In Drosophila, a wave of differentiation progresses across the retinal field in response to signals from posterior cells. Hedgehog (Hh),Decapentaplegic (Dpp) and Notch (N) signaling all contribute. Clones of cells mutated for receptors and nuclear effectors of one, two or all three pathways were studied to define systematically the necessary and sufficient roles of each signal. Hh signaling alone was sufficient for progressive differentiation, acting through both the transcriptional activator Ci155 and the Ci75 repressor. In the absence of Ci, Dpp and Notch signaling together provided normal differentiation. Dpp alone sufficed for some differentiation,but Notch was not sufficient alone and acted only to enhance the effect of Dpp. Notch acted in part through downregulation of Hairy; Hh signaling downregulated Hairy independently of Notch. One feature of this signaling network is to limit Dpp signaling spatially to a range coincident with Hh.
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 30 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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