Abstract
In 1952, Alan Turing published his last work on the concept of embryonic morphogenesis, propounding a computational framework for pattern formation within the developing embryo. This concept of morphogenesis and the concept of embryo pattern formation based on chemical diffusion patterns were corroborated with the discovery of the Homeobox or Hox genes. In the following decades, Hox gene research has expanded and is now shown to underlie the variety of morphological novelties that we experience in nature, the patterning of structural aspects of different organs including the brain and also mutant animals that may in the future give rise to novel speciation. Turing had the foresight and vision and with his work created the field of computational biology and mathematical modeling in biological systems. In this paper, we will discuss the concept of Hox genes, their role in patterning the embryo, how it relates to Turing’s concept of morphogenesis and what further insights they may provide.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bao AM, Swaab DF (2011) Sexual differentiation of the human brain: relation to gender identity, sexual orientation and neuropsychiatric disorders. Front Neuroendocrinol 32(2):214–226
Carroll SB (2000) Endless forms: the evolution of gene regulation and morphological diversity. Cell 101(6):577–580
Carroll SB (2008) Evo-devo and an expanding evolutionary synthesis: a genetic theory of morphological evolution. Cell 134:25–36
Carroll SB, Grenier J, Weatherbee S (2004) From DNA to diversity: molecular genetics and the evolution of animal design. Wiley, NY
Duboule D (1994) Guidebook to the Homeobox genes. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York
Duboule D, Dollé P (1989) The structural and functional organization of the murine HOX gene family resembles that of the Drosophila homeotic genes. EMBO J 8:1597–1605
Finnerty JR, Martindale MQ (1998) The evolution of the Hox cluster: insights from outgroups. Curr Opin Genet Dev 8:681–687
Foronda D, De Navas LF, Garaulet DL, Sánchez-Herrero. E (2009) Function and specificity of Hox genes. Int J Dev Biol 53(8–10):1404–1419. doi:10.1387/Ijdb.072462df
Gehring WJ (1985) The homeo box: a key to the understanding of development? Cell 40:3–5. doi:0092-8674(85)90300-9
Gehring WJ, Hiromi Y (1986) Homeotic genes and the homeobox. Annu Rev Genet 20:147–173
Graham A, Papalopulu N, Krumlauf R (1989) The murine and Drosophila homeobox gene complexes have common features of organization and expression. Cell 57:367–378
Kondo S, Asai R (1995) A reaction-diffusion wave on the skin of the marine angelfish Pomacanthus. Nature 376:765–768
Kondo S, Miura T (2010) Reaction-diffusion model as a framework for understanding biological pattern formation. Science 329(5999):1616–1620
Kondo S, Iwashita M, Yamaguchi M (2009) How animals get their skin patterns: fish pigment pattern as a live Turing wave. Int J Dev Biol 53(5–6):851–856. doi:10.1387/Ijdb.072502sk
Lawrence PA (1992) The making of a fly: the genetics of animal design. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford
Lewis EB (1978) A gene complex controlling segmentation in Drosophila. Nature 276:565–570
Lewis EB (1997) In: Ringertz N (ed) Nobel Lectures, physiology or medicine 1991–1995, World Scientific Publishing Co, Singapore
Lichtneckert R, Reichert H (2005) Insights Into the urbilaterian brain: conserved genetic patterning mechanisms in insect and vertebrate brain development. Heredity 94(5):465–477. doi:10.1038/Sj.Hdy.6800664
Lynch VJ, Wagner GP (2008) Resurrecting the role of transcription factor change in developmental evolution. Evolution 62:2131–2154
McGinnis W (1994) A century of homeosis, a decade of homeoboxes. Genetics 137:607–611
McGinnis W, Krumlauf R (1992) Homeobox genes and axial patterning. Cell 68:283–302
McGinnis W, Hart CP, Gehring WJ, Ruddle FH (1984) Molecular cloning and chromosome mapping of a mouse DNA sequence homologous to homeotic genes of Drosophila. Cell 38:675–680
Parichy DM, Turner JM (2003) Temporal and cellular requirements for Fms signaling during zebrafish adult pigment pattern development. Development 130:817–833
Pearson JC, Lemons D, Mcginnis W (2005) Modulating Hox gene functions during animal body patterning. Nat Rev Genet 6:893–904
Pick L, Heffer A (2012) Hox gene evolution: multiple mechanisms contributing to evolutionary novelties. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1256(May):15–32. doi:10.1111/J.1749-6632.2011.06385.X
Savic I, Garcia-Falgueras A, Swaab DF (2010) Sexual differentiation of the human brain in relation to gender identity and sexual orientation. Prog Brain Res 186:41–62
Sick S, Reinker S, Timmer J, Schlake T (2006) WNT and DKK determine hair follicle spacing through a reaction-diffusion mechanism. Science 314:1447–1450
Stern DL (1998) A role of ultrabithorax in morphological differences between Drosophila species. Nature 396:463–466
Turing AM (1952) The chemical basis of morphogenesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 237(641):37–72
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr. Victoria Vesna for inviting me to the conference and Dr. Yuval Marton for his comments on the paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ramakrishnan, S. Morphogenesis, morphology and men: pattern formation from embryo to mind. AI & Soc 28, 549–552 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-013-0504-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-013-0504-9