The dual specificity T-box/bHLH-zipper transcription factor Mga is expressed in pluripotent cells of the mouse embryo and in embryonic stem cells (ESCs), but its function in these cells is unclear. Here, Virginia Papaioannou and colleagues examine the role of Mga in early development and show that it is essential for the survival of pluripotent cells (p. 31). They first show that Mga depletion in early mouse embryos and ESCs causes growth defects; increased cell death is observed in the inner cell mass (ICM) of mutant embryos in vivo and in vitro, and in Mga mutant ESCs cells in vitro. Lineage specification, in contrast, is unaffected by Mga depletion. The researchers further identify the enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), which converts ornithine to putrescine in the polyamine synthesis pathway, as a candidate downstream target of Mga. Accordingly, they demonstrate that exogenous putrescine can rescue the ICM in Mga mutant embryos and the survival of Mga mutant ESCs. These findings highlight a role for polyamines in pluripotent cells and suggest that Mga controls cell survival in early embryos and ESCs by regulating polyamine pools.
Mga fuels pluripotent cells
Mga fuels pluripotent cells. Development 1 January 2015; 142 (1): e0105. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
About us

Our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 this year. Read about the history of the Company and find out what Sarah Bray, our Chair of the Board of Directors, has to say.
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.
In preprints
Did you know that Development publishes perspectives on recent preprints? These articles help our readers navigate the ever-growing preprint literature. We welcome proposals for ‘In preprints’ articles, so please do get in touch if you’d like to contribute.