Issues
-
Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Lens fiber cells in various elongation stages. After differentiation at the lens equator, the lens fiber cells establish highly ordered layers as they elongate along the anterior-posterior pole axis of the lens. Four-week-old mouse lenses expressing membrane-anchored tdTomato (red) and EGFP (green), and stained with a nuclear marker, DAPI (blue). See Research article by Sugiyama et al. (dev202123).
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of contents
- PDF Icon PDF LinkIssue info
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
PERSPECTIVES
Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
INTERVIEWS
PRIMER
How studies in developmental epithelial-mesenchymal transition and mesenchymal-epithelial transition inspired new research paradigms in biomedicine
Summary: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition and its reverse mechanism, mesenchymal-epithelial transition, play crucial roles in regenerative medicine, contributing epigenetic changes in somatic cells to initiate reprogramming into stem cells and their subsequent differentiation into distinct lineages.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Notch signalling influences cell fate decisions and HOX gene induction in axial progenitors
Highlighted Article: Notch signalling is a crucial regulator of the induction and differentiation of posteriorly located neuromesodermal axial progenitors, the precursors of the neural and mesodermal components of the amniote embryonic body trunk.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Cranial suture lineage and contributions to repair of the mouse skull
Highlighted Article: Examination of the embryonic origins of mouse cranial sutures by genetic labelling reveals the contributions of neural crest, mesoderm and skeletal stem cells, focusing on repair of calvarial wounds.
RESEARCH REPORT
Mitochondrial defects triggered by amg-1 mutation elicit UPRmt and phagocytic clearance during spermatogenesis in C. elegans
Summary: amg-1 mutation causes mitochondrial partitioning defects that trigger the mitochondrial unfolded protein response and phagocytic clearance and impair spermatogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Cell division angle predicts the level of tissue mechanics that tune the amount of cerebellar folding
Highlighted Article: Comparison of two mouse strains reveals that cell division angle within the external granule cell layer of the cerebellum varies regionally and correlates with tissue mechanics that could set the amount and wavelength of folding.
The ACE inhibitor captopril inhibits ACN-1 to control dauer formation and aging
Summary: A DAF-2(A261V) mutant corresponding to a human disease variant, clarifies the mechanism by which captopril and acn-1 control aging by regulating dauer formation and interacting with daf genes.
Long-range formation of the Bicoid gradient requires multiple dynamic modes that spatially vary across the embryo
Summary: Morphogen dynamics can have spatial dependence, e.g. in the diffusivity, that can impact gradient extent and the speed of formation.
Fibroblast growth factor-induced lens fiber cell elongation is driven by the stepwise activity of Rho and Rac
Summary: FGF differentially regulates Rho and Rac activity at the lens equator to promote lens fiber cell elongation and migration in mouse.
Control of successive unequal cell divisions by neural cell fate regulators determines embryonic neuroblast cell size
Summary: 4D-lineage analysis and volumetric quantifications of the C lineage of Caenorhabditis elegans reveal that embryonic neuroblast size requires successive unequal cleavages that are regulated by key proneural transcription factors.
Interplay of Zeb2a, Id2a and Batf3 regulates microglia and dendritic cell development in the zebrafish brain
Summary: The development of microglia and brain-associated dendritic cells in the adult zebrafish brain is orchestrated by distinct genetic networks formed by the transcriptional regulators Zeb2a, Id2a and Batf3.
Seven-up acts in neuroblasts to specify adult central complex neuron identity and initiate neuroblast decommissioning
Summary: CRISPR/Cas9 knockout lines removing svp specifically from T2NB lineages show that Svp is required for the late born P-FN fate while restricting the early born P-EN fate.
Tracking early mammalian organogenesis – prediction and validation of differentiation trajectories at whole organism scale
Summary: This study generates a transcriptional roadmap of mouse gastrulation to organogenesis (E6.5-E9.5) and uses it to uncover complex waves of blood and endothelial development and interpret state-fate transplantation experiments.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
A new experimental evidence-weighted signaling pathway resource in FlyBase
Summary: Comprehensive curation of Drosophila signaling pathways and new visual displays of the pathways provide a new FlyBase resource for researchers, and new insights into signaling pathway architecture.
PREPRINT HIGHLIGHTS
The Company of Biologists Workshops
For the last 15 years, our publisher, The Company of Biologists, has provided an apt environment to inspire biology and support biologists through our Workshops series. Read about the evolution of the Workshop series and revisit JEB's experience with hosting the first Global South Workshop.
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 30 May 2025.
Meet our 2025 Pathway to Independence (PI) fellows
We are delighted to announce our third cohort of PI fellows - researchers whom we will be supporting as they transition from postdoc to Principal Investigator. Read about the eight talented fellows chosen, whom we're excited to be working with as they navigate the job market.
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.
the Node: Have your say
Our community site, the Node, is conducting a user survey about the content and the design of the site. Help us shape the Node's future and thank you for being a part of the Node over the last 15 years.
