Molecular to organismal chirality is induced by the conserved myosin 1D

Abstract

A single myosin sets chirality at all scales When viewed externally, most organisms appear symmetric between the left and right sides. However, many organs are left-right asymmetric. Whether macroscopic asymmetries are directly related to molecular-level chirality remains an open question. Working in Drosophila , Lebreton et al. found that the conserved molecular motor myosin 1D induced stereotyped chirality at all biological scales—from F-actin turning in vitro to the organ level and even organismal behavior. Thus, a single conserved myosin can generate de novo nano-to-macroscopic changes in form and direction through chiral interaction with the actin cytoskeleton. Science , this issue p. 949