Evolution and development of the building plan of the vertebrate heart

Early cardiac development involves the formation of a heart tube, looping of the tube and formation of chambers. These processes are highly similar among all vertebrates, which suggest the existence of evolutionary conservation of the building plan of the heart. From the jawless lampreys to man, T-box transcription factors like Tbx5 and Tbx20 are fundamental for heart formation, whereas Tbx2 and Tbx3 repress chamber formation on the sinu-atrial and atrioventricular borders. Also, electrocardiograms from different vertebrates are alike, even though the fish heart only has two chambers whereas the mammalian heart has four chambers divided by septa and in addition has much higher heart rates. We conclude that most features of the high-performance hearts of mammals and birds can be traced back to less developed traits in the hearts of ectothermic vertebrates. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cardiomyocyte biology: Cardiac pathways of differentiation, metabolism and contraction.

► The building plan to the vertebrate heart is remarkably well conserved in evolution.
► The molecular patterning of the heart imposes the electrical patterning.
► Transcription factors like Tbx5 and Tbx20 are crucial for heart formation.
► Tbx2 and Tbx3 repress chamber formation in border regions.
► Tbx2 and Tbx3 delineates the cardiac conduction system.