Investigators Isolate ""Handedness"" Gene
LEFT AND RIGHT: A wild type st 45 Xenopus embryo with rightward heart looping and counter-clockwise gut coiling is shown on the left. In contrast, a st 45 embryo that was injected with Pitx2 at the 4 cell stage exhibits leftward heart looping and clockwise gut coiling. When it comes to organ orientation, one gene can make the difference between right and left. That gene, Pitx2 , has been identified as the key to asymmetry, or "handedness," the property describing on which side of the body the
 LEFT AND RIGHT: A wild type st 45 Xenopus embryo with rightward heart looping and counter-clockwise gut coiling is shown on the left. In contrast, a st 45 embryo that was injected with Pitx2 at the 4 cell stage exhibits leftward heart looping and clockwise gut coiling. |
Earlier research had identified growth factors contributing to handedness, including sonic hedgehog ( Shh ) in chicks (M. Levin et al., Cell, 82:803-14, 1995) and nodal in mouse (J. Heymer et al., Mechanical Development, 66:5-11, 1997). But...
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