This perspective examines left-right symmetry breaking mechanisms in chick development, suggesting insights into structural chirality and associated asymmetries.
Morphological left-right asymmetry of visceral organs in most cases reveals a typical arrangement. This implies directed symmetry breaking which is suggested to be based on the existence of structural chirality. At early developmental stages many vertebrate model organisms display so-called leftward flow of extracellular fluid which is based on the unidirectional rotation of chiral cilia. Cytoskeletal chirality has been shown to contribute to the left-right asymmetry of invertebrates including Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster . The mechanisms of left-right symmetry breaking in vertebrates without ciliary flow remain mysterious. Here, we present our perspective on left-right patterning and symmetry breaking in the chick within a broader context.
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Pieper et al. (2025) studied this question.
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