Heart field origin of great vessel precursors relies on nkx2.5-mediated vasculogenesis.

During vertebrate embryogenesis, the pharyngeal arch arteries (PAA) connect segments of the primitive circulation. Burns and colleagues show that Nkx2.5+ heart precursors from the lateral plate mesoderm surprisingly give rise to the PAA angioblasts, and that Nkx2.5 is required for PAA development.