Single-minded 2 is required for left-right asymmetric stomach morphogenesis

Structural birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality in the United States. Many of these defects are associated with abnormal anatomical left-right asymmetry. Despite the importance of orienting organs along the left-right (L-R) axis during development, very little is known about the molecular events that control this process. To elucidate the genetic mechanisms that shape the L-R asymmetry of individual organs, we sought to identify genes that are expressed in L-R asymmetric patterns during organ development. To accomplish this goal, we took advantage of the exceptionally large Budgett’s frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis) embryo to profile gene expression by RNA-seq in the left versus right halves of the developing stomach. Using this data, we have constructed a de novo Lepidobatrachus transcriptome and identified ~26,000 unique transcripts with human homology based on reciprocal BLAST analyses. Over 300 transcripts were L-R asymmetrically expressed within the stomach. Among these candidates are some of the few genes already known to play a role in L-R asymmetric development, validating our strategy for L-R gene discovery. A total of 7 biological replicates were used for the left and right halves of stomachs. NNY1-10 were individual stomachs that were dissected and sequenced. NNY11-14 had 5 stomach halves pooled per sample.