Series: Advances in Developmental Biology

In 1993, Rolf Bodmer described a gene he named tinman that was required for the formation of the dorsal aorta of the fly. Flies without a functional tinman gene had no heart. Quickly, mammalian counterparts of the tinman gene were identified and found to be expressed by early cardiomyogenic precursors and by cardiomyocytes throughout heart development. Since then, significant progress has been made in the understanding of molecular and genetic determinants of heart formation. An ever growing number of genes have been identified that are required for cardiogenesis, as evidenced by severe abnormalities in cardiac development produced by inactivation in the mouse or inhibition of gene function in other model organisms. Cardiovascular Development covers some of the latest research in the study of heart formation. Volume Editor Rolf Bodmer has assembled a world-class list of contributors whose research uses a variety of animal models and whose findings are certain to enhance our understanding of this exciting field.