Gap Junctions Provide New Links in Left-Right Patterning

Gap junctions are increasingly recognized as key regulators of embryonic development, nervous system function, and neoplasia. Chuang et al. (2007) now show that developing neural circuits use communication through gap junctions to establish left-right asymmetry in the central nervous system of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing that nematodes share a mechanism for left-right asymmetry in common with vertebrates