The vertebrate heart is comprised of two types of chambers-ventricles and atria-that have unique morphological and physiological properties. Effective cardiac function depends upon the distinct characteristics of ventricular and atrial cardiomyocytes, raising interest in the genetic pathways that regulate chamber-specific traits. Chamber identity seems to be specified in the early embryo by signals that establish ventricular and atrial progenitor populations and trigger distinct differentiation pathways. Intriguingly, chamber-specific features appear to require active reinforcement, even after myocardial differentiation is underway, suggesting plasticity of chamber identity within the developing heart. Here, we review the utility of the zebrafish as a model organism for studying the mechanisms that establish and maintain cardiac chamber identity. By combining genetic and embryological approaches, work in zebrafish has revealed multiple players with potent influences on chamber fate specification and commitment. Going forward, analysis of cardiomyocyte identity at the single-cell level is likely to yield a high-resolution understanding of the pathways that link the relevant players together, and these insights will have the potential to inform future strategies in cardiac tissue engineering.
Keywords: BMP; FGF; Nkx2.5; Nodal; Nr2f1a; Nr2f2; atrium; cardiac chamber formation; retinoic acid; ventricle.