Somewhere in the middle of chromosome 12 lies a series of genes known as homeotic genes. These are known to be responsible for the specialisation of cells during growth into various body parts. All of these homeotic genes share a common sequence 180 'letters' long.
These are laid out along the chromosome in an order that mirrors the body ie head next to neck next to upper body etc.
But these genes are common to the fruit fly, mice and humans (and presumably other animals as well). It is possible to take one of these genes from a mouse and use to replace a defective gene in a human or fruit fly even though we look so dissimilar.
wow !
No comments:
Post a Comment