Mouse fitness measures reveal incomplete functional redundancy of Hox paralogous group 1 proteins.

Here we assess the fitness consequences of the replacement of the Hoxa1 coding region with its paralog Hoxb1 in mice (Mus musculus) residing in semi-natural enclosures. Previously, this Hoxa1B1 swap was reported as resulting in no discernible embryonic or physiological phenotype (i.e.

Fitness Assays Reveal Incomplete Functional Redundancy of the HoxA1 and HoxB1 Paralogs of Mice.

Gene targeting techniques have led to the phenotypic characterization of numerous genes; however, many genes show minimal to no phenotypic consequences when disrupted, despite many having highly conserved sequences. The standard explanation for these findings is functional redundancy. A competing hypothesis is that these genes have important ecological functions in natural environments that are not needed under laboratory settings.

Recent changes in pregnancy and lactation labeling: retirement of risk categories.

The rapid development and increased availability of novel pharmacologic therapies and pharmaceutical products has amplified the potential for drug exposure during pregnancy. Many drugs are beneficial for disease state management during pregnancy and provide significant fetal and maternal health benefits. However, a paucity of safety data combined with the imprecision of the current risk category system renders risk versus benefit assessment difficult.