IN THIS ISSUE
SPOTLIGHT
- Of sex and determination: marking 25 years of Randy, the sex-reversed mouse
Summary: This Spotlight revisits a landmark paper in developmental biology, published 25 years ago, that reported the sex reversal of an XX mouse carrying an Sry transgene.
CORRESPONDENCE
DEVELOPMENT AT A GLANCE
- An overview of mammalian pluripotency
Summary: This Development at a Glance article summarises mammalian pluripotency both in vivo and in vitro, and highlights recent and future applications of PSCs for basic and translational research.
MEETING REVIEW
- Neurogenesis in Cancun: where science meets the sea
Summary: This Meeting Review summarises the exciting work that was presented at the Fusion meeting on Adult Neurogenesis, which was held in March 2016 in Cancun, Mexico.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
- SUMO regulates somatic cyst stem cell maintenance and directly targets the Hedgehog pathway in adult Drosophila testis
Summary: SUMOylation promotes proliferation of cyst stem cells in the Drosophila testis. The transcription factor Ci is SUMOylated, enhancing Hedgehog pathway activity in these cells.
- The transcriptional repressor Blimp1 is expressed in rare luminal progenitors and is essential for mammary gland development
Highlighted article: In the mouse mammary gland, Blimp1 marks a rare progenitor population, and is required for cell proliferation and polarity as well as efficient milk production.
- Integrin signalling regulates YAP and TAZ to control skin homeostasis
Summary: In the squamous epithelium of the mouse skin, the transcription factors YAP and TAZ are regulated by integrin-Src signalling, and are required for proliferation of skin stem/progenitor cells.
- Multicolor mapping of the cardiomyocyte proliferation dynamics that construct the atrium
Summary: Lineage tracing of cardiomyocytes in the zebrafish heart reveal their proliferation dynamics and fate decisions, and distinguish atrial and ventricular morphogenesis at the cellular level.
- Regional signals in the planarian body guide stem cell fate in the presence of genomic instability
Summary: The response of planarian neoblasts to DNA damage differs according to their location, with both cell autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms contributing to these regional differences.
- The ADP-ribose polymerase Tankyrase regulates adult intestinal stem cell proliferation during homeostasis in Drosophila
Summary: In the Drosophila intestine, Tankyrase is important for Wingless signaling activation in enterocytes, thus non-autonomously regulating intestinal stem cell proliferation.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Single-stranded DNA binding proteins are required for LIM complexes to induce transcriptionally active chromatin and specify spinal neuronal identities
Highlighted article: In the mouse spinal cord, single-stranded DNA binding proteins are key cofactors in LIM-containing complexes, recruiting histone-modifying enzymes to promote transcription.
- Species-specific contribution of volumetric growth and tissue convergence to posterior body elongation in vertebrates
Highlighted article: Elongation of the vertebrate body axis by posterior volumetric growth is linked to increased energy supply and is absent from the externally developing zebrafish embryo.
- Hypoxia promotes production of neural crest cells in the embryonic head
Highlighted article: Naturally occurring hypoxia and HIF pathway activation at an early stage of chick development is required to produce sufficient cranial neural crest cells through EMT.
- Molecular control of two novel migratory paths for CGE-derived interneurons in the developing mouse brain
Highlighted article: Migrating interneurons reach their targets not only via the well-established caudal route, but also via rostrally directed streams that require the COUP-TF nuclear receptors.
- Development of the aboral domain in Nematostella requires β-catenin and the opposing activities of Six3/6 and Frizzled5/8
Summary: Wnt signalling and the Six3/6 transcription factors play conserved functions in primary axis patterning in bilateria, controlling aboral/anterior identity in Nematostella.
- JNK signaling regulates E-cadherin junctions in germline cysts and determines primordial follicle formation in mice
Summary: In mice, JNK and WNT4 antagonistically regulate E-cadherin expression and oocyte-oocyte adhesion during germline cyst breakdown and primordial follicle formation.
- Retrotransposon derepression leads to activation of the unfolded protein response and apoptosis in pro-B cells
Summary: Setdb1-deficient pro-B cells display derepression of endogenous murine leukemia virus (MLV) elements. This induces the unfolded protein response and apoptosis, blocking B cell development.
- Reiterative expression of pax1 directs pharyngeal pouch segmentation in medaka
Summary: Medaka Pax1 plays a key role in generating the primary pattern for segmentation in the pharyngeal endoderm by regulating the expression of Tbx1 and Fgf3.
- FGF signaling in the osteoprogenitor lineage non-autonomously regulates postnatal chondrocyte proliferation and skeletal growth
Summary: Conditional ablation of Fgfr1 and Fgfr2 in the osteoblast lineage in mouse reveals a feed-forward loop controlling FGFR3 signaling in growth plate chondrocytes.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
- Sebaceous lipids are essential for water repulsion, protection against UVB-induced apoptosis and ocular integrity in mice
Summary: A new transgenic mouse line allows sebocyte-specific gene targeting and investigation of the importance of sebaceous lipids in the skin and eyelids.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST IN OUR OTHER JOURNALS
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Kathryn Virginia Anderson (1952-2020)
Developmental geneticist Kathryn Anderson passed away at home on 30 November 2020. Tamara Caspary, a former postdoc and friend, remembers Kathryn and her remarkable contribution to developmental biology.
Zooming into 2021
In a new Editorial, Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown reflect on the triumphs and tribulations of the last 12 months, and look towards a hopefully calmer and more predictable year.
Read & Publish participation extends worldwide
Over 60 institutions in 12 countries are now participating in our Read & Publish initiative. Here, James Briscoe explains what this means for his institution, The Francis Crick Institute. Find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.
Upcoming special issues
Imaging Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration
Submission deadline: 30 March 2021
Publication: mid-2021
The Immune System in Development and Regeneration
Guest editors: Florent Ginhoux and Paul Martin
Submission deadline: 1 September 2021
Publication: Spring 2022
Both special issues welcome Review articles as well as Research articles, and will be widely promoted online and at key global conferences.
Development presents...
Our successful webinar series continues into 2021, with early-career researchers presenting their papers and a chance to virtually network with the developmental biology community afterwards. Sign up to join our next session:
10 February
Time: 13:00 (GMT)
Chaired by: preLights