text: Some amphibians and reptiles have the ability to regenerate limbs, eyes, spinal cords, hearts, intestines, and upper and lower jaws. The Japanese fire belly newt can regenerate its eye lens 18 times over a period of 16 years and retain its structural and functional properties. The cells at the site of the injury have the ability to undifferentiate, reproduce rapidly, and differentiate again to create a new limb or organ.
  Hox genes are a group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis. They are responsible for body segment differentiation and express the arrangement of numerous body components during initial embryonic development.  Primarily, these sets of genes are utilized during the development of body plans by coding for the transcription factors that trigger production of body segment specific structures. Additionally in most animals, these genes are laid out along the chromosome similar to the order in which they are expressed along the anterior–posterior axis.
  Variants of the Hox genes are found almost in every phylum with the exception of the sponge which use a different type of developmental genes. The homology of these genes is of important interest to scientists as they may hold more answers to the evolution of many species. In fact, these genes demonstrate such a high degree of homology that a human Hox gene variant – HOXB4 – could mimic the function of its homolog in the fruit fly (Drosophila). Studies suggest that the regulation and other target genes in different species are actually what causes such a great difference in phenotypic difference between species.
  Hox genes contain a DNA sequence known as the homeobox that are involved in the regulation of patterns of anatomical development. They contain a specific DNA sequence with the aim of providing instructions for making a string of 60 protein building blocks - amino acids- which are referred to as the homeodomain. Most homeodomain-containing proteins function as transcription factors and fundamentally bind and regulate the activity of different genes. The homeodomain is the segment of the protein that binds to precise regulatory regions of the target genes.  Genes within the homeobox family are implicated in a wide variety of significant activities during growth. These activities include directing the development of limbs and organs along the anterior-posterior axis and regulating the process by which cells mature to carry out specific functions, a process known as cellular differentiation. Certain homeobox genes can act tumor suppressors, which means they help prevent cells from growing and dividing too rapidly or in an uncontrolled way.
  Due to the fact that homeobox genes have so many important functions, mutations in these genes are accountable for a wide array of developmental disorders. Changes in certain homeobox genes often result in eye disorders, cause abnormal head, face, and tooth development. Additionally, increased or decreased activity of certain homeobox genes has been associated with several forms of cancer later in life.