SHAPING UP WITH HEDGEHOGS - HOW A FRUIT-FLY GENE AND ITS VERTEBRATE HOMOLOGS FUNCTION IN GENERATING PATTERNS DURING ANIMAL DEVELOPMENT

Recent experiments in animals as diverse as fish, flies, chicken and m ice have examined the role of the hedgehod gene in specifying the shap e of tissues. These studies show, once again, how many of the elements of inter-cellular signalling are conserved between species. In additi on, they show how intrinsic properties of cells and the effects of the ir environment combine to specify pattern during animal development. T his brief review summarizes recent studies on hedgehog and its vertebr ate homologues.