Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Immunostaining for endomucin, in conjunction with light-sheet fluorescence microscopy, reveals the angiogenic sprouting vascular network of a wild-type embryonic day 10.5 mouse. See Research article by Fish et al. on p. 2428.
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IN THIS ISSUE
SPOTLIGHT
An interview with Bill Harris
Summary: Bill Harris, winner of the BSDB's Waddington medal, talks about his early career transition from behaviour to neurodevelopment, the modelling that helped him understand the retina and his biology-inspired art.
REVIEWS
MicroRNAs in neural development: from master regulators to fine-tuners
Summary: This Review summarizes the main functions of microRNAs in several aspects of neural development, including neurogenesis, migration, axon and dendrite development, and synaptic plasticity.
Human haematopoietic stem cell development: from the embryo to the dish
Summary: This Review summarises what is known regarding the emergence of the human haematopoietic system in vivo, and applies this knowledge to the generation of bona fide human haematopoietic stem cells in vitro.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Generating minicorneal organoids from human induced pluripotent stem cells
Summary: A new method for generating 3D corneal organoids from human pluripotent stem cells provides a detailed spatiotemporal analysis of marker expression and tissue formation during corneal development.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Restricted intra-embryonic origin of bona fide hematopoietic stem cells in the chicken
Summary: Bona fide hematopoietic stem cells originate from the aorta – and not the yolk sac, allantois or head – during embryonic development in chick.
The fusogen AFF-1 can rejuvenate the regenerative potential of adult dendritic trees by self-fusion
Summary: Ectopic expression of the AFF-1, a protein that regulates self-fusion, can rejuvenate the regenerative potential of dendrites following injury in aging C. elegans.
RESEARCH REPORT
Extended C termini of CPC-LIKE MYB proteins confer functional diversity in Arabidopsis epidermal cell differentiation
Summary: The Arabidopsis CPC-LIKE MYB family, which regulates root hair cell differentiation, includes highly unstable proteins whose proteolysis might be mediated by the ubiquitin/proteasome-dependent pathway.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
A new hypothesis for foregut and heart tube formation based on differential growth and actomyosin contraction
Highlighted article: Experiments using chick embryos and computational models reveal the biophysical mechanisms that create the foregut and heart tube in the early embryo.
Placental labyrinth formation in mice requires endothelial FLRT2/UNC5B signaling
Highlighted article: Proper organization of the placental labyrinth in mice depends on coordinated inter-endothelial repulsion mediated by the binding of FLRT2 to the UNC5B receptor.
Distinct roles for the mTOR pathway in postnatal morphogenesis, maturation and function of pancreatic islets
Highlighted article: The nutrient-sensing pathway mTOR and its downstream effectors are required in the first two weeks of life for the morphogenesis, maturation and function of pancreatic islets in mice.
The matrix protein Tiggrin regulates plasmatocyte maturation in Drosophila larva
Summary: The matrix protein Tiggrin, which is modulated by cell cycle regulators, inhibits the maturation of plasmatocytes in the Drosophila larval lymph gland through an integrin-independent mechanism.
Dynamic regulation of VEGF-inducible genes by an ERK/ERG/p300 transcriptional network
Summary: A network of VEGF-dependent angiogenic genes is regulated by the transcription factor ERG, which dynamically recruits the co-activator p300 to VEGF-dependent enhancers in endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo.
Myostatin-like proteins regulate synaptic function and neuronal morphology
Summary: Myostatin-like proteins can modulate neuromuscular synapse strength as well as synaptogenesis beyond neuromuscular junctions, highlighting a key role for these proteins in synapse function and neuronal growth.
PDGF controls contact inhibition of locomotion by regulating N-cadherin during neural crest migration
Summary: PDGF-A and its receptor control Xenopus neural crest migration by promoting EMT and contact inhibition of locomotion, acting via N-cadherin regulation at early stages of development and working as chemoattractant later.
Altered feto-placental vascularization, feto-placental malperfusion and fetal growth restriction in mice with Egfl7 loss of function
Summary: The endothelial-secreted protein EGFL7 plays a crucial role in placental development in mice, affecting chorionic branching, vascular patterning and fetal growth.
Defective Hand1 phosphoregulation uncovers essential roles for Hand1 in limb morphogenesis
Summary: Altering Hand1 phosphoregulation, and consequently Hand1 dimerization affinities, results in a severe truncation of anterior-proximal limb elements in mice.
Incompatibility between mitochondrial and nuclear genomes during oogenesis results in ovarian failure and embryonic lethality
Summary: In Drosophila, mito-nuclear incompatibility has severe consequences for oogenesis and embryonic survival, a finding that has broader relevance to human female infertility and mitochondrial replacement therapy.
VEGF-A and neuropilin 1 (NRP1) shape axon projections in the developing CNS via dual roles in neurons and blood vessels
Summary: NRP1 plays a dual role in retinal ganglion cells and in vascular endothelial cells to organise axons along the optic pathway between the mouse retina and diencephalon.
Defining epithelial cell dynamics and lineage relationships in the developing lacrimal gland
Summary: Single-cell sequencing combined with a battery of molecular tools reveals novel features of cellular dynamics and differentiation during lacrimal gland development in mice.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
Oxygenation and adenosine deaminase support growth and proliferation of ex vivo cultured Drosophila wing imaginal discs
Summary: New and optimised ex vivo culture conditions, which involve tissue oxygenation and adenosine deaminase activity in the medium, support growth and proliferation in the Drosophila wing disc.
CORRECTION
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A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology

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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.