Most vertebrates have left (L)-right (R) asymmetry around the midline with, for example, the liver on the right side of the body and the stomach on the left. We can now see how the early symmetry of the embryo is broken to develop this asymmetry. It turns out that cilia concentrate critical L-R determinants to one side of the node, an important source of patterning signals in the early embryo.
- Kyle J. Vogan
- Clifford J. Tabin
