Subject collection: Neural development
- A novel population of Hopx-dependent basal radial glial cells in the developing mouse neocortex
Highlighted Article: Developing mouse medial neocortex is a relict of an ancestral gyrencephalic developing cerebral cortex in terms of the abundance of basal radial glial cells.
- A non-canonical role for the proneural gene Neurog1 as a negative regulator of neocortical neurogenesis
Summary: Proneural genes are well known inducers of neurogenesis; however, Neurog1 induces the expression of Notch pathway genes and represses the expression of neuronal differentiation genes.
- A newly discovered neural stem cell population is generated by the optic lobe neuroepithelium during embryogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster
Highlighted Article: Two types of neural stem cell, with distinct proliferation modes, act side by side to generate the Drosophila optic lobe, challenging current dogma that they act sequentially.
- RPM-1 and DLK-1 regulate pioneer axon outgrowth by controlling Wnt signaling
Summary: Genetic analysis of AVG pioneer axon guidance in C. elegans reveals that the E3 ubiquitin ligase RPM-1 prevents axon overgrowth by regulating Wnt signaling crosstalk.
- The LPA-LPA4 axis is required for establishment of bipolar morphology and radial migration of newborn cortical neurons
Summary: A knockdown study of lysophosphatidic acid receptor 4 in the developing mouse neocortex reveals that it regulates bipolar morphology and radial migration of newborn neurons through F-actin reorganization.
- Clonal analysis reveals laminar fate multipotency and daughter cell apoptosis of mouse cortical intermediate progenitors
Highlighted Article: Intermediate progenitors (IPs) in early developing mouse neocortex produce neuronal clones of diverse sizes (1-12 cells), including multilayer clones; remarkably, ∼2/3 of early IP divisions lead to asymmetric cell death.
- Sidestep-induced neuromuscular miswiring causes severe locomotion defects in Drosophila larvae
Highlighted Article: Misexpression of the Drosophila axon guidance molecule Sidestep results in a permanent loss of neuromuscular junctions and severe innervation and locomotion defects in embryos and larvae.
- Minor spliceosome inactivation causes microcephaly, owing to cell cycle defects and death of self-amplifying radial glial cells
Highlighted Article: Here, we report the first mammalian model to investigate the role of the minor spliceosome in cortical development and microcephaly – a conditional knockout mouse for Rnu11, the gene encoding the U11 small nuclear RNA.
- Gli3 controls the onset of cortical neurogenesis by regulating the radial glial cell cycle through Cdk6 expression
Summary: Examination of conditional mouse mutants reveals a novel role for Gli3 in controlling the cell cycle of radial glial cells and thereby neuron generation and growth of the cerebral cortex.
- Differential expression of Öbek controls ploidy in the Drosophila blood-brain barrier
Summary: During development, cells react to growth signals by division or growth and polyploidy. In the Drosophila blood-brain barrier, this differential response is controlled by the N-end rule pathway component Öbek.