Engrailed (gene)
protein family
engrailed is a homeodomain transcription factor involved in many aspects of multicellular development. First known for its role in arthropod embryological development, working in consort with the Hox genes, engrailed has been found to be important in other areas of development. It has been identified in many bilaterians, including the arthropods, vertebrates, echinoderms, molluscs, nematodes, brachiopods, and polychaetes. It acts as a "selector" gene, conferring a specific identity to defined areas of the body, and co-ordinating the expression of downstream genes.
Protein
engrailed (en) encodes the homeodomain-containing transcription factor protein Engrailed. Homologous Engrailed proteins are found in a diversity of organisms.
When expressed in the ectoderm, engrailed is involved in the production of skeletal material. engrailed, or genes with very similar sequences, are found in all bilaterian animals. engrailed plays a number of crucial roles in brain development across many species, including the determination of the hindbrain/midbrain border and aiding in neuronal axon guidance. This has led to the suggestion that the gene originally served a neurogenetic function in the ancestral bilaterian.
The public source identifies “Engrailed (gene)” as protein family. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Engrailed, gene and protein.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18589940.
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This entry incorporates text from “Engrailed (gene)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.