Retinoic acid (RA) gradients regulate many developmental processes,including the specification of the embryonic body axes and pattern formation in the brain. RA synthesis from vitamin A is a two-step process, the second step of which - the conversion of retinal to RA by retinal dehydrogenases(RALDHs) - is crucial for tissue-specific RA production. Now, Strate and co-workers report that retinol dehydrogenase 10 (RDH10), which converts vitamin A to retinal, cooperates with RALDHs to establish RA signalling in Xenopus embryos (see p. 461). They show, for example, that XRDH10 expression in early embryos partly overlaps with that of XRALDH2. Overexpression of XRDH10 mimics RA responses, they report, and synergises with XRALDH2 to posteriorise the developing brain, whereas the knockdown of XRDH10 and XRALDH2 causes anteriorisation of the brain. These and other results lead the authors to propose a revised model for the generation and stabilisation of an RA gradient in...
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.
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