Reversal of left-right asymmetry: a situs inversus mutation.

A recessive mutation was identified in a family of transgenic mice that resulted in a reversal of left-right polarity (situs inversus) in 100 percent of the homozygous transgenic mice tested. Sequences that flanked the transgenic integration site were cloned and mapped to mouse chromosome 4, between the Tsha and Hxb loci. During early embryonic development, the direction of postimplantation turning, one of the earliest manifestations of left-right asymmetry, was reversed in homozygous transgenic embryos. This insertional mutation identifies a gene that controls embryonic turning and visceral left-right polarity.