Trichomes - branched hair-like cells on the surface of plants - have a highly organised actin filament cytoskeleton, and their development provides an interesting model for understanding how plants generate and use cytoskeletal arrays. The `distorted group' genes have been particularly valuable in this regard (so called because they distort trichome shape), and on p. 4345, Basu and co-workers characterise the Arabidopsis distorted gene PIROGI. They find that PIROGI has 30% homology with SRA1 - a subunit of the human WAVE complex - that, together with actin-related protein 2/3,controls actin filament nucleation. Remarkably, SRA1 cDNA is able to rescue the phenotype of PIROGI mutants, and both proteins interact with another component of the Arabidopsis WAVE complex, NAP125. Their findings indicate that PIROGI itself encodes a WAVE subunit, and underline the importance of the distorted group genes in our understanding of actin filament regulation, cell shape and growth.
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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