Precise changes in plasma membrane shape underlie many morphogenetic processes. During the cellularisation of Drosophila embryos, furrow canal formation - a specialised process of membrane invagination - and actin cytoskeleton reorganisation enclose the nuclei of the syncytial blastoderm into cells. On p. 1009, Großhans and colleagues report that the guanyl-nucleotide exchange factor RhoGEF2 and the formin Diaphanous (Dia) play a crucial role in regulating the position, shape and stability of the furrow canal by controlling actin filament assembly. They show that RhoGEF2 or dia mutant embryos have enlarged furrows - both proteins normally localise to the invagination site before furrow formation - and that F-actin levels at the furrow canal are reduced in these mutants. As RhoGEF2and dia appear to act in a parallel genetic pathway to nulloand sry-α, early furrow canal markers that are involved in junction formation, these two pathways might control complementary aspects...
The Company of Biologists Workshops
For the last 15 years, our publisher, The Company of Biologists, has provided an apt environment to inspire biology and support biologists through our Workshops series. Read about the evolution of the Workshop series and revisit JEB's experience with hosting the first Global South Workshop.
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.
Meet our 2025 Pathway to Independence (PI) fellows
We are delighted to announce our third cohort of PI fellows - researchers whom we will be supporting as they transition from postdoc to Principal Investigator. Read about the eight talented fellows chosen, whom we're excited to be working with as they navigate the job market.
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