Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Müller glia-derived progenitor cells in acutely damaged chick retina. The retinal section was labelled with antibodies to Sox9 (red), neurofilament (green), phospho-histone H3 (blue) and CD45 (magenta). See Research article by Zelinka et al. on p. 1859.
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IN THIS ISSUE
DEVELOPMENT AT A GLANCE
Cell fate control by pioneer transcription factors
Summary: This Development at a Glance article provides an overview of pioneer transcription factors including their role in lineage specification in vivo, and how they can be used to manipulate cell fate in vitro.
PRIMER
Circular RNAs: analysis, expression and potential functions
Summary: This Primer outlines the discovery, roles and regulation of circular RNAs, focussing on their potential functions during development.
REVIEW
The regulation and plasticity of root hair patterning and morphogenesis
Summary: This Review discusses how the complex interplay of intrinsic programs and external cues shapes the form and function of root hair cells in plants.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
mTor signaling is required for the formation of proliferating Müller glia-derived progenitor cells in the chick retina
Highlighted article: Inhibition of mTor signaling in vivo prevents the proliferation of Müller glia cells and blocks the regenerative response in the chick retina.
De novo neurogenesis by targeted expression of atoh7 to Müller glia cells
Highlighted article: Induced activation of atoh7 in Müller glia cells in vivo is sufficient to drive cell cycle re-entry and proliferation, followed by the formation of neurogenic clusters and de novo neurogenesis.
Development-on-chip: in vitro neural tube patterning with a microfluidic device
Summary: A microfluidic device mimics the spatial and temporal environment of neural tube development in vivo and enables the correct spatial organization of neural tube formation from stem cells in vitro.
The regulatory repertoire of PLZF and SALL4 in undifferentiated spermatogonia
Summary: ChIP-seq in undifferentiated mouse spermatogonia identifies both unique and overlapping targets of PLZF and SALL4, and reveals preferential binding to gene promoters and introns, respectively.
RESEARCH REPORT
2- and 6-O-sulfated proteoglycans have distinct and complementary roles in cranial axon guidance and motor neuron migration
Summary: 2-O-sulfated proteoglycans are essential for cranial motor neuron migration, whereas 6-O-sulfated proteoglycans regulate cranial axon guidance.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Tissue- and stage-specific Wnt target gene expression is controlled subsequent to β-catenin recruitment to cis-regulatory modules
Highlighted article: Dual ChIP-seq and RNA-seq in vivo experiments show that the context-specific events that occur subsequent to β-catenin binding enable gene-specific regulation, rather than β-catenin recruitment per se.
Release from Xenopus oocyte prophase I meiotic arrest is independent of a decrease in cAMP levels or PKA activity
Highlighted article: In vivo detection of cAMP and PKA levels in real time reveals that Xenopus oocyte meiotic arrest following progesterone release occurs without any reduction in cAMP levels or PKA activity.
Chromatin remodeling enzyme Snf2h regulates embryonic lens differentiation and denucleation
Summary: Depletion of Snf2h induces premature and expanded differentiation of lens precursor cells and reveals the role of Snf2h in lens morphogenesis and denucleation of lens fibers.
Fear-of-intimacy-mediated zinc transport controls the function of zinc-finger transcription factors involved in myogenesis
Summary: The ZIP transporter Fear-of-intimacy controls intracellular zinc availability and is indispensable for the function of zinc-finger transcription factors involved in muscle specification and differentiation.
Thyroid follicle development requires Smad1/5- and endothelial cell-dependent basement membrane assembly
Summary: Epithelial BMP-Smad1/5 signaling and associated endothelial cells are required for reorganization of the thyroid progenitor cell mass into mature follicles via the assembly of a basement membrane.
Polycomb Ezh2 controls the fate of GABAergic neurons in the embryonic cerebellum
Summary: Cerebellar deletion of Ezh2 leads to increased GABAergic interneurons, decreased Purkinje cells and blocked proliferation of granule precursor cells derived from the rhombic lip.
Mitochondrial biogenesis is required for axonal growth
Summary: Mitochondrial biogenesis and ATP production are required for axonal growth and neuronal development in cultured rat cortical neurons.
β-catenin-mediated adhesion is required for successful preimplantation mouse embryo development
Summary: Generation of a new targeted Ctnnb1 allele shows that maternal/zygotic Ctnnb1 null embryos cannot complete preimplantation development due to defective blastomere adhesion.
Bmp signaling mediates endoderm pouch morphogenesis by regulating Fgf signaling in zebrafish
Summary: Genetic and chemical inhibitor analyses in zebrafish show that Bmp signaling to the endoderm is required for proper endoderm morphogenesis and subsequent craniofacial development.
Diversity in cell motility reveals the dynamic nature of the formation of zebrafish taste sensory organs
Summary: Time-lapse imaging, cell ablation and MSD plot analysis reveal relative random, directed or confined displacement of differentiating epithelial cells during taste bud development in zebrafish.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
Maximizing mutagenesis with solubilized CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoprotein complexes
Summary: Maximal mutagenesis efficiency is achieved in vivo in zebrafish embryos using salt-solubilized, fluorescently labelled Cas9-sgRNA complexes.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST IN OUR OTHER JOURNALS
From Journal of Cell Science
History of our journals

As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
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.