Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: An Arabidopsis gynoecium lacking AGAMOUS, TRIPTYCHON and CAPRICE activity that has been treated with the synthetic cytokinin 6-benzylaminopurine. Trichomes, which are not normally present on floral reproductive organs, densely cover the carpel valves. See Research article by Ó'Maoiléidigh et al. (dev157784).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
SPOTLIGHT
Mapping human development at single-cell resolution
Summary: This Spotlight presents a working framework for the establishment of the Human Developmental Cell Atlas (HDCA), highlighting potential applications but also challenges in gathering, processing, integrating, interpreting and accessing the data.
REVIEW
Self-organizing periodicity in development: organ positioning in plants
Summary: This Review discusses our current understanding of phyllotaxis and the classes of models proposed to explain the roles of auxin and its efflux carrier PIN1 in determining cell polarity patterns in the Arabidopsis shoot.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Integrated analysis of single-cell embryo data yields a unified transcriptome signature for the human pre-implantation epiblast
Highlighted Article: A comprehensive analysis of single-cell RNA-seq data from human pre-implantation embryos resolves cell-type ambiguities and defines consensus transcriptomes for emergent embryonic lineages.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Stereotypical architecture of the stem cell niche is spatiotemporally established by miR-125-dependent coordination of Notch and steroid signaling
Highlighted Article: In Drosophila, the robustness of stem cell niche assembly is safeguarded via a dual mechanism of Notch activation. Cellular Notch status can be reprogrammed by miR-125, which spatiotemporally coordinates paracrine and endocrine signaling.
Neurogenic differentiation by hippocampal neural stem and progenitor cells is biased by NFIX expression
Summary: In addition to its role in neuroblast maturation and differentiation, NFIX is shown to suppress the expression of oligodendrocyte-associated genes within the adult mouse hippocampus.
Wnt6 maintains anterior escort cells as an integral component of the germline stem cell niche
Summary: In Drosophila ovaries, anterior escort cells, maintained by Wnt signaling, form a crucial component of the stem cell niche by promoting BMP signaling and anchoring GSCs through DE-cadherin-based junctions.
RESEARCH REPORTS
Transient loss of venous integrity during developmental vascular remodeling leads to red blood cell extravasation and clearance by lymphatic vessels
Highlighted Article: Previously unrecognized roles of platelets and lymphatic vessels during developmental vascular remodeling are revealed, providing mechanistic insight into how vascular abnormalities characterized by blood-filled lymphatic vessels arise.
Continuous root xylem formation and vascular acclimation to water deficit involves endodermal ABA signalling via miR165
Highlighted Article: In Arabidopsis, non-cell-autonomous ABA signalling mediated by miR165 determines root vascular patterning and xylem morphology under both normal and water-limiting conditions, revealing employment of core developmental factors in the environmental response.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Floral homeotic proteins modulate the genetic program for leaf development to suppress trichome formation in flowers
Summary: The formation of trichomes on the reproductive floral organs of Arabidopsis is suppressed by an interplay of floral organ identity factors and components of the genetic program for leaf development.
Variant cell cycles regulated by Notch signaling control cell size and ensure a functional blood-brain barrier
Highlighted Article: In Drosophila brain lobes, Notch and the mitosis-activating phosphatase String regulate the switch of subperineurial glia from endocycle to endomitosis during larval development, with endomitotic cells attaining increased ploidy and size.
In vivo imaging of emerging endocrine cells reveals a requirement for PI3K-regulated motility in pancreatic islet morphogenesis
Summary: Pancreatic endocrine cells extend previously unrecognized dynamic, flexible, fine projections to guide clustering into a compacted islet in a process regulated by PI3K and GPCR.
Dissection of genetic regulation of compound inflorescence development in Medicago truncatula
Summary: By analyzing Tnt1 insertion mutants for MtTFL1, MtFULc, SGL1 and MtAP1, the genetic relationship between these genes and compound inflorescence development in the model legume species M. truncatula is revealed.
GTL1 and DF1 regulate root hair growth through transcriptional repression of ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE 6-LIKE 4 in Arabidopsis
Summary: Arabidopsis gtl1 df1 double mutants and tissue-specific overexpression of GTL1 and DF1 demonstrate that both GTL1 and DF1 negatively regulate root hair growth by directly repressing RSL4.
The developmental and genetic basis of ‘clubfoot’ in the peroneal muscular atrophy mutant mouse
Highlighted Article: The mutation in the PMA mouse model of human clubfoot was mapped and a candidate gene, Limk1, identified that was shown to cause sciatic nerve and limb abnormalities when overexpressed.
Nkx genes establish second heart field cardiomyocyte progenitors at the arterial pole and pattern the venous pole through Isl1 repression
Summary: Nkx genes play key functions in secondary heart field cardiomyocyte differentiation in zebrafish and shed light on the mechanisms underlying heart malformations and conduction defects in individuals carrying NKX2-5 mutations.
Drosophila Sidekick is required in developing photoreceptors to enable visual motion detection
Summary: Drosophila Sidekick has a conserved function in visual motion detection, but in contrast to vertebrates, it acts in a single cell type rather than mediating recognition of synaptic partners.
The Drosophila Ret gene functions in the stomatogastric nervous system with the Maverick TGFβ ligand and the Gfrl co-receptor
Summary: Loss of the Ret receptor tyrosine kinase causes larval feeding defects associated with abnormal axon innervation and defective peristalsis of the midgut.
RBX2 maintains final retinal cell position in a DAB1-dependent and -independent fashion
Summary: RBX2, a core component of the E3 ubiquitin ligase CRL5, provides a key mechanism to maintain proper retinal cell position and cone function in mouse.
Gli3 in fetal thymic epithelial cells promotes thymocyte positive selection and differentiation by repression of Shh
Summary: Gli3 activity in thymic epithelial cells promotes maturation from CD4+ CD8+ to CD4+ CD8− thymocyte by reducing Shh, which signals to reduce T-cell receptor-mediated transcription during repertoire selection in mouse fetal thymus.
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.
