Abstract
How left right handedness originates in the body plan of the developing vertebrate embryo is a subject of considerable debate. In mice, a left right bias is thought to arise from a directional extracellular flow (nodal flow) that is generated by dynein-dependent rotation of monocilia on the ventral surface of the embryonic node. Here we show that the existence of node monocilia and the expression of a dynein gene that is implicated in ciliary function are conserved across a wide range of vertebrate classes, indicating that a similar ciliary mechanism may underlie the establishment of handedness in all vertebrates.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Axonemal Dyneins
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Body Patterning*
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Chick Embryo
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Cilia / physiology*
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Conserved Sequence
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Dyneins / genetics
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Dyneins / metabolism*
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Embryo, Mammalian / cytology*
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Embryo, Mammalian / embryology*
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Embryo, Mammalian / metabolism
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Embryo, Nonmammalian*
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Gastrula / cytology
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Gastrula / metabolism
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Gene Expression Profiling
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Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
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Mice
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Organizers, Embryonic / embryology
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Organizers, Embryonic / metabolism
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Signal Transduction
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Vertebrates / embryology*
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Vertebrates / genetics
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Xenopus / embryology
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Xenopus / genetics
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Zebrafish / embryology
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Zebrafish / genetics
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Zebrafish Proteins
Substances
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Dnah11 protein, mouse
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Zebrafish Proteins
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dnah9 protein, zebrafish
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Axonemal Dyneins
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Dyneins