Left-right development in Xenopus and zebrafish.
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.
Yost
H J
HJ
Huntsman Cancer Institute Center for Children, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112-5330, USA.
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*