Balancing import and export in development

Characterization of the homeoprotein-containing regulatory complexes, when it comes, will be helpful to elucidation of molecular mechanisms that underlie the control of morphological diversity by Hox genes in animal development. Effects of hexapeptide mutations in vivo on targets that are well defined will make the investigation of the HOX proteins possible in the absence of cooperativity. Mutations in homeodomains that get rid of DNA binding may give some insight into composition of the complex on in vivo targets.