The earliest embryonic mitoses in Drosophila, as in other animals except mammals, are viewed as synchronous and of equal duration. However, we observed that total cell-cycle length steadily increases after cycle 7, solely owing to the extension of interphase. Between cycle 7 and cycle 10, this extension is DNA-replication checkpoint independent, but correlates with the onset of Cyclin B oscillation. In addition, nuclei in the middle of embryos have longer metaphase and shorter anaphase than nuclei at the two polar regions. Interestingly, sister chromatids move faster in anaphase in the middle than the posterior region. These regional differences correlate with local differences in Cyclin B concentration. After cycle 10, interphase and total cycle duration of nuclei in the middle of the embryo are longer than at the poles. Because interphase also extends in checkpoint mutant(grapes) embryo after cycle 10, although less dramatic than wild-type embryos, interphase extension after cycle 10 is probably controlled by both Cyclin B limitation and the DNA-replication checkpoint.
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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