Issues
-
Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Embryonic day 8 chicken hindgut was cultured for 72 hours on a fibronectin-coated surface in the presence of supplemental glial-derived neurotrophic factor (Gdnf). Immunostaining with a neural crest cell marker (Hnk1; red) and a neuronal marker (Tuj1; green) demonstrates robust migration of the enteric neural crest cells. See Research article by Nagy et al. on p. 264.
- PDF Icon PDF LinkTable of contents
- PDF Icon PDF LinkIssue info
IN THIS ISSUE
SPOTLIGHT
An interview with Peter Lawrence
Summary: Fly developmental biologist Peter Lawrence talks about his research and career, writing his first grant at age 65, and his time as an editor of Development.
PRIMER
Measuring forces and stresses in situ in living tissues
Summary: This Primer summarizes the current range of invasive and non-invasive techniques to measure forces in cells and tissues, and discusses their applications in developmental contexts.
REVIEW
The formation and function of the cardiac conduction system
Summary: This Review discusses the complex gene regulatory networks that act in stage-, tissue- and dose-dependent manners to control the development of the cardiac conduction system.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Genetic analysis of Runx2 function during intramembranous ossification
Summary: Runx2 is essential for the osteoblastic differentiation of Prx1- and Sca1-expressing mesenchymal stem cells during intramembranous ossification in mice.
Genes implicated in stem cell identity and temporal programme are directly targeted by Notch in neuroblast tumours
Summary: Genome-wide screens identify direct targets of Notch involved in promoting neural stem cell tumours in Drosophila, tying Notch into the transcription factor network coordinating these stem cells.
Single epicardial cell transcriptome sequencing identifies Caveolin 1 as an essential factor in zebrafish heart regeneration
Highlighted article: Gene expression analyses reveal that zebrafish epicardial cells are heterogeneous and identify many new epicardial markers, including Caveolin 1, which is shown to be essential for heart regeneration.
The zebrafish tailbud contains two independent populations of midline progenitor cells that maintain long-term germ layer plasticity and differentiate in response to local signaling cues
Summary: Progenitor cells that generate the midline tissues of the zebrafish floor plate, notochord, and hypochord make germ layer decisions after gastrulation based on local canonical Wnt and Notch signaling.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
The transcriptional repressor Blimp-1 acts downstream of BMP signaling to generate primordial germ cells in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus
Highlighted article: Blimp-1, a master regulator of PGC formation in mice, acts downstream of BMPs to generate PGCs in the cricket, highlighting that germ cell specification mechanisms are conserved between mice and crickets.
Sonic hedgehog controls enteric nervous system development by patterning the extracellular matrix
Highlighted article: Gut epithelium-derived sonic hedgehog acts indirectly on the developing chick enteric nervous system by regulating the composition of the intestinal microenvironment.
RING1 proteins contribute to early proximal-distal specification of the forelimb bud by restricting Meis2 expression
Highlighted article: RING1 proteins, which are essential components of Polycomb repressive complex-1, control proximal-distal patterning of the mouse forelimb by integrating developmental signals to regulate MEIS expression.
Neurogenesis in sea urchin embryos and the diversity of deuterostome neurogenic mechanisms
Summary: The process of neurogenesis in sea urchins shares features with chordate neurogenesis but is distinct from that seen in other ambulacraria, highlighting that deuterostomes employ diverse neurogenic mechanisms.
Neurogenic gene regulatory pathways in the sea urchin embryo
Summary: Molecular screens and knockdown studies reveal that SoxC and Brn1/2/4 function sequentially during neurogenesis in sea urchin embryos and are required for the differentiation of all neurons.
Two Forkhead transcription factors regulate cardiac progenitor specification by controlling the expression of receptors of the fibroblast growth factor and Wnt signaling pathways
Summary: Checkpoint suppressor homologue and Jumeau, which are known to govern cardiac progenitor cell divisions, play additional, mutually redundant roles in specifying cardiac mesoderm in Drosophila.
Prox1 and fibroblast growth factor receptors form a novel regulatory loop controlling lens fiber differentiation and gene expression
Summary: RNA-seq and the analyses of mutant mice reveal that Prox1 functions as a global regulator of lens fiber cell gene expression and acts in a feedback loop to control the expression of FGF receptors.
A new level of plasticity: Drosophila smooth-like testes muscles compensate failure of myoblast fusion
Summary: Drosophila testes muscles arise from stem cells and can compensate for fusion defects to safeguard fertility; this plasticity may compensate for the observed lack of satellite cells in Drosophila.
Dual function of Bmpr1a signaling in restricting preosteoblast proliferation and stimulating osteoblast activity in mouse
Summary: The genetic deletion of Bmpr1a in mice reveals a dual function for BMP signaling in restricting preosteoblast proliferation and promoting osteoblast activity, probably via regulation of mTORC1.
c-Raf promotes angiogenesis during normal growth plate maturation
Summary: The chondrocyte-specific ablation of c-Raf in mice results in a delay in vascular invasion and growth plate maturation due to increased ubiquitin-dependent degradation of VEGF.
Crim1 regulates integrin signaling in murine lens development
Summary: Crim1, a type I transmembrane protein, acts in lens epithelial cells where it colocalizes with and regulates the levels of active β1 integrin to control cell adhesion during mouse lens morphogenesis.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST IN OTHER COB JOURNALS
From Journal of Cell Science
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).
Choose Development in 2024
In this Editorial, Development Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown explain how you support your community by publishing in Development and how the journal champions serious science, community connections and progressive publishing.
Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
Register now for the 2024 Development Journal Meeting From Stem Cells to Human Development. Early-bird registration deadline: 3 May. Abstract submission deadline: 21 June.
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.