Like many neural circuits, the vertebrate retina is organised into laminae. But how are neurites targeted to the correct synaptic layer during retinal development? Kay et al. use a powerful combination of in vivo confocal imaging and genetic manipulation to study the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of the zebrafish retina (see p. 1331). The IPL contains post-synaptic retinal ganglion cells (RGCs)and their pre-synaptic partners, the amacrine cells and bipolar cells, and is subdivided into ON and OFF sublaminae that respond differently to illumination. The researchers study IPL development in real time by labelling amacrine cell subsets with GFP in a zebrafish mutant in which RGCs never form. IPL formation was delayed and disorganised in the absence of RGCs, but the early neurite projection errors were later corrected to produce a near-normal IPL. Thus, while RGCs have a transient role in organising the earliest amacrine cell projections, interactions between amacrine...
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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