Meeting Abstract

S9.10  Wednesday, Jan. 6  The left-right axis. Generating asymmetries in snail development. GRANDE, Cristina; Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa cgrande@cbm.uam.es

Although most animals are bilaterians, many develop specific asymmetries along the left-right axis like the asymmetric placing of single organs, directional asymmetry in appendages and the coiling of the snail shells. Despite its key role in animal development, comparatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms and processes involved in establishing this axis. Results from studies in deuterostomes suggest that a cascade of lateralized signaling is involved in specifying left-right morphological asymmetries and also that the breaking symmetry event differs among taxa. Comparative developmental and genomic studies in other organisms like arthropods and snails have revealed both differences and similarities in the gene pathways and molecules involved in left-right determination. These findings provide valuable information to understand the origin and evolution of left-right patterning in Bilateria. Here, I discuss recent progress in this field and the relevance of gene pathways, cytoskeletal structures, and ion flows on left-right asymmetry determination in snails in an evolutionary context.