Required for posterior mesoderm formation during embryogenesis. Acts indirectly to suppress head formation by altering mesodermal patterning. Also involved in the establishment of left-right axis asymmetry, acting upstream of nodal/nr-1. Can exert long-range effects in the embryo. Homodimer; disulfide-linked. Also forms heterodimers with other TGF-beta family members including nodal2/nr-2 and bmp4. Initially expressed throughout the presumptive embryonic mesendoderm with subsequent localization to the posterior mesoderm. First detected at late blastula (stage 8.5-9). Expression then increases with levels peaking during gastrulation before tapering off by neurulation (stage 13). By mesoderm-inducing factors including activin, basic fibroblast growth factor, nodal2/nr-2, dvr1/vg1, vegt and t/bra. Autoinduced by derriere itself. Synthesized as large precursor molecule that undergo proteolytic cleavage, releasing the pro-domain from the active, receptor binding, C-terminal region of the molecule. Belongs to the TGF-beta family.