RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
INTERVIEW
OBITUARY
- Suzanne Eaton (1959-2019)
Summary: Frank Jülicher looks back on the life of Suzanne Eaton and reflects on how her work on Drosophila tissue morphogenesis contributed to the fields of cell and developmental biology.
PRIMER
- Model systems for regeneration: Hydra
Summary: This Primer discusses Hydra as a model system for investigating regeneration, highlighting how the reactivation of developmental processes leads to whole-body regeneration after amputation and also after tissue dissociation and reaggregation of organoid-like structures.
REVIEW
- Axo-glial interdependence in peripheral nerve development
Summary: This Review focuses on the specific interdependence of axons and Schwann cells that enables peripheral nerve development and maintenance.
STEM CELLS AND REGENERATION
- N-cadherin stabilises neural identity by dampening anti-neural signals
Summary: As pluripotent cells undergo neural differentiation they swap E-cadherin for N-cadherin. This switch in adhesion molecules modulates signalling in order to facilitate the differentiation process.
- CDK2 kinase activity is a regulator of male germ cell fate
Summary: Although the cyclin-dependent kinase CDK2 is not necessary for spermatogonial function in mice, CDK2 hyperactivity delays establishment of the spermatogonial stem cells and prevents their differentiation.
RESEARCH REPORTS
- PLXNA1 and PLXNA3 cooperate to pattern the nasal axons that guide gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons
Highlighted Article: PLXNA1 and PLXNA3 convey the pathfinding of olfactory and vomeronasal axons as a prerequisite for neuroendocrine neurons to migrate into the hypothalamus and release gonadotropins into the circulation.
- Disruption of the pancreatic vasculature in zebrafish affects islet architecture and function
Summary: Expressing anti-angiogenic signals in the zebrafish pancreatic islet reveals distinct roles for the vasculature in tissue architecture and function.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Dynamics of Spaetzle morphogen shuttling in the Drosophila embryo shapes gastrulation patterning
Summary: Live imaging of the early Drosophila embryo reveals the dynamics of an extracellular morphogen gradient that undergoes continuous refinement by ligand shuttling, generating a sharp morphogen peak that is essential for patterning gastrulation.
- Temporospatial sonic hedgehog signalling is essential for neural crest-dependent patterning of the intrinsic tongue musculature
Summary: Temporospatial sonic hedgehog signalling in neural crest-derived lingual mesenchyme is involved in arrangement of the lingual muscles through tenocyte differentiation.
- Crosslinking activity of non-muscle myosin II is not sufficient for embryonic cytokinesis in C. elegans
Highlighted Article: The motor activity of non-muscle myosin II is essential for cytokinesis and contributes to all stages of the process in C. elegans embryos.
- Regulation of nuclear-cytoplasmic partitioning by the lin-28-lin-46 pathway reinforces microRNA repression of HBL-1 to confer robust cell-fate progression in C. elegans
Summary: Inhibition of nuclear accumulation and microRNA-mediated repression of protein synthesis cooperate to confer the necessary precision and robustness to temporal downregulation of a transcription factor.
- GATA2 controls lymphatic endothelial cell junctional integrity and lymphovenous valve morphogenesis through miR-126
Summary: GATA2 and its target gene miR-126 are novel regulators of lymphatic endothelial cell junctions, which are important regulators of vascular morphogenesis.
- Endocrine and local signaling interact to regulate spermatogenesis in zebrafish: follicle-stimulating hormone, retinoic acid and androgens
Summary: Retinoic acid is important for, and integrated into, the endocrine regulation of zebrafish spermatogenesis; however, in contrast to mammals, is not crucial for spermatogonia differentiation.
- Three-dimensional live imaging of Atoh1 reveals the dynamics of hair cell induction and organization in the developing cochlea
Summary: Time-lapse three-dimensional imaging is a powerful method to analyze spatiotemporal gene expression changes of individual cells in inner and outer hair cell fate control of embryonic cochlear epithelium.
TECHNIQUES AND RESOURCES
- Developmental analyses of mouse embryos and adults using a non-overlapping tracing system for all three germ layers
Highlighted Article: We have developed a new transgenic technique for simultaneous labelling of all three germ layers in mice that overcomes the difficulties of conventional single-gene tracing systems in precision lineage tracing.
This issue
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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