Each somite of the vertebrate embryonic body axis is subdivided into a rostral and a caudal half. Using elegantly designed mouse genetic experiments, a recent paper provides insight into the mechanisms that select between these two fates. Remarkably, both states require Notch activity, but the signal is transduced by a different pathway in each half.
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Stern, C. Subdividing the metamere: one signal, two outcomes. Nat Genet 25, 368–369 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/78026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/78026
