title: Left-right asymmetry in Drosophila.
abstract: Seminal studies of left-right (L/R) patterning in vertebrate models have led to the discovery of roles for the nodal pathway, ion flows and cilia in this process. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying L/R asymmetries seen in protostomes are less well understood, recent work using Drosophila melanogaster as a novel genetic model system to study this process has identified a number of mutations affecting directional organ looping. The genetic analysis of this, the most evolutionary conserved feature of L/R patterning, revealed the existence of a L/R pathway that involves the actin cytoskeleton and an associated type I myosin. In this review, we describe this work in the context of Drosophila development, and discuss the implications of these results for our understanding of L/R patterning in general.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Developmental Biology & Cancer, University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS UMR6543, Parc Valrose, 06108 NICE Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Coutelis
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Petzoldt
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spéder
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzanne
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noselli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D019521:Body Patterning; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers