Antennapedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antennapedia is a hox gene in Drosophila which controls placement of legs. A loss-of-function mutation in the regulatory region of this gene can result in the conversion of the second leg pair into ectopic antennae. This is just one illustration of the tendency of organisms to exhibit variations on a theme, modulated repetition. Legs and antennae are related much as molars and incisors or fingers and thumbs, arms and legs are. In contrast gain-of-function alleles convert antenna into ectopic legs.

Antennapedia also refers to a gene complex in Drosophila which is responsible for formation and differentiation of the thoracic and head segments of the fly's body.