title: Left-right development in Xenopus and zebrafish.
abstract: One of the most striking features of the vertebrate body plan is that most exterior structures are bilaterally symmetric while many interior structures are left-right asymmetric. Left-right asymmetries are displayed in the heart, the circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems and in the central nervous system. A fundamental question in the study of all patterning events, including left-right axis formation, is how does asymmetry arise from apparent symmetry. A second important question that is perhaps unique to the study of left-right development, is how does the left-right axis align with the asymmetries that develop along the orthogonal axes; dorsal-ventral and anterior-posterior. Recent experiments in Xenopus laevis and zebrafish address both of these questions and have identified signaling molecules and interactions with midline cells that regulate left-right development.
authors.affiliation: Huntsman Cancer Institute Center for Children, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112-5330, USA.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yost
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D019521:Body Patterning; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D014428:Twins, Conjoined / Q000196:embryology; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology*