A long-standing question in developmental biology is how amphibians establish a dorsoventral axis. The prevailing view has been that cortical rotation is used to move a dorsalizing activity from the bottom of the egg towards the future dorsal side. We review recent evidence that kinesin-dependent movement of particles containing components of the Wnt intracellular pathway contributes to the formation of the dorsal organizer,and suggest that cortical rotation functions to align and orient microtubules,thereby establishing the direction of particle transport. We propose a new model in which active particle transport and cortical rotation cooperate to generate a robust movement of dorsal determinants towards the future dorsal side of the embryo.
History of our journals
As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
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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