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| Open AccessTemporal and spatial regulation of translation in the mammalian oocyte via the mTOR–eIF4F pathway
Meiotic maturation of oocytes and early development of mammalian embryos is largely dependent on the translation of mRNAs stored in the oocyte. Here the authors uncover a population of mRNA retained in the oocyte nucleus whose translation is spatially and temporally regulated by the mTOR–eIF4F pathway during meiosis.
- Andrej Susor
- , Denisa Jansova
- & Michal Kubelka
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Filopodia-based Wnt transport during vertebrate tissue patterning
Distribution of Wnt morphogens in tissues is often graded, but it is unclear how these secreted factors move to form concentration gradients. Here, the authors show that Wnt8a is transported on actin-based filopodia, known also as cytonemes, that contact the signal-receiving cells during zebrafish gastrulation.
- Eliana Stanganello
- , Anja I. H. Hagemann
- & Steffen Scholpp
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BMP signalling regulates the pre-implantation development of extra-embryonic cell lineages in the mouse embryo
BMP signalling is important in early post-implantation embryonic development. Here the authors perform mRNA sequencing of inside and outside cells of pre-implantation mouse embryos and show that BMP signalling is critical for the development of the two extra-embryonic lineages at this early stage.
- Sarah J. L. Graham
- , Krzysztof B. Wicher
- & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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| Open AccessThe role of maternal-specific H3K9me3 modification in establishing imprinted X-chromosome inactivation and embryogenesis in mice
During mouse preimplantation phases, a repressive imprint is imposed on the maternal allele of Xist, which encodes a large non-coding RNA required for X-chromosome inactivation. Here the authors show that trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 9 on Xist promoter chromatin is responsible for the maternally determined Xistrepression.
- Atsushi Fukuda
- , Junko Tomikawa
- & Akihiro Umezawa
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Occupancy of tissue-specific cis-regulatory modules by Otx2 and TLE/Groucho for embryonic head specification
The transcription factor orthodenticle 2 (Otx2) is implicated in head specification in bilaterian lineages, but it is unclear how. Yasuoka et al.now show that this is achieved by the interaction between Otx2 and the transcription factors Lim1 and goosecoid, which activate and repress target genes, respectively.
- Yuuri Yasuoka
- , Yutaka Suzuki
- & Masanori Taira
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Role of Rab11 in planar cell polarity and apical constriction during vertebrate neural tube closure
Epithelial folding is a critical process for vertebrate neural tube closure, however, its spatial regulation is largely unknown. Here Ossipova et al. show that Rab11-positive recycling endosomes acquire bilaterally symmetric distribution in the Xenopusneural plate, and that this polarization is essential for neural tube formation.
- Olga Ossipova
- , Kyeongmi Kim
- & Sergei Y. Sokol
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The histone H2A deubiquitinase Usp16 regulates embryonic stem cell gene expression and lineage commitment
Embryonic stem cell differentiation requires activation of lineage-specific genes. Here the authors show that the histone H2A deubiquitinase Usp16 is required for relieving ubiquitinated H2A-mediated silencing of lineage-specific genes and embryonic stem cell differentiation.
- Wei Yang
- , Yun-Hwa Lee
- & Hengbin Wang
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Article
| Open AccessOrganizer-derived Bmp2 is required for the formation of a correct Bmp activity gradient during embryonic development
The morphogen, Bmp, regulates differentiation of cell fates along the ventral to dorsal axis during vertebrate embryonic development. Here, Xue et al. show that Bmp2b produced by the organizer during early gastrulation in zebrafish embryos has a role in the establishment of an appropriate Bmp morphogen activity gradient and the correct dorsoventral patterning of the embryos.
- Yu Xue
- , Xiudeng Zheng
- & Anming Meng
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Klf4 and Klf5 differentially inhibit mesoderm and endoderm differentiation in embryonic stem cells
The Krüppel-like factors Klf4 and Klf5 have wide roles in cell biology including the regulation of pluripotency. In this study, Aksoy et al. demonstrate that Klf4 preferentially blocks the expression of endodermal markers in embryonic stem cells, whereas Klf5 negatively regulates mesodermal factors.
- Irène Aksoy
- , Vincent Giudice
- & Pierre Savatier
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Induction of pluripotency in human somatic cells via a transient state resembling primitive streak-like mesendoderm
The mesendoderm is located in the embryonic primitive streak's anterior region, which is specified by the transcription factor FOXH1. Here, the authors show that human fibroblasts transit through a mesendoderm-like state during reprogramming into pluripotent cells, and that expression of FOXH1 enhances reprogramming efficiency.
- Kazutoshi Takahashi
- , Koji Tanabe
- & Shinya Yamanaka
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| Open AccessMaspin is not required for embryonic development or tumour suppression
A role for the serpin maspin has been described in both development and cancer. In this study, the authors demonstrate that maspin knockout mice develop normally and that maspin does not function as a tumour suppressor, suggesting that another gene at the maspin locus may be responsible for this activity.
- Sonia S. Y. Teoh
- , Jessica Vieusseux
- & Phillip I. Bird
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Hemichordate neurulation and the origin of the neural tube
The evolutionary origins of the chordate neural tube and notochord are unclear. Here the authors show the expression patterns of chordate patterning genes in a hemichordate, which suggest that the hemichordate endoderm and collar cord might be homologous to the chordate notochord and neural tube, respectively.
- Norio Miyamoto
- & Hiroshi Wada
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| Open AccessAraf kinase antagonizes Nodal-Smad2 activity in mesendoderm development by directly phosphorylating the Smad2 linker region
TGF-β signalling through SMAD transcription factors has been implicated in embryonic mesendoderm development. Liu and colleagues reveal that the Ras-regulated kinase Raf prevents excessive mesendoderm formation by phosphorylating and promoting the degradation of SMAD2.
- Xingfeng Liu
- , Cong Xiong
- & Anming Meng
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Ets2-dependent trophoblast signalling is required for gastrulation progression after primitive streak initiation
The transcription factor Ets2 is expressed in the extraembryonic ectoderm tropoblast during gastrulation. Here, the authors use Ets2 knock-out mice to show that Ets2 signalling is required for gastrulation, primitive streak elongation and development and the mesoderm epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.
- Christiana Polydorou
- & Pantelis Georgiades
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Interactions between Twist and other core epithelial–mesenchymal transition factors are controlled by GSK3-mediated phosphorylation
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
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| Open AccessPioneer glutamatergic cells develop into a morpho-functionally distinct population in the juvenile CA3 hippocampus
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
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Delivery of endosomes to lysosomes via microautophagy in the visceral endoderm of mouse embryos
Nutrients and growth factors initiate endocytotic processes in the embryonic endoderm that control embryonic patterning. Here, Kawamuraet al.show that the small GTP-binding protein rab7 controls a unique microautophagy-like process that is involved in endocytosis in the endoderm of mouse embryos.
- Nobuyuki Kawamura
- , Ge-Hong Sun-Wada
- & Yoh Wada
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| Open AccessDynamics of anterior–posterior axis formation in the developing mouse embryo
Detailed analysis of axis development in mouse embryo has been limited. Morriset al. developed an in vitroculture technique that enables the real-time observation of an anterior visceral endoderm formation and show that cell marker asymmetry within the AVE subdomain dictates the direction of the AVE migration.
- Samantha A. Morris
- , Seema Grewal
- & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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Two rotating cilia in the node cavity are sufficient to break left–right symmetry in the mouse embryo
The left–right asymmetry of an organism is patterned during development and is determined by fluid flow created by the movement of cilia. In this study, the asymmetry is shown to be determined early after the movement of cilia is established and that only two rotating cilia are required for breaking symmetry.
- Kyosuke Shinohara
- , Aiko Kawasumi
- & Hiroshi Hamada
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| Open AccessRhythmic actomyosin-driven contractions induced by sperm entry predict mammalian embryo viability
Cytoplasmic flows—the movement of cytoplasmic material—can be detected following the fertilization of an egg by a sperm in many species. In this study, rhythmic cytoplasmic flows are shown to be induced in mice by calcium-induced cytoskeleton contractions which could be used to predict the successful outcome of fertilization.
- Anna Ajduk
- , Tagbo Ilozue
- & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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| Open AccessIdentification of vertebra-like elements and their possible differentiation from sclerotomes in the hagfish
Hagfish, a group of extant jawless fish, lack true vertebrae, but it is not clear if hagfish lack all vertebrata-like structures. Here the authors report the presence of vertebra-like cartilages in the in-shore hagfish, suggesting that the hagfish underwent secondary reduction of vertebra.
- Kinya G. Ota
- , Satoko Fujimoto
- & Shigeru Kuratani