Hoxc-8 expression shows left–right asymmetry in the posterior lateral plate mesoderm

Abstract

XHoxc-8 is the Xenopus homologue of the mouse Hoxc-8 gene, a homeodomain-containing transcription factor that is expressed in the posterior neural tube and adjacent tissues. Although XHoxc-8 has a very similar expression pattern to the Hoxc-8 gene in other species, it also displays distinct left/right asymmetry at later stages of development, being expressed in the posterior lateral mesoderm only on the left-hand side of the embryo.