This article includes recent preLights posts that discuss preprints in the field of developmental and stem cell biology.
Featured preLight
Specialized signaling centers direct cell fate and spatial organization in a limb organoid model by Evangelia Skoufa et al.
Representative confocal image showing the distribution of Prrx1Enh:mVenus and TP63 positive cells in day 7 cultures. Figure S4A from Skoufa et al. (BioRxiv) published under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
preLighter(s)
Ryan Harrison, PhD student in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research at the University of Warwick, UK
Why it was selected
In my PhD project, I am interested in how organoids can self-organise to develop a complex 3D shape, and so this preprint really caught my eye. I thought seeing how the organoids were able to develop into complex structures was fascinating. I thought it was also cool to see how recombinant organoids made up of different cell types had such an impact on the budoids’ ability to break symmetry, and then elongate into polarised structures with distinct domains.
This preprint has established a model that can be used in the future to gain new insights on limb bud generation, and I think the team highlight the potential of this model for quantitative analysis at a single cell level. I don't think organoids have always been used to their full potential to quantitively analyse the processes they are recapitulating, so it was interesting to see how this was accomplished by the team here.
Other relevant preLight post
The role of ER exit sites in maintaining P-body organization and transmitting ER stress response during Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis by Samantha N. Milano et al.
Milano and team shed light on how P bodies are organised at ER exit sites and how ER stress can affect P body composition.
Selected by Jonathan Townson. Read the preLight.
Adult caudal fin shape is imprinted in the embryonic fin fold by Eric Surette et al.
Shhaping the caudal fin: @McmenaminLab describes how shha overexpression induces a novel fin shape in zebrafish.
Selected by Isabella Cisneros. Read the preLight.
TAK1 operates at the primary cilium in non-canonical TGFB/BMP signaling to control heart development by Canan Doganli et al.
Fishing for answers: Zebrafish models show that TAK1 signaling at primary cilia is crucial for heart development.
Selected by Reinier Prosee. Read the preLight.
TGF-β Signaling in Cranial Neural Crest Affects Late-Stage Mandibular Bone Resorption and Length by Claire J. Houchen et al.
Development of the lower jaw with neural crest mesenchyme and TGFBR1.
Selected by Bhaval Parmar. Read the preLight.
Lineage-specific CDK activity dynamics characterize early mammalian development by Bechara Saykali et al.
Catch them in the act: the swing of CDKs.
Selected by Mansi. Read the preLight.
Gestational exposure to high heat-humidity conditions impairs mouse embryonic development by Avinchal Manhas et al.
Experiencing hot weather and humidity consistently during pregnancy may cause serious problems.
Selected by Girish Kale and preLights peer support. Read the preLight.
Enhancer-driven cell type comparison reveals similarities between the mammalian and bird pallium by Nikolai Hecker et al.
Pioneering multi-omics and deep learning models of the chicken brain shed light on amniote evolution.
Selected by Rodrigo Senovilla-Ganzo. Read the preLight.
Modular control of time and space during vertebrate axis segmentation by Ali Seleit et al. and Natural genetic variation quantitatively regulates heart rate and dimension by Jakob Gierten et al.
F2 segregation analysis: the ‘Formula 1 grand prix’ of experiments to establish genotype-phenotype correlations.
Selected by Girish Kale and Jennifer Ann Black. Read the preLight.