Research delineates the role of homeotic genes in development and segment identity in Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting significant genetic interactions.
Homeotic mutations cause one part of an organism to develop into the likeness of another part (Bateson 1894; Ouweneel 1976). Evidence available to date, primarily from the study of Drosophila melanogaster, indicates that homeotic genes act to control development by selecting among alternative developmental pathways or programs. Many of the homeotic genes of Drosophila are clustered in two complexes called the bithorax complex (BX-C) (Lewis 1952, 1963, 1978, 1982) and the Antennapedia complex (ANT-C) (Kaufman et al. 1980). Genes of the BX-C regulate pattern formation in part of the thorax and in the abdomen, whereas different genes of the ANT-C function in the head, thorax, and abdomen. Genes in both complexes are commonly described as regulating "segmental identity."
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Laughon et al. (1985) studied this question.
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