Roles of Hox genes: what we have learnt from gain of function and loss of function mutations in the mouse

Transgenic mice expressing ectopically a gene from one of the Hox complexes, and mice carrying a null mutation in a Hox gene, provide useful tools for studying the roles of this gene family during development. Here, we discuss the phenotypes of two kinds of Hox mutant mice which show that vertebrate Hox genes are functional homologues of Drosophila genes of the HOM-C complex.