Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Live imaging in a zebrafish embryo at 50 h post-fertilization of the two cellular components of the caudal hematopoietic niche: the stromal cells (green; expression of GFP) and the endothelial cells of the venous plexus (magenta; expression of farnesylated mCherry). See Research article by Touret et al. (dev200278).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
PERSPECTIVE
OBITUARY
INTERVIEW
REVIEW
The emerging significance of splicing in vertebrate development
Summary: Mutations in spliceosome components are linked to diseases characterized by tissue-specific phenotypes. This unique role of the spliceosome in vertebrate development is currently being unravelled through new animal models.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Dysregulation of integrin αvβ3 and α5β1 impedes migration of placental endothelial cells in fetal growth restriction
Highlighted Article: Placental dysfunction with impaired placental angiogenesis is a key finding in severe fetal growth restriction. We show that integrin dysregulation within human placental endothelial cells contributes to reduced angiogenic properties.
Young transposable elements rewired gene regulatory networks in human and chimpanzee hippocampal intermediate progenitors
Highlighted Article: Evolution of human and chimpanzee hippocampal development was mediated by the co-option of young retrotransposons into species-specific enhancers.
RESEARCH REPORT
The ETS transcription factor Spi2 regulates hematopoietic cell development in zebrafish
Summary: The ray-finned fish-specific ETS transcription factor Spi2 is explicitly expressed in hemogenic endothelium and hematopoietic lineages and is involved in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell and myeloid cell development in zebrafish.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The single Marchantia polymorpha FERONIA homolog reveals an ancestral role in regulating cellular expansion and integrity
Summary: The CrRLK1L family arose in land plants and the Marchantia polymorpha genome contains a single copy, MpFER, which is broadly expressed and regulates cell expansion and cellular integrity.
Plap-1 lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics reveal cellular dynamics in the periodontal ligament
Summary: Plap-1 expression can be used to define and isolate the periodontal ligament fibroblast lineage, revealing the role of periodontal ligament cells in tissue homeostasis and repair.
Loss of function of the maternal membrane oestrogen receptor ERα alters expansion of trophoblast cells and impacts mouse fertility
Summary: A point mutation in the oestrogen receptor ERα alters pregnancy, revealing the crucial role for this receptor in maternal tissues for both placental development and delivery.
A tumor-suppressive function for Notch3 in the parous mammary gland
Highlighted Article: Expression and functional analysis of Notch3 reveals an unexpected tumor-suppressive function for Notch3 in the parous mammary gland through restriction of parity-identified mammary epithelial cell expansion.
Sea anemone Frizzled receptors play partially redundant roles in oral-aboral axis patterning
Summary: In Nematostella, the ectoderm is patterned along the oral-aboral axis by Wnt/Fz/LRP5/6-mediated β-catenin signalling. In contrast, β-catenin-dependent endoderm specification does not seem to require Fz/LRP5/6.
The RNA ligase RNA terminal phosphate cyclase B regulates mRNA alternative splicing and is required for mouse oocyte development and maintenance
Summary: The important role of RNA terminal phosphate cyclase B-regulated non-canonical splicing in female reproduction and the mechanisms involved.
Regulation of Archease by the mTOR-vATPase axis
Summary: Drosophila Archease is required for apical membrane expansion and its subcellular localization is regulated by TOR-vATPase activity.
Omics profiling identifies the regulatory functions of the MAPK/ERK pathway in nephron progenitor metabolism
Summary: A systems biology approach was used to identify the participation of the MAPK/ERK pathway in the regulation of cellular metabolism of nephron progenitors during renal development.
Sequential and additive expression of miR-9 precursors control timing of neurogenesis
Highlighted Article: Sharp stepwise increase of mature miR-9 is contributed by sequential-temporal activation of distinct loci; a strategy to overcome adaptation and facilitate a transition to a new state of Her6 dynamics/level.
Formation and function of a highly specialised type of organelle in cardiac valve cells
Summary: Haemolymph flow in the Drosophila heart is regulated by highly specialised valve cells that can dynamically change their cell shape via intracellular vesicular cavity generation and redirection of recycling endosomes.
A dual involvement of Protocadherin 18a in stromal cell development guides the formation of a functional hematopoietic niche
Summary: Protocadherin 18a conditions the proper migration of somite-derived stromal cells and their interaction with the endothelial cells with which they constitute the first niche of definitive hematopoiesis in zebrafish.
Interactive CLV3, CLE16 and CLE17 signaling mediates stem cell homeostasis in the Arabidopsis shoot apical meristem
Highlighted Article: The CLE16 and CLE17 peptides play overlapping roles in buffering stem cell homeostasis in Arabidopsis shoot apical meristems by compensating for reduced CLV3 activity.
About us

Our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 this year. Read about the history of the Company and find out what Sarah Bray, our Chair of the Board of Directors, has to say.
Biologists @ 100 - join us in Liverpool in March 2025

We are excited to invite you to a unique scientific conference, celebrating the 100-year anniversary of The Company of Biologists, and bringing together our different communities. The conference will incorporate the Spring Meetings of the BSCB and the BSDB, the JEB Symposium Sensory Perception in a Changing World and a DMM programme on antimicrobial resistance. Find out more and register by 28 February 2025 to join us in March 2025 in Liverpool, UK.
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.