Molecular motors and developmental asymmetry

The generation of distinct cell fates can require movement of specific mole cules or organelles to particular locations within the cell. These subcellu lar movements are often the jobs of motor proteins. Seemingly disparate dev elopmental processes determination of right and left in vertebrates, settin g up the axes of polarity in insect embryos, mating-type switching in yeast , and coordinated organelle movements in Drosophila - converge in their dep endence on motor proteins. The extent of possible regulatory complexity is only beginning to emerge.