A hallmark of mature skeletal muscles is the presence of multinucleate muscle fibers. In Drosophila, the formation of muscle syncytia requires the cooperative participation of two types of myoblasts, founder cells and fusion-competent myoblasts. We show that a newly identified gene, lame duck (lmd), has an essential regulatory role in the specification and function of fusion-competent myoblasts. Embryos that lack lmd function show a loss of expression of two key differentiation and fusion genes, Mef2 and sticks-and-stones, in fusion-competent myoblasts and are completely devoid of multinucleate muscle fibers. By contrast, founder cells are specified and retain their capability to differentiate into mononucleate muscle cells. lmd encodes a novel member of the Gli superfamily of transcription factors and is expressed in fusion-competent myoblasts and their precursors in a Wingless- and Notch-dependent manner. The activity of the Lmd protein appears to be additionally controlled by its differential cytoplasmic versus nuclear localization. Results from an independent molecular screen for binding factors to a myoblast-specific Mef2 enhancer further demonstrate that Lmd is a direct transcriptional regulator of Mef2 in fusion-competent myoblasts.
Interviews with Biologists @ 100 conference speakers
Explore our interviews with keynote speakers from the Biologists @ 100 conference, hosted to celebrate our publisher’s 100th anniversary, where we discuss climate change and biodiversity with Hans-Otto Pörtner and Jane Francis, health and disease with Charles Swanton and Sadaf Farooqi, and emerging technologies with Manu Prakash and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
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