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We address a controversy over use of the term “gene drive” to include both natural and synthetic genetic elements that promote their own transmission within a population, arguing that this broad definition is both practical and has advantages for risk analysis.

Genes linked to brahma (brm), a stimulator of homeotic gene expression in Drosophila, were screened to establish possible regulators of Hox gene expression. brg1, a cloned murine gene, may be a DNA-dependent ATPase or a helicase, because it encodes a member of the DEGH proteins family. Hox gene regulation and other regulatory routes may involve the action of brg1.

The Antennapedia Complex (ANT-C) of Drosophila (D) pseudoobscura was cloned to determine the rigidity of its organization and to provide further understanding of its evolutionary changes. Results revealed that the structural characteristics of ANT-C in D pseudoobscura is highly identical with that found in D melanogaster, except that the psudoobscura ANT-C lacks the z2 gene. In addition, in D pseudoobscura, the Deformed gene's orientation is inverted and has a 5' to 3' transcription direction. These indicate that the ANT-C structure is not rigid and can be altered even during a short period of evolutionary divergence.