Recently, the zebrafish chordoma model was used to test genetic potential to transform the notochord in vivo, providing suggestive evidence that Brachyury (TBXT), a highly expressed gene in human chordomas (Vujovic et al., 2006), is insufficient to initiate chordomas, instead suggesting activation of members of the RTK signalling pathway as potential players in chordoma formation (D'Agati et al., 2019). Here, TBXT is linked to chordoma.