Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Cover: Metatarsal from an E16.5 Lifeact-EGFP embryo (Lifeact is false coloured in pink, centre), which has been dissected and put into culture. Blood vessels (visualised with CD31, purple) sprout from the metatarsal to form a complex vascular network, allowing for ex vivo analysis of vascular density and sprout dynamics. See Research article by Schimmel et al. (dev185405).
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
INTERVIEW
SPOTLIGHT
Responsible use of organoids in precision medicine: the need for active participant involvement
Summary: In this Spotlight, we argue why a shift from passive donation towards more active involvement of patient-participants is particularly crucial for biobank research on complex tissues such as organoids aimed at precision medicine.
PRIMER
Model systems for regeneration: Drosophila
Summary: In Drosophila, new precision approaches to inducing tissue damage have enabled targeted injury and genetic manipulation of regenerating tissue. Here, we discuss these techniques and the mechanisms that regulate regeneration in Drosophila larval and adult tissues.
REVIEW
Understanding generation and regeneration of pancreatic β cells from a single-cell perspective
Summary: This Review summarizes recent advances in the use of single-cell based technologies to understand intermediate cell states, cellular heterogeneity and molecular trajectories of β-cell generation and regeneration.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
Neurogenesis in the inner ear: the zebrafish statoacoustic ganglion provides new neurons from a Neurod/Nestin-positive progenitor pool well into adulthood
Summary: This study provides the first comprehensive characterization of the zebrafish statoacoustic ganglion showing that, in sharp contrast to mammals, zebrafish display continued neurogenesis in the inner ear into adult stages.
Planarian cell number depends on blitzschnell, a novel gene family that balances cell proliferation and cell death
Highlighted Article: blitzschnell is a novel gene family that controls cell number during planarian regeneration and nutrient-dependent growth/degrowth. Its expression depends on food ingestion and mTOR signaling.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Reduction of endocytic activity accelerates cell elimination during tissue remodeling of the Drosophila epidermal epithelium
Summary: Reduction of endocytic activity in Drosophila larval cells promotes cell elimination by stimulating Myosin II reorganization and a positive-feedback loop between caspase activation and E-cadherin.
MMP14 is required for delamination of chick neural crest cells independently of its catalytic activity
Summary: MMP14 is required for the delamination of chick neural crest cells by promoting the basal positioning of nuclei during EMT, an effect that is independent of its catalytic activity.
Physical interactions between Gsx2 and Ascl1 balance progenitor expansion versus neurogenesis in the mouse lateral ganglionic eminence
Summary: This study demonstrates that Gsx2 physically interacts with the proneural factor Ascl1 in LGE progenitors and interferes with the DNA binding capacity of Ascl1, thus priming progenitors for neurogenesis while allowing for further expansion.
Oriented basement membrane fibrils provide a memory for F-actin planar polarization via the Dystrophin-Dystroglycan complex during tissue elongation
Summary: This work reveals the roles of basement membrane fibrils and stress fibers during tissue elongation in the Drosophila ovarian follicle and two new developmental functions for the Dystrophin-Dystroglycan complex.
Gene regulatory network controlling carpel number variation in cucumber
Summary: A gene regulatory pathway involving CsCLV3, CsWUS, CsFUL1A and CsARF14 determines carpel number variation in an important vegetable crop – cucumber.
Wnt ligands regulate the asymmetric divisions of neuronal progenitors in C. elegans embryos
Highlighted Article: Time-controlled gain- and loss-of-function experiments reveal that Wnt ligands play an instructive role in the regulation of the terminal asymmetric divisions of neuronal progenitors.
Myosin heavy chain-embryonic regulates skeletal muscle differentiation during mammalian development
Highlighted Article: Myh3 mouse alleles reveal that MyHC-embryonic is crucial for skeletal muscle development and adult Myh3 null mice exhibit scoliosis, a phenotype seen in congenital contracture syndromes.
c-Src controls stability of sprouting blood vessels in the developing retina independently of cell-cell adhesion through focal adhesion assembly
Summary: c-Src is required for developmental angiogenic sprouting in the retina by controlling cell-matrix adhesion, revealing a context-dependent role for kinase signaling in endothelial cells.
CORRECTION
Development Journal Meeting 2023
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We are delighted to announce that our 2023 Journal Meeting ‘Unconventional and Emerging Experimental Organisms in Cell and Developmental Biology’ will be held from 17-20 September 2023 at Wotton House, Surrey, UK. Find out more and register here.
Call for papers: Metabolic and Nutritional Control of Development and Regeneration

We are welcoming submissions for our next special issue, which will focus on metabolic and nutritional control of development and regeneration. Submission deadline: 15 May 2023.
preLights 5th Birthday webinar

preLights, our preprint highlighting service, is celebrating its 5th birthday this year. To mark the occasion, join us online on 14 March 2023 at 16:00 GMT for a discussion, led by four preLights alumni, on how to identify and navigate the challenges and opportunities while shaping your career as an early-career researcher.
Transitions in development: Daniel Grimes

Daniel Grimes’s lab studies the consequences of ciliary mutations, including left-right patterning defects and scoliosis. We interviewed Daniel to find out more about his career path, his experience of becoming a group leader and the influence of Jurassic Park.
Preprints in Development
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As part of our efforts to support the use of preprints and help curate the preprint literature, we are delighted to launch a new article type: ‘In preprints’. These pieces will discuss one or more recent preprints and place them in a broader context.