RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
SPOTLIGHT
DEVELOPMENT AT A GLANCE
REVIEW
- Autophagy in stem cells: repair, remodelling and metabolic reprogramming
Summary: This Review summarizes the role of autophagy in embryonic, adult and cancer stem cells and cellular reprogramming, and highlights the consequences of autophagy dysregulation on tissue development and homeostasis.
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
- TCF7L1 suppresses primitive streak gene expression to support human embryonic stem cell pluripotency
Summary: TCF7L1 represses PS gene expression to maintain the primed, pluripotent state, with relief of this repression by BMP4 leading to upregulation of PS-promoting genes (including NODAL, WNT3 and BMP4) to drive hESC differentiation.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
- Podoplanin regulates mammary stem cell function and tumorigenesis by potentiating Wnt/β-catenin signaling
Highlighted Article: This study reveals a role for the transmembrane glycoprotein podoplanin in mammary stem cell function and tumorigenesis through the positive regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
- H3K9 demethylase KDM4E is an epigenetic regulator for bovine embryonic development and a defective factor for nuclear reprogramming
Summary: RNA-dependent KDM4E chromatin localization is essential for active H3K9 demethylation during bovine embryonic genome activation, an observation that could improve outcomes in cloned cattle production.
- ES cell-derived presomitic mesoderm-like tissues for analysis of synchronized oscillations in the segmentation clock
Highlighted Article: Embryonic stem cell-derived presomitic mesoderm-like tissues exhibit synchronized Hes7 oscillations, anterior-posterior-like axis formation and segment formation, and are suitable for chemical-library screening for detailed analysis of the segmentation clock.
RESEARCH REPORT
- Microbiota promote secretory cell determination in the intestinal epithelium by modulating host Notch signaling
Highlighted Article: Investigations in gnotobiotic zebrafish reveal that resident intestinal microbes determine intestinal secretory cell fate by modulating host Notch signaling, a highly conserved pathway involved in myriad host cell fate decisions.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Connexin 30 controls astroglial polarization during postnatal brain development
Summary: Connexin 30 sets the orientation of astroglial motile protrusions during polarized migration in vitro and contributes in vivo to the establishment of hippocampal astrocyte polarity during postnatal maturation.
- Forced lipophagy reveals that lipid droplets are required for early embryonic development in mouse
Summary: A forced lipophagy system, established by expressing an autophagy adaptor on the surface of lipid droplets, demonstrates that depletion of lipid droplets in fertilized mouse embryos causes developmental retardation.
- Lsd1 interacts with cMyb to demethylate repressive histone marks and maintain inner ear progenitor identity
Summary: In chick inner ear development, cMyb is identified as a novel Lsd1-interacting partner that recruits Lsd1 to promoter regions of actively transcribed genes to control H3K9 demethylation.
- Mesenchymal Wnt/β-catenin signaling limits tooth number
Summary: Using mouse models to investigate serial tooth formation reveals that contrasting changes in tooth number associated with human mutations in AXIN2 and RUNX2 result from modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in dental mesenchyme.
- β-Catenin signaling is essential for mammalian larynx recanalization and the establishment of vocal fold progenitor cells
Summary: The first demonstration that β-catenin signaling contributes to vocal fold morphogenesis by regulating proliferation and epithelial progenitor establishment, shedding light on the etiology of poorly understood congenital laryngeal malformations.
- The ELMO-MBC complex and RhoGAP19D couple Rho family GTPases during mesenchymal-to-epithelial-like transitions
Summary: Rac and Rho activities during dorsal closure are coordinated by the atypical Rac GEF, the ELMO-MBC complex and the Rho GAP RhoGAP19D during in vivo Drosophila mesenchymal-to-epithelial-like transitions.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
- Genome and epigenome engineering CRISPR toolkit for in vivo modulation of cis-regulatory interactions and gene expression in the chicken embryo
Summary: The use of an optimised toolkit for efficient genome and epigenome engineering using CRISPR in chicken embryos is demonstrated, focussing on probing gene regulatory interactions during neural crest development.
- Validating upstream regulators of Yorkie activity in Hippo signaling through scalloped-based genetic epistasis
Summary: Analysis of double-mutant clones of sd and putative Yki regulators provides a simple and efficient strategy to validate upstream regulators of Yki activity in Hippo signaling.
- A genetically encoded fluorescent probe for imaging of oxygenation gradients in living Drosophila
Summary: DsRed FT forms the basis of a simple and robust method for direct visualization of oxygenation exposure that is applicable to whole animals with single-cell precision.
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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