Neurons and glia are generated in the developing CNS following asymmetric divisions of neural stem cells in the neuroepithelium - the cleavage plane is reportedly important for the localisation of cell-fate determinants. On , Wakamatsu et al. report that in chicks, transitin, an intermediate filament protein,physically interacts with Numb, a cell-fate determinant, anchoring it to the cell cortex of mitotic neuroepithelial (NE) cells. Using biochemical,overexpression and RNAi-knockdown assays, these researchers show that transitin and Numb physically interact in the chick NE cell cortex. Cell-tracing experiments reveal that the lateral movement of this basally located transitin-Numb complex - which occurs by an unknown mechanism -asymmetrically localises Numb to one daughter cell, even when the cleavage plane is perpendicular to the ventricular surface. Interestingly, transitin gene knockdown in NE cells reduces the levels of basally located Numb and also promotes cell differentiation. Future work will probably focus on the mechanism by which transitin mediates both cellular differentiation and the lateral movement of Numb.
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July 2007
Biologists @ 100 - join us in Liverpool in March 2025
We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the Spring Meetings of the BSCB and the BSDB, the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and a DMM programme on antimicrobial resistance. Find out more and register by 28 February 2025 to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK.
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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