Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Illustration based on a confocal image of a young Arabidopsis leaf. The original image was processed to mimic stained glass where the individual shapes, coloured in different shades of green, represent the cells in the epidermis. See Research article by Bossi et al. (dev200565).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
PERSPECTIVE
INTERVIEWS
REVIEW
Enhancer-gene specificity in development and disease
Summary: This Review discusses recent insights into the factors controlling enhancer specificity and how this might help us understand the genetic basis of human disease.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
GDF5+ chondroprogenitors derived from human pluripotent stem cells preferentially form permanent chondrocytes
Summary: A newly identified chondrogenic mesenchymal cell type, distinguished by GDF5 expression and commitment to the generation of PRG4-expressing permanent cartilage, has been developed from human pluripotent stem cells and characterized at the molecular level.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Autophagy promotes organelle clearance and organized cell separation of living root cap cells in Arabidopsis thaliana
Highlighted Article: Time-lapse microscopy reveals the spatiotemporal dynamics of intracellular reorganization associated with the functional transition and cell separation in Arabidopsis root caps, and the roles of autophagy in these processes.
CCDC38 is required for sperm flagellum biogenesis and male fertility in mice
Summary: CCDC38 participates in manchette assembly and flagellum biogenesis and interacts with CCDC42, IFT88 and ODF2. Ccdc38 defects might be associated with multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella.
Aberrant uterine folding in mice disrupts implantation chamber formation and alignment of embryo-uterine axes
Highlighted Article: Uterine folds and implantation chambers are distinct structures and longitudinal folds in the uterine lumen disrupt implantation chamber formation, embryo-uterine axes alignment and implantation outcomes.
DLX1 and the NuRD complex cooperate in enhancer decommissioning and transcriptional repression
Summary: In mouse embryonic basal ganglia, DLX1 interacts with the NuRD components RBBP4 and RBBP7 to decommission regulatory elements of genes such as Olig2, altering chromatin accessibility and thereby repressing expression.
ABI transcription factors and PROTEIN L-ISOASPARTYL METHYLTRANSFERASE module mediate seed desiccation tolerance and longevity in Oryza sativa
Summary: PIMT is differentially regulated by ABA and ABI-TFs during seed maturation and contributes to desiccation tolerance and longevity by repairing ABI-TFs in orthodox seeds of O. sativa, but not in recalcitrant seeds of O. coarctata.
Single-cell imaging of the cell cycle reveals CDC25B-induced heterogeneity of G1 phase length in neural progenitor cells
Summary: Time-lapse imaging of cell cycle kinetics in chick single neural progenitor cells reveals that CDC25B indirectly increases the duration of the G1 phase, possibly by preventing phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein.
The lysine deacetylase activity of histone deacetylases 1 and 2 is required to safeguard zygotic genome activation in mice and cattle
Summary: Upon fertilization, activation of the newly created genome is a landmark developmental event. Histone deacetylase 1 and 2 are critical epigenetic modifiers that maintain transcriptional states during zygotic genome activation.
A cell wall-associated gene network shapes leaf boundary domains
Highlighted Article: Morphometric analyses of Arabidopsis mutants reveals that decreased expression of cell-wall loosening genes contributes to the coordination of cell growth and mechanics with tissue patterning, thus driving boundary development.
A prominent gene activation role for C-terminal binding protein in mediating PcG/trxG proteins through Hox gene regulation
Summary: CtBP directly activates gene expression in the major developmental processes, indicating that activation may be important for CtBP in the context of development.
CHIQUITA1 maintains the temporal transition between proliferation and differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana
Highlighted Article: A plant-specific protein family with unknown molecular function controls when cells exit proliferation and changes the final organ size in Arabidopsis.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
Identification and classification of cis-regulatory elements in the amphipod crustacean Parhyale hawaiensis
Summary: Deep analysis of ATAC-seq data, combined short- and long-read sequencing, and integration of accessibility and gene expression can identify regulatory elements with distinct biological functions and advance the study of gene regulation in organisms of interest.
Generation of a homozygous mutant drug transporter (ABCB1) knockout line in the sea urchin Lytechinus pictus
Summary: The utility of Lytechinus pictus as a much needed genetically enabled sea urchin resource is achieved through the generation of a homozygous mutant knockout of the drug transporter ABCB1/P-glycoprotein.
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.
