Is there a link between changes in the vertebral "hox code" and the shape of vertebrae? A quantitative study of shape change in the cervical vertebral column of mice.

Homeobox (hox) genes are of considerable importance in the formation of the body axis of invertebrates and vertebrates. The postulation of a hox-code (i.e. the simultaneous activity of a certain subset of hox genes) for structures at different metameric levels and which differ from each other in shape suggests a relationship between hox-code and shape, which is reinforced by the possibility of homeotic transformation when the hox-code is changed experimentally. This paper considers the possible nature of such a relationship between the hox genes governing vertebral formation in the upper part of the mouse vertebral column and the shape of the adult vertebrae formed in this region.