Issues

Summary: Claudio Stern, who was awarded the 2017 ISDB Ross Harrison Prize, talks about the need for clear thinking in theory and experiment, his interest in the history of science, and the importance of forging international links.

Summary: This Meeting Review of the 2017 FASEB conference ʻThe TGFβ Superfamily: Signaling in Development and Disease' summarizes recent findings in TGFβ signal transduction mechanisms and control, and their role in tumorigenesis.

Summary: This Review describes the actions of cell fusogens during the three stages of developmental cell-cell fusion: the dehydration of plasma membranes, hemifusion, and fusion pore opening and expansion.

Summary: This Review examines genome-wide approaches to elucidate the regulatory principles of pluripotency in human embryos and stem cells, and highlights differences in the regulation of pluripotency between mice and humans.

Summary: This study identified a chondrocyte repertoire of lncRNAs and discovered that ROCR (regulator of chondrogenesis RNA) is important for MSC chondrogenesis and cartilage gene expression by promoting the expression of SOX9.

Highlighted Article: Expression of mesoderm factor Tbx6 reveals a novel regulatory state in the neuromesoderm bipotent progenitor population. Five spinal cords in mutant tail underscore Tbx6 function in mesoderm fate choice of these cells.

Summary: Contrary to a previous model, Notch signaling does not promote or repress the formation of a specific nephron segment in mammals. Instead, it promotes nephrogenesis by upregulating Lhx1 and Hnf1b.

Summary: Identification of the dendritic and punctate classes of marker and of foxF-1, ets-1 and fgfrL-1 as novel specification and maintenance regulators provides insight into mechanisms of pigment cell development and regeneration in adult Schmidtea mediterranea.

Summary: This study shows that embryonic Drosophila type II neuroblasts produce INPs, express late temporal transcription factors, undergo quiescence, and contribute to the central complex of the adult brain.

Highlighted Article: Fgfr3 and Fgfr4 are required in mouse postnatal lung development, where they regulate elastin fiber organization during alveologenesis via mesenchymal expression of the elastin cross-linking factor MFAP5.

Highlighted Article: Ectotherms thrive within an often remarkable temperature range. At low temperatures, βTub97EF, a β-tubulin paralog stabilizing microtubules, is upregulated in a tissue-specific manner in Drosophila melanogaster.

Highlighted Article: Knockout of Arpc4 in mouse epidermis reveals that the Arp2/3 complex controls keratinocyte shape and transcriptome through an actin-based cell-autonomous mechanism that can influence epidermal morphogenesis and homeostasis.

Summary: Overexpression and knockdown of LRP4 in mouse cortical and hippocampal neurons both in vitro and in vivo reveals a key role for LRP4 in dendrite and synapse formation during development.

Summary: This study uncovers novel aspects of head muscle and heart development in zebrafish, information that will be crucial for deciphering the cellular mechanisms underlying zebrafish models of human congenital disorders.

Summary: Expression and functional studies in hide beetles suggest independent roles for pair-rule genes in elongation and segmentation of sequentially segmenting insects, and rewiring of a subset of these regulatory genes.

Summary: As shown by depleting the mRNA levels of key elements of juvenile hormone signaling, juvenile hormone has relevant functions during embryo development in the German cockroach, a basal insect.

Summary: Hox-dependent apoptosis in the limbless neck region of the chick embryo eliminates a transient population of spinal motor neurons that express Foxp1 and have characteristics of limb-innervating LMC neurons.

Summary: In vivo analysis of C. elegans mechanosensory neurons indicates that the signaling hub RPM-1 regulates growth cone collapse, and is inhibited by PTL-1/Tau.

Summary: APC/C has distinct roles during Drosophila eye development, linking cell division to axon-glia interaction; several genes act downstream of Fzr/Cdh1 to fulfill its manifold functions during neural development.

Summary: The ATPase Pontin is essential for cilia motility in multiple organs in zebrafish and for sperm motility in mice, where it functions with Reptin and Hsp90 in building axonemal dynein complexes.

Summary: Disruption of Hh signaling in amphioxus causes loss of Cer expression and bilateral expression of Nodal, Pitx and Lefty, revealing a novel role in LR patterning in this ancient chordate.

Summary: High-resolution analyses during ureteric bud branching reveal that HNFB1 is required for maintaining cell-cell contacts, for proper epithelial cell organization and for further differentiation of the collecting duct system.