Figure 1

Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of human ANTP-class homeodomains. Arbitrarily rooted phylogenetic tree of human ANTP-class homeodomains constructed using the maximum likelihood method. Bootstrap values supporting internal nodes with over 70% are shown. Homeodomain sequences derived from pseudogenes are excluded. The proposed division between the HOXL and NKL subclasses is indicated. The position of EN1 and EN2 is unstable; this tree places them in the NKL subclass, whereas neighbor-joining analysis of the same dataset places them at the base of the two subclasses (Additional file 3). Interrelationships of genes in the Nk4 and Nk2.2 families are also unstable (in this tree and Additional file 3 respectively); in these cases synteny within and between genomes clearly resolves gene families. Detailed relationships between different gene families should not be inferred from this tree.