omb and circumstance

Since its isolation in a behavioral screen in 1971, work on the gene, optomotor-blind (omb, FlyBase: bifid, bi), has proceeded in many laboratories. The Drosophila T-box transcription factor, Omb, is active in several developmental processes, in particular in those of wing, eye, and abdominal tergites and optic lobes. The orthologous genes, TBX2 and TBX3, are found overexpressed or amplified in an increasing number of human cancers, emphasizing the importance of Tbx genes also in postdevelopmental processes. This review summarizes recent findings pertaining to omb and orthologous genes.