Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Expression of the neuroblast timer genes hunchback (green), Krüppel (blue), nubbin (magenta) and castor (yellow) in the developing thorax of a Tribolium embryo, detected using hybridisation chain reaction in situ hybridisation. All four genes are expressed in neuroblast cells along the ventral midline, but they also have other roles in embryonic development. See Research article by Tidswell et al. (dev199719).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
INTERVIEWS
REVIEW
In vitro models of the human heart
Summary: This Review discusses the different approaches available for using a new generation of self-organizing embryonic and cardiac organoids.
RESEARCH REPORT
TRPM7 is a crucial regulator of pancreatic endocrine development and high-fat-diet-induced β-cell proliferation
Summary: TRPM7 channels have a crucial developmental role in pancreatic progenitor cells. TRPM7 increases β-cell Mg2+ levels during proliferation and promotes β-cell proliferation under insulin resistant conditions.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Duplicated antagonistic EPF peptides optimize grass stomatal initiation
Summary: Duplicated antagonistic signaling peptides orthologous to the Arabidopsis EPF2 and STOMAGEN ligands, which are essential for the precise control of stomatal lineage initiation, are revealed in the grass model organism Brachypodium distachyon.
Itpr1 regulates the formation of anterior eye segment tissues derived from neural crest cells
Summary: Mutations in ITPR1 cause aniridia in individuals with Gillespie syndrome. This study reveals that loss of ITPR1 leads to anterior eye segment tissue defects, especially in the iris and cornea.
The homeobox gene TGIF1 is required for chicken ovarian cortical development and generation of the juxtacortical medulla
Summary: The homeobox transcription factor TGIF1 is required for proper ovarian sex differentiation in chicken embryos, regulating development of the cortical and juxtacortical medulla, independently of the supporting cell sex lineage.
The neuroblast timer gene nubbin exhibits functional redundancy with gap genes to regulate segment identity in Tribolium
Highlighted Article: nubbin and the gap genes knirps and giant redundantly repress Krüppel expression during segmentation. Simultaneous knockdown of all three genes causes ectopic Krüppel expression and loss of abdominal segment identity.
ZBTB20 is crucial for the specification of a subset of callosal projection neurons and astrocytes in the mammalian neocortex
Summary: The transcriptional regulator ZBTB20 acts in both progenitors and postmitotic cells to regulate cell fate specification of subtypes of callosal projection neurons and astrocytes in the mouse cortex.
Single-cell morphometrics reveals ancestral principles of notochord development
Highlighted Article: Single-cell morphometrics reveals that notochord development in amphioxus, a basally branching chordate, is driven by a complex set of cellular behaviours characterised by specific trajectories of cell shape change.
A comprehensive series of Irx cluster mutants reveals diverse roles in facial cartilage development
Summary: Genetic dissection of the Irx family of transcription factors in zebrafish reveals diverse requirements in formation of the facial complex and separation of individual cartilage elements.
Formin 3 directs dendritic architecture via microtubule regulation and is required for somatosensory nociceptive behavior
Summary: Formin 3 regulates the dendritic microtubule cytoskeleton and organelle localization, and is required for peripheral sensitivity to noxious heat, demonstrating mechanistic links between formin-mediated dendritic cytoskeletal regulation and nociceptive behavior.
Fis1 ablation in the male germline disrupts mitochondrial morphology and mitophagy, and arrests spermatid maturation
Summary: Analysis of germ cell-specific Fis1 knockout mice and mitophagy reporter mice reveals that the mitochondrial dynamics gene Fis1 regulates mitochondrial morphology and turnover during spermatid maturation.
Lrig1 and Lrig3 cooperate to control Ret receptor signaling, sensory axonal growth and epidermal innervation
Summary: Lrig1 and Lrig3 act redundantly to ensure proper sensory axonal growth, epidermal innervation and cold nociception.
Pathway to Independence programme

We’re excited to announce our new Pathway to Independence programme, aimed at supporting postdocs as they go on the job market. Find out more about the scheme in our Editorial.
Call for papers: Metabolic and Nutritional Control of Development and Regeneration

We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on metabolic and nutritional control of development and regeneration. Submission deadline: 15 May 2023.
Webinar: Increasing the visibility and impact of your research
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Would you like to increase the visibility and impact of your research and raise your profile internationally? If so, register for the very practical webinar we are running in association with HUBS on 23 February 2023.
Transitions in development: Daniel Grimes

Daniel Grimes’s lab studies the consequences of ciliary mutations, including left-right patterning defects and scoliosis. We interviewed Daniel to find out more about his career path, his experience of becoming a group leader and the influence of Jurassic Park.
Preprints in Development
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As part of our efforts to support the use of preprints and help curate the preprint literature, we are delighted to launch a new article type: ‘In preprints’. These pieces will discuss one or more recent preprints and place them in a broader context.