Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Confocal micrograph of a Drosophila melanogaster third instar larval brain. GFP (green) marks the expression pattern of ey-Gal4 and is mainly detected in the optic lobes. The glial marker Repo is shown in red, whereas blue depicts nuclei stained with DAPI. See Research article by Fernández-Espartero et al. (dev162156).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
INTERVIEW
SPOTLIGHT
Exploring landscapes of brain morphogenesis with organoids
Summary: This Spotlight summarizes the themes that emerged from a recent workshop organized by The Company of Biologists on ‘Thinking beyond the dish: taking in vitro neural differentiation to the next level’, highlighting the limitations and potential applications of organoid-based technologies.
REVIEW
Left-right asymmetry in heart development and disease: forming the right loop
Summary: This Review compares mechanisms underlying asymmetric heart morphogenesis and the dynamics thereof in fish, chick and mouse, relating them to clinical presentations and providing an evolutionary perspective.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Comparative genomic analysis of embryonic, lineage-converted and stem cell-derived motor neurons
Highlighted Article: Motor neurons made by stem cell differentiation and lineage conversion are highly similar to their primary counterparts, yet carry distinct differences that can impact their utility in translational studies.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Distinct cis-acting elements mediate targeting and clustering of Drosophila polar granule mRNAs
Summary: The accumulation of Drosophila germline mRNAs within polar granules is controlled by complex 3′UTR localization signals with distinct sub-elements that target mRNAs to the granules and promote mRNA clustering within them.
The Hippo pathway effector Taz is required for cell morphogenesis and fertilization in zebrafish
Highlighted Article: The Hippo pathway effector Taz is required for the formation of the micropylar cell, a unique enlarged follicle cell in the ovary, and is essential for fertilization in zebrafish.
The Ric-8A/Gα13/FAK signalling cascade controls focal adhesion formation during neural crest cell migration in Xenopus
Summary: Ric-8A-mediated Gα13 signalling, through Src and FAK, organizes the cortical actin cytoskeleton, and regulates focal adhesion properties and protrusion formation in Xenopus.
Hey2 regulates the size of the cardiac progenitor pool during vertebrate heart development
Summary: Hey2 controls the proliferative capacity of zebrafish cardiac progenitors, affecting the subsequent contribution of late-differentiating cardiac progenitors to the developing vertebrate heart, and ensuring a proper and timely growth of the heart.
N-linked glycosylation restricts the function of Short gastrulation to bind and shuttle BMPs
Summary: Altering the Short gastrulation glycosylation status could add great diversity to its function in regulating the pattern of bone morphogenetic protein activity in cells, wings and embryos during Drosophila development.
Basal epithelial tissue folding is mediated by differential regulation of microtubules
Summary: Examination of cell shape changes during zebrafish neuroepithelium tissue folding reveals that Wnt5b specifically regulates basal anisotropic cell shape via a microtubule-dependent mechanism, likely involving JNK signaling.
TWE-PRIL reverse signalling suppresses sympathetic axon growth and tissue innervation
Summary: In vivo and in vitro studies of superior cervical ganglion neurons of April−/− mice reveal that TWE-PRIL is a physiological regulator of NGF-promoted sympathetic axon growth, acting as a reverse signalling receptor.
Hedgehog signaling regulates cell motility and optic fissure and stalk formation during vertebrate eye morphogenesis
Summary: Multidimensional imaging of ptch2 mutant zebrafish uncovers a role for the Hh signaling pathway in regulating the cell and tissue dynamics underlying early eye morphogenesis.
Inhibition of cell fate repressors secures the differentiation of the touch receptor neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans
Summary: ZAG-1, a ZEB family transcription factor, safeguards fate specification of C. elegans touch receptor neurons by inhibiting a TEA domain-containing repressor, revealing its role in neuronal fate choice.
Vangl2-dependent regulation of membrane protrusions and directed migration requires a fibronectin extracellular matrix
Summary: The extracellular matrix protein fibronectin plays an important role in membrane protrusion formation and polarization in migrating gastrula cells, interacting with the planar cell polarity protein Vangl2.
Prp8 regulates oncogene-induced hyperplastic growth in Drosophila
Summary: Prp8 has been identified as a modulator of oncogenic growth in multiple Drosophila cancer models, which suggests the spliceosome as a potential context-dependent target in cancers.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
ROSA26 reporter mouse lines and image analyses reveal distinct region-specific cell behaviors in the visceral endoderm
Summary: Cell lineage analysis and live imaging reveals distinct region-specific cell behaviors in the visceral endoderm of mouse embryos during peri-implantation stages.
Development presents... live stream of our Journal Meeting

Watch a session from Development’s Journal Meeting, Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology which was live on the Node Monday 18 September.
Navigating a research career with a disability

Our two recent Perspectives articles explore the lived experiences of disabled scientists in our community. Kelsey L. Anbuhl and colleagues describe the lived experiences of five biologists who share the challenges and successes of undertaking a scientific career with a disability. Whereas Jack Darius Morgan reviews the literature exploring disabled scientists’ experiences in academia.
Focus on regeneration

Tissue regeneration is a fascinating phenomenon, but the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying regeneration remain incompletely understood. Here, Development has collated a series of articles showcasing some of the most recent advances in regenerative biology.
Keeping up with the Node: Lab meetings

Keep up with the Node 'Lab meeting' posts as the platform regularly highlights development and stem cell biology labs from across the globe and showcases research and researchers from the community. September featured the Kerosuo lab at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, read their 'Lab meeting' article here.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say

We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.