The analysis of differentially expressed genes is a powerful approach to elucidate the genetic mechanisms underlying the morphological and evolutionary diversity among serially homologous structures, both within the same organism (e.g., hand vs. foot) and between different species (e.g., hand vs. wing). In the developing embryo, limb-specific expression of Pitx1, Tbx4, and Tbx5 regulates the de...

Two new studies reveal ways in which the Wnt pathway commandeers Hippo components for signaling. Azzolin et al. show how the Hippo transcription factor TAZ mediates Wnt signals, and Rosenbluh et al. show how β-catenin and YAP1 form a kinase-regulated complex with transcription factor TBX5.

The reprogramming of fibroblasts to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) raises the possibility that a somatic cell could be reprogrammed to an alternative differentiated fate without first becoming a stem/progenitor cell. A large pool of fibroblasts exists in the postnatal heart, yet no single "master regulator" of direct cardiac reprogramming has been identified. Here, we report that a comb...

Cardiogenesis is a complex phenomenon: its success— and ultimately life births—depends on factors acting in a combinatorial or hierarchical fashion and turning on and off gene transcription. Actually, the incidence of cardiac defects at birth is relatively high (1% to 2%), and our comprehension of these phenomena very limited. Hence, the role of transcription factors in cardiac specification an...

The GATA4 transcription factor is implicated in promoting cardiogenesis in combination with other factors, including TBX5, MEF2C and BAF60C. However, when expressed in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), GATA4 was shown to promote endoderm, not cardiac mesoderm. The capacity of related GATA factors to promote cardiogenesis is untested. We found that expression of the highly related gene, Gata5, very e...