Vertebrate aristaless-related genes

Aristaless-related genes, a subset of the Paired-related homeobox genes, ha ve in the past few years emerged as a group of regulators of essential even ts during vertebrate embryogenesis. One group of aristaless-related genes h as been linked to the morphogenesis of the craniofacial and appendicular sk eleton by their expression patterns and by the phenotypes of natural and ar tificial mouse mutants. Expression and function in the nervous system chara cterise a second group, and a third group, the Pitx genes, have been shown to have many different roles, including functions in the pituitary, left-ri ght determination and limb development.