T-box transcription factors are important players in the molecular circuitry that generates lineage diversity and form in the developing embryo. At least seven family members are expressed in the developing mammalian heart, and the human T-box genes TBX1 and TBX5 are mutated in cardiac congenital anomaly syndromes. Here, we review T-box gene function during mammalian heart development in the li...

Although considerable attention hos been given to the phenomenon of “stranger anxtety,” we still do not know some of the behavior01 characteristics of strangers associated with infonts’ wariness of strongers and how these may change wtth development. We olso have not systemoticolly examined the woys in which adults may vary their behavior OS o functron of the oge of the child. The following stu...

BACKGROUND The PR interval, as measured by the resting, standard 12-lead ECG, reflects the duration of atrial/atrioventricular nodal depolarization. Substantial evidence exists for a genetic contribution to PR, including genome-wide association studies that have identified common genetic variants at 9 loci influencing PR in populations of European and Asian descent. However, few studies have ex...

Birds display remarkable diversity in the distribution and morphology of scales and feathers on their feet, yet the genetic and developmental mechanisms governing this diversity remain unknown. Domestic pigeons have striking variation in foot feathering within a single species, providing a tractable model to investigate the molecular basis of skin appendage differences. We found that feathered ...

EDITOR—Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) is a developmental disorder characterised by malformations of the radial ray of the forelimb and by congenital heart disease. The syndrome shows a marked variability in phenotype, with radial ray defects ranging from minor thumb abnormality through to severe reduction defect or phocomelia. The cardiac manifestations of HOS are similarly varied, and patients can p...

T-box (tbx) genes constitute a large family of transcriptional regulators involved in developmental patterning processes. In tetrapods, tbx5 has been implicated in specifying forelimb type identity. Here, we report the cloning of the zebrafish tbx5.1 gene and characterise its expression during zebrafish embryogenesis and early larval development of wild type and mutant embryos that affect pecto...

Holt-Oram syndrome is clinically characterized by morphological abnormalities of the upper limbs and congenital cardiac defects. Although the disease is congenital, the diagnosis may only be made later in life. It is a rare autosomal dominant disorder, caused by a mutation in the TBX5 gene located on chromosome 12, but sporadic cases have also been reported. We describe the case of a 75-year-ol...

The contraction pattern of the heart relies on the activation and conduction of the electrical impulse. Perturbations of cardiac conduction have been associated with congenital and acquired arrhythmias as well as cardiac arrest. The pattern of conduction depends on the regulation of heterogeneous gene expression by key transcription factors and transcriptional enhancers. Here, we assessed the g...

Epigenetics have essential roles in development and human diseases. Compared to the complex histone modifications, epigenetic changes on mammalian DNA are as simple as methylation on cytosine. Guanine, however, can be oxidized as an epigenetic change which can undergo base-pair transversion, causing a genetic difference. Accumulating evidence indicates that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are imp...