi:10.1038/325816a0. PMID 3821869. S2CID 4320668.