Issues

Summary: Neural crest cells are an embryonic population of migratory stem cells that form many derivatives. This Review summarizes our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving their epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Summary: In this Review, we focus on recent studies describing mouse and human neural crest-derived sympathoadrenal development, which are redefining our understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings of neuroblastoma.

Summary: Maternal knockout mice models show that H3K27me2/3 restoration is delayed in pre-implantation embryos and that the epiblast is compromised during development, revealing the role of PRC2-H3K27me3 in safeguarding pluripotent epiblast fate.

Summary: The Smog GPCR regulates distinct myosin pools and the actin cytoskeleton in a ligand-dependent manner during epithelial tube formation.

Summary: During nematode sperm activation, the ATP produced is released into extracellular space via innexin channels and hydrolyzed by the ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase MIG-23 to modulate cytoskeleton dynamics and sperm motility.

Summary: TORC1-mediated tissue-specific juvenile hormone sensitivity and thus juvenile hormone signaling induces flight-muscle degeneration by blocking the energy supply in the female winged aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum.

Summary: A previously unreported function for Twist1 in neural tube closure and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cranial neural crest cells. Twist1-interacting Irf6 is involved in regulating neural tube integrity.

Highlighted Article: A context-specific requirement of Vsx2 enhancer elements during retinogeneis.

Summary: Vertebrates and invertebrates use different mechanisms to anchor germ plasm, with evolutionary conservation between vertebrates. In early zebrafish embryos, germ plasm is anchored by tight junctions at the cleavage furrows.

Summary: We classified the developmental process of spermatozoids into 1+5 stages and characterized the remodeling of organelles and microtubules and roles of ESCRT proteins during spermiogenesis in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha.

Highlighted Article: Mouse spinal cord Dbx1⁺ embryonic progenitors produce a region-specific subset of astrocytes in which Dbx1 regulates the balance of neuronal versus glial cell fate via its effect on Notch-mediated cell interactions.

Summary: Absence of SmcHD1 in mouse epiblast stem cells and embryonic fibroblasts leads to a loss of histone H3K9me3 enrichment on the inactive X chromosome, revealing a crucial role of SmcHD1 in X chromosome inactivation.

Summary:Gata6 is expressed in the undifferentiated ureteric mesenchyme and its conditional loss leads to hydroureternephrosis in fetal and adult mice revealing its potential use as a candidate for genetic screening for hydroureter.

Summary: Mathematical modeling of transcription factors expressed in the Arabidopsis root stem-cell niche shows that immobilization of WOX5 by BRAVO sequestration is sufficient to drive spatially self-confined BRAVO expression.