The discovery of the Hippo pathway can be traced back to two areas of research. 
Genetic screens in fruit flies led to the identification of the Hippo pathway 
kinases and scaffolding proteins that function together to suppress cell 
proliferation and tumor growth. Independent research, often in the context of 
muscle biology, described Tead (TEA domain) transcription factors, which bind 
CATTCC DNA motifs to regulate gene expression. These two research areas were 
joined by the finding that the Hippo pathway regulates the activity of Tead 
transcription factors mainly through phosphorylation of the transcriptional 
coactivators Yap and Taz, which bind to and activate Teads. Additionally, many 
other signal transduction proteins crosstalk to members of the Hippo pathway 
forming a Hippo signal transduction network. We discuss evidence that the Hippo 
signal transduction network plays important roles in myogenesis, regeneration, 
muscular dystrophy, and rhabdomyosarcoma in skeletal muscle, as well as in 
myogenesis, organ size control, and regeneration of the heart. Understanding the 
role of Hippo kinases in skeletal and heart muscle physiology could have 
important implications for translational research.