It is vital that vertebrates maintain cells in an undifferentiated state before gastrulation - but how do they do this? In mammals, the maintenance of embryonic stem (ES) cells and the inner cell mass (ICM) requires Oct4, a class V POU domain (PouV) protein. Now, on p. 2011, Gillian Morrison and Joshua Brickman show that the role of Oct4 in mammals is related to the ability of PouV to regulate multipotency in other vertebrates. They show that PouV depletion in Xenopus downregulates Bmp4, which is needed to maintain cells in a non-committed state. The authors transfected mouse ES cells lacking Oct4 with PouV proteins from several vertebrates and found that those from Xenopus and axolotl (but not zebrafish) were able to support long-term self-renewal. Furthermore, PouV proteins regulate similar genes in ES cells and Xenopus embryos. The authors conclude that the ability of mammalian Oct4 to maintain self-renewing ES...
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.
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.
the Node: Have your say
Our community site, the Node, is conducting a user survey about the content and the design of the site. Help us shape the Node's future and thank you for being a part of the Node over the last 15 years.
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