Early vertebrate embryos are bilaterally symmetrical but mature internal organs show consistent left-right (LR) asymmetry. The establishment of LR positional information has been well studied, but how the organ primordia interpret this information during asymmetric morphogenesis is unclear. Hecksher-Sørensen and colleagues identify a specialised columnar epithelium – the splanchnic mesodermal plate (SMP) – as the organiser for the leftward growth of the spleno-pancreatic region under the control of the LR asymmetry pathway in mice (see p. 4665). They report that the asplenic mutant dominant hemimelia (Dh) lacks the SMP, an initially bilateral structure surrounding the gut endoderm. Another asplenic mutant carrying a Bapx1-targeted disruption has a defective SMP, indicating that Bapx1 regulates the SMP functions that are required for spleno-pancreatic laterality. Given that the Bapx1 and Dh mutants have normal hearts, lungs and livers, the researchers suggest that LR positional information is interpreted differently by each...
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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