The embryonic origin of distinct fat depots and the role for ontogeny in specifying the functional differences among adipocyte lineages between and within depots is unclear. Using a Cre/Lox-based strategy to track the fate of major mesodermal subcompartments in mice we present evidence that fewer than 50% of interscapular brown adipocytes are derived from progenitors of the central dermomyotome. Furthermore, we demonstrate that depot-specific adipocyte lineages spatially diverge as early as gastrulation and that perigonadal adipocytes arise from separate mesodermal subcompartments in males and females. Last, we show adipocyte precursors (APs) of distinct lineages within the same depot exhibit indistinguishable responses to a high fat diet, indicating ontogenetic differences between APs do not necessarily correspond to functional differences in this context. Altogether, these findings shed light on adipose tissue patterning and suggest the behavior of adipocyte lineage cells is not strictly determined by developmental history.
A mesodermal fate map for adipose tissue
Call for papers: Uncovering Developmental Diversity
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: Uncovering Developmental Diversity. This issue will be coordinated by our academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA).
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Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
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Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
This collaborative Perspective, the result of a workshop held in 2023, proposes a set of community actions to increase the visibility of the developmental biology field. The authors make recommendations for new funding streams, frameworks for collaborations and mechanisms by which members of the community can promote themselves and their research.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.
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