Developmental biology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cavin proteins are key components of mammalian caveolae and are expressed from four genes in a tissue-specific manner. Gram Hansen et al. demonstrate that caveolae in the endothelia of different tissues are remarkably heterogeneous, and reveal a role for cavin 2 in determining the apparent size of cavin complexes.

    • Carsten Gram Hansen
    • , Elena Shvets
    •  & Benjamin James Nichols

  • Article |

    The motor protein myosin II is implicated in three-dimensional organ development. In this study, the authors apply live imaging techniques to describe the dynamics of the developing Drosophilawing and the involvement of myosin II in this process.

    • Silvia Aldaz
    • , Luis M. Escudero
    •  & Matthew Freeman

  • Article |

    Even though both embryonic stem cells and primordial germ cells express pluripotency markers, they differ in their developmental potential. Maeda et al. show that, in embryonic stem cells, the Myc family member Max mediates epigenetic repression of genes involved in germ cell development.

    • Ikuma Maeda
    • , Daiji Okamura
    •  & Yasuhisa Matsui

  • Article |

    Robustness to mutations can give rise to cryptic variation —a bottled-up genetic potential, which is of undetermined importance in developmental processes. Kienle and Sommer show the occurrence of cryptic variation in nematode vulva development and identify cis-regulatory evolution of the transcription factor’s HAIRY-binding site as mechanism.

    • Simone Kienle
    •  & Ralf J. Sommer

  • Article |

    Human neocortex expansion is partly due to neuronal production by outer radial glial cells. In the developing human cortex, LaMonica et al. find that horizontal divisions of ventricular radial glial cells produce outer radial glial cells displaying cell-intrinsic regulation of mitosis and spindle orientation.

    • Bridget E. LaMonica
    • , Jan H. Lui
    •  & Arnold R. Kriegstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Vascular endothelial growth factor is implicated in blood vessel development. In zebrafish, Hayashi et al. find that blood vessel development is dependent on the suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor by the phosphatase VE-PTP, which is recruited by activation of the angiopoietin receptor Tie2.

    • Makoto Hayashi
    • , Arindam Majumdar
    •  & Lena Claesson-Welsh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Trunk exoskeleton elements of non-tetrapods such as scales and fin rays are believed to derive from the neural crest. Shimada and colleagues use long-term cell labelling methods to show that these elements are actually derived from the mesoderm.

    • Atsuko Shimada
    • , Toru Kawanishi
    •  & Hiroyuki Takeda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The atypical RhoGTPase Rnd3 is implicated in the regulation of neuronal migration in the embryonic cerebral cortex. Using gene silencing techniques, Pacary and colleagues find that Rnd3 is also involved in earlier stages of neurogenesis, by modulating actin filament polymerization and cyclin D1 translation.

    • Emilie Pacary
    • , Roberta Azzarelli
    •  & François Guillemot

  • Article |

    Crystallins are structural proteins that are expressed on the outside of the lens of the eye. Valapala and colleagues find that specific crystallins in retinal astrocytes regulate V-ATPase activity and endolysosomal acidification, to facilitate optimal Notch signalling during retinal development.

    • Mallika Valapala
    • , Stacey Hose
    •  & Debasish Sinha

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The transcriptional repressor NKAP is required at an early stage of T cell development for the differentiation of αβ T cells. Thapa et al.now show that at a later stage, NKAP has a specific role in positive selection of double positive thymocytes into the iNKT cell lineage.

    • Puspa Thapa
    • , Joy Das
    •  & Virginia Smith Shapiro

  • Article |

    Chromatin templates can act as barriers against cellular reprogramming. Gaspar-Maia and colleagues use mouse models deficient in the histone variants macroH2A1 and macroH2A2, and find that macroH2A functions as an epigenetic barrier against induced pluripotency by silencing Utx target genes.

    • Alexandre Gaspar-Maia
    • , Zulekha A. Qadeer
    •  & Emily Bernstein

  • Article |

    Cardiac and endocardial/endothelial cells arise from progenitor cells expressing multiple haematopoietic transcription factors. Nakano and colleagues find that Nkx2–5-positive endocardial cells serve as a de novosource for definitive haematopoietic progenitors during mammalian embryogenesis.

    • Haruko Nakano
    • , Xiaoqian Liu
    •  & Atsushi Nakano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Xenoturbella is a simple marine worm recently suggested to be either a deuterostome or an early branching bilaterian. Nakano et al. report the first observations of naturally spawned eggs and embryos from Xenoturbella, and uncover new insights into the evolutionary history of metazoan development.

    • Hiroaki Nakano
    • , Kennet Lundin
    •  & Michael C. Thorndyke

  • Article |

    Twist is an epithelial–mesenchymal transition regulatory factor that is implicated in neural crest development and cancer. Lander and colleagues show that Twist interacts with Snail proteins to inhibit their function, and that this interaction is regulated by phosphorylation of the Twist C terminus.

    • Rachel Lander
    • , Talia Nasr
    •  & Carole LaBonne

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 regulates many physiological functions including growth and metabolism. Ni et al.show that human natural killer cells secrete IGF-1 and that IGF-1 enhances the development and cytotoxicity of these cells.

    • Fang Ni
    • , Rui Sun
    •  & Haiming Wei

  • Article |

    It is generally believed that jaws evolved from a gill arch, but this is unsupported by palaeontological or developmental data. Gillis et al. study three gnathostome taxa and identify a conserved molecular mechanism that delineates the dorsal and ventral skeletal segments of the jaw, hyoid and gill arches.

    • J. Andrew Gillis
    • , Melinda S. Modrell
    •  & Clare V. H. Baker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Chinese tree shrew, Tupaia belangeri chinensis, has been proposed as a potential animal model in biomedical research and drug safety testing. This study presents the full genome of the Chinese tree shrew, identifying common features between the tree shrew and primates.

    • Yu Fan
    • , Zhi-Yong Huang
    •  & Yong-Gang Yao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mitochondrial protease CLPP is found in most eukaryotic organisms but its biological role has been unclear. Here Osiewacz and colleagues show that deletion of CLPP extends lifespan of the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina, and that human and fungal CLPP are functionally conserved.

    • Fabian Fischer
    • , Andrea Weil
    •  & Heinz D. Osiewacz

  • Article |

    Splicing factors, such as the protein SRSF3, regulate mRNA metabolism but are hard to study in vivobecause genetic kockouts are usually lethal. Here, Sen and colleagues create mice with a hepatocyte-specific knockout of Srsf3 and demonstrate its role in hepatocyte differentiation and liver function.

    • Supriya Sen
    • , Hassan Jumaa
    •  & Nicholas J. G. Webster

  • Article |

    During embryonic development, midline fluid flow results in asymmetric nodal gene expression. Using genetic manipulations and mathematical modelling, Nakamura et al. find that expression of the nodal antagonist Cerl2 is regulated post-transcriptionally, and that asymmetry is maintained by Wnt-Cerl2 feedback loops.

    • Tetsuya Nakamura
    • , Daisuke Saito
    •  & Hiroshi Hamada

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The heterogeneity of cortical interneurons results from spatio-temporal differences in embryonic origin. Marissal et al. show that early-generated glutamatergic neurons display distinct morpho-functional features, suggesting that temporal factors are also important in determining glutamatergic function.

    • Thomas Marissal
    • , Paolo Bonifazi
    •  & Rosa Cossart

  • Article |

    Osteoblasts and endothelial cells have important roles in bone regeneration. Kim and colleagues identify the protein DJ-1 as an angiogenic and osteogenic signalling molecule involved in the cross-talk between these cells and show that DJ-1 promotes bone regeneration and fracture healing in mice.

    • Jung-Min Kim
    • , Hong-In Shin
    •  & Pann-Ghill Suh

  • Article |

    Phylogenetic bat studies suggest that powered flight is evolutionarily conserved. Tokita et al.find that bat wing muscles are derived from multiple myogenic sources with different embryonic origins, and that spatiotemporal correlations exist between outgrowth of wing membranes and expansion of wing muscles.

    • Masayoshi Tokita
    • , Takaaki Abe
    •  & Kazuo Suzuki

  • Article |

    The mammalian transcription factors Oct4 and Pou2 are implicated in germ cell pluripotency induction and maintenance. Tapia and colleagues find that axolotl Pou2 and Oct4 reprogram mouse and human fibroblasts to a pluripotent state, suggesting ancestral Oct4 and Pou2 gene function is evolutionarily conserved.

    • Natalia Tapia
    • , Peter Reinhardt
    •  & Hans R. Schöler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Abnormal human embryo development is implicated in the embryo arrest observed during in vitrofertilization. Chavez and colleagues perform time-lapse imaging on human embryos and find that chromosomally abnormal embryos exhibit diverse cell cycle parameters that may contribute to arrest.

    • Shawn L. Chavez
    • , Kevin E. Loewke
    •  & Renee A. Reijo Pera

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Autophagy is a cellular process that controls protein and organelle turnover. Jimenez-Sanchez and colleagues demonstrate in cultured mammalian cells and in fruit fly larvae that autophagy is regulated by Hedgehoc signalling, a pathway that is important for early embryonic development.

    • Maria Jimenez-Sanchez
    • , Fiona M. Menzies
    •  & David C. Rubinsztein

  • Article |

    The temporal opening and closing of cell–cell junctions at the blood–testis barrier allows the passage of immature germ cells during spermatogenesis. Su and colleagues identify a peptide fragment of the laminin-γ3 chain that disrupts the blood–testis barrier and reversibly impairs spermatogenesis in rats.

    • Linlin Su
    • , Dolores D. Mruk
    •  & C. Yan Cheng

  • Article |

    The mouse segmentation clock regulates the periodicity of somite formation. Okubo and colleagues investigate the mechanisms underlying the synchronization of the clock in embryonic chimaeras and find that the synchronization is regulated by the protein Lfng, which represses Notch signalling in neighbouring cells.

    • Yusuke Okubo
    • , Takeshi Sugawara
    •  & Yumiko Saga

  • Article |

    The keeled sternum is a distinct skeletal element in extant birds. In this study, specimens of juvenile extinct birds—Enantiornithes—from the Early Cretaceous show a unique sequence of development in the sternum, suggesting differences between living birds and this extinct clade.

    • Xiaoting Zheng
    • , Xiaoli Wang
    •  & Zhonghe Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human embryonic stem cell cultures are morphologically heterogeneous. Here, differences in Wnt signalling are shown to contribute to this heterogeneity, cells containing high levels of Wnt form endodermal and cardiac cells, whereas cells with low Wnt form neuroectodermal cells, when differentiation is induced.

    • Timothy A. Blauwkamp
    • , Shelly Nigam
    •  & Roel Nusse

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Environmental factors can influence one's susceptibility to cancer, but it is not clear whether such an influence extends beyond the directly exposed generations. Here, feeding pregnant rats with a high-fat diet or a hormone derivative, the authors observe increased breast cancer risk in up to three subsequent generations.

    • Sonia de Assis
    • , Anni Warri
    •  & Leena Hilakivi-Clarke

  • Article |

    The paratympanic organ in the avian middle ear is similar to the fish spiracular organ, but its developmental origin is unresolved. O'Neillet al. use fate mapping techniques to show that the avian paratympanic organ and its afferent neurons arise from a previously undiscovered neurogenic placode.

    • Paul O'Neill
    • , Siu-Shan Mak
    •  & Clare V.H. Baker

  • Article |

    Embryonic stem cells have a shortened cell cycle that allows for rapid proliferation, but the exact mechanisms are unclear. Here, a microRNA target, Trim71, is shown to inhibit the expression of a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, thus enabling the G1–S phase cell cycle transition in embryonic stem cells.

    • Hao-Ming Chang
    • , Natalia J. Martinez
    •  & Richard I. Gregory

  • Article |

    Chromatin in embryonic stem cells is present in an open state presumably to facilitate gene expression changes required for pluripotency and subsequent multilineage differentiation. This study describes roles for lamin A, histone acetylation and G9a-mediated histone H3 lysine 9 methylation in regulating chromatin plasticity in these cells.

    • Shai Melcer
    • , Hadas Hezroni
    •  & Eran Meshorer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In several Hymenoptera species - ants, bees and wasps - sexual fate is determined by the allelic composition at the complementary sex - determiner locus. This study identifies the honeybeecomplementary sex - determinerin bumble bee and ant orthologues, previously thought to be unique to the honeybee lineage.

    • Sandra Schmieder
    • , Dominique Colinet
    •  & Marylène Poirié

  • Article |

    Platelets are formed from megakaryocytes but the exact mechanisms are unknown. Thonet al.describe circular preplatelets and barbell shaped proplatelets in human blood and demonstrate, with the aid of a mathematical model, a role for microtubule-based forces in regulating final platelet size.

    • Jonathan N Thon
    • , Hannah Macleod
    •  & Joseph E. Italiano Jr

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Signalling inputs to neural progenitors regulate the differentiation of the stem cell pool. By analysing the mechanisms occuring during neurogenesis, Cambrayet al. report that activin is the pivotal factor regulating the differentiation of telencephalic neural precursors towards a cortical interneuron fate.

    • Serafí Cambray
    • , Charles Arber
    •  & Tristan A. Rodríguez

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