Why study human embryo development?
Dev Biol. 2024 Feb 5:S0012-1606(24)00019-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.02.001. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTUnderstanding the processes and mechanisms underlying early human embryo development has become an increasingly active and important area of research. It has potential for insights into important clinical issues such as early pregnancy loss, origins of congenital anomalies and developmental origins of adult disease, as well as fundamental insights into human biology. Improved culture systems for preimplantation embryos, combined with the new tools of single cell genomics and live imaging, are providing new insights i...
Source: Developmental Biology - February 7, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Janet Rossant Source Type: research

Stage-specific regulation of undifferentiated spermatogonia by AKT1S1-mediated AKT-mTORC1 signaling during mouse spermatogenesis
Dev Biol. 2024 Feb 2;509:11-27. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.02.002. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTUndifferentiated spermatogonia are composed of a heterogeneous cell population including spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). Molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of various spermatogonial cohorts during their self-renewal and differentiation are largely unclear. Here we show that AKT1S1, an AKT substrate and inhibitor of mTORC1, regulates the homeostasis of undifferentiated spermatogonia. Although deletion of Akt1s1 in mouse appears not grossly affecting steady-state spermatogenesis and male mice are fertile, the subset ...
Source: Developmental Biology - February 4, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Lele Yang Jinyue Liao Hongying Huang Tin Lap Lee Huayu Qi Source Type: research

Nkx2.3 transcription factor is a key regulator of mucous cell identity in salivary glands
Dev Biol. 2024 Feb 2;509:1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.012. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSaliva is vital to oral health, fulfilling multiple functions in the oral cavity. Three pairs of major salivary glands and hundreds of minor salivary glands contribute to saliva production. The secretory acinar cells within these glands include two distinct populations. Serous acinar cells secrete a watery saliva containing enzymes, while mucous acinar cells secrete a more viscous fluid containing highly glycosylated mucins. Despite their shared developmental origins, the parotid gland (PG) is comprised of only serous acinar cell...
Source: Developmental Biology - February 4, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Xin Gao Taro Mukaibo Xiaolu Wei Roberta C Faustoferri Maria S Oei Seo-Kyoung Hwang Adela Jingyi Yan James E Melvin Catherine E Ovitt Source Type: research

microRNA-1 regulates sea urchin skeletogenesis by directly targeting skeletogenic genes and modulating components of signaling pathways
This study identifies potential targets of miR-1 that impacts skeletogenesis and muscle formation and contributes to a deeper understanding of miR-1's function during development.PMID:38290645 | DOI:10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.010 (Source: Developmental Biology)
Source: Developmental Biology - January 30, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Nina Faye Sampilo Jia L Song Source Type: research

Human stem-cell-derived embryo models: When bioethical normativity meets biological ontology
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 28;508:88-92. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.009. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe use of human stem-cell-derived embryo models in biomedical research has recently sparked intense bioethical debates. In this article, we delve into the ethical complexities surrounding these models and advocate for a deeper exploration of their biological ontology to discuss their bioethical normativity. We examine the ethical considerations arising from the implementation of these models, emphasizing varying viewpoints on their ethical standing and the ethical obligations associated with their development and utilization. ...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 29, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Adrian Villalba Jon Rueda Íñigo de Miguel Beriain Source Type: research

Neutrophils facilitate the epicardial regenerative response after zebrafish heart injury
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 28;508:93-106. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.011. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDespite extensive studies on endogenous heart regeneration within the past 20 years, the players involved in initiating early regeneration events are far from clear. Here, we assessed the function of neutrophils, the first-responder cells to tissue damage, during zebrafish heart regeneration. We detected rapid neutrophil mobilization to the injury site after ventricular amputation, peaking at 1-day post-amputation (dpa) and resolving by 3 dpa. Further analyses indicated neutrophil mobilization coincides with peak epicardial ce...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 29, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Elizabeth A Peterson Jisheng Sun Xin Chen Jinhu Wang Source Type: research

Perturbed development of calb2b expressing dI6 interneurons and motor neurons underlies locomotor defects observed in calretinin knock-down zebrafish larvae
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 25;508:77-87. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.001. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCalcium binding proteins are essential for neural development and cellular activity. Calretinin, encoded by calb2a and calb2b, plays a role during early zebrafish development and has been proposed as a marker for distinct neuronal populations within the locomotor network. We generated a calb2b:hs:eGFP transgenic reporter line to characterize calretinin expressing cells in the developing spinal cord and describe morphological and behavioral defects in calretinin knock-down larvae. eGFP was detected in primary and secondary motor...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 26, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Ana Belen Iglesias Gonzalez Harmen Kornelis Koning Melek Umay Tuz-Sasik Ilse van Osselen Remy Manuel Henrik Boije Source Type: research

Distinct developmental patterns in Anopheles stephensi organ systems
This study presents a comprehensive, high-resolution developmental profile of Anopheles stephensi, encompassing larval, pupal, and adult stages, obtained through microCT scanning. The results indicate in situ anatomical changes in most organ systems, including the central nervous system, eyes, musculature, alimentary canal, salivary glands, and ovaries, among other organ systems, except for the developing heart. We find significant differences in the mosquito gut, body-wall, and flight muscle development during metamorphosis from other dipterans like Drosophila. Specifically, indirect flight muscle specification and growth...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 25, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Khushboo Agrawal Sunil Prabhakar Baskar Bakthavachalu Dhananjay Chaturvedi Source Type: research

ARF6, a component of intercellular bridges, is essential for spermatogenesis in mice
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 17;508:46-63. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.007. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMale germ cells are connected by intercellular bridges (ICBs) in a syncytium due to incomplete cytokinesis. Syncytium is thought to be important for synchronized germ cell development by interchange of cytoplasmic factors via ICBs. Mammalian ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (ARF6) is a small GTPase that is involved in many cellular mechanisms including but not limited to regulating cellular structure, motility, vesicle trafficking and cytokinesis. ARF6 localizes to ICBs in spermatogonia and spermatocytes in mice. Here we report that m...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 19, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hetty N Wong Tingfang Chen P Jeremy Wang Lawrence B Holzman Source Type: research

Neuronal excitability modulates developmental time of Drosophila melanogaster
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 14;508:38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.006. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDevelopmental time is a fundamental life history trait that affects the reproductive success of animals. Developmental time is known to be regulated by many genes and environmental conditions, yet mechanistic understandings of how various cellular processes influence the developmental timing of an organism are lacking. The nervous system is known to control key processes that affect developmental time, including the release of hormones that signal transitions between developmental stages. Here we show that the excitability of n...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Aidan P C Dermady Dionna L DeFazio Emily M Hensley Daniel L Ruiz Alejandra D Chavez Sarah A Iannone Niall M Dermady Lexis V Grandel Alexis S Hill Source Type: research

scRNA-seq analysis of cells comprising the amphioxus notochord
We examined these properties using Iso-seq analysis, single-cell RNA-seq analysis, and in situ hybridization (ISH). Gene expression profiles broadly categorize notochordal cells into myofibrillar cells and non-myofibrillar cells. Myofibrillar cells occupy most of the central portion of the notochord, and some cells extend the notochordal horn to both sides of the ventral nerve cord. Some notochord myofibrillar genes are not expressed in myotomes, suggesting an occurrence of myofibrillar genes that are preferentially expressed in notochord. On the other hand, non-myofibrillar cells contain dorsal, lateral, and ventral Müll...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 15, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hiroki Takahashi Kanako Hisata Rin Iguchi Sakura Kikuchi Michio Ogasawara Noriyuki Satoh Source Type: research

Measuring transcription factor function with cell type-specific somatic transgenesis in chicken embryos
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 11;508:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.005. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRetroviral-mediated misexpression in chicken embryos has been a powerful research tool for developmental biologists in the last two decades. In the RCASBP retroviral vectors that are widely used for in vivo somatic transgenesis, a coding sequence of interest is under the transcriptional control of a strong viral promoter in the long terminal repeat. While this has proven to be effective for studying secreted signalling proteins, interpretation of the mechanisms of action of nuclear factors is more difficult using this system sinc...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 13, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Hui Zhu Andrew J Bendall Source Type: research

Fecundity is optimized by levels of nutrient signal-dependent expression of Dve and EcR in Drosophila male accessory gland
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 8;508:8-23. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.004. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSteroid hormones play various physiological roles including metabolism and reproduction. Steroid hormones in insects are ecdysteroids, and the major form in Drosophila melanogaster is ecdysone. In Drosophila males, the accessory gland is responsive to nutrient-dependent regulation of fertility/fecundity. The accessory gland is composed of two types of binucleated epithelial cells: a main cell and a secondary cell (SC). The transcription factors Defective proventriculus (Dve), Abdominal-B, and Ecdysone receptors (EcRs) are strongl...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 10, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Mirai Matsuka Shinichi Otsune Seiko Sugimori Yasuhiro Tsugita Hitoshi Ueda Hideki Nakagoshi Source Type: research

The avian ectodermal default competence to make feathers
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 6;508:64-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.002. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTFeathers originate as protofeathers before birds, in pterosaurs and basal dinosaurs. What characterizes a feather is not only its outgrowth, but its barb cells differentiation and a set of beta-corneous proteins. Reticula appear concomitantly with feathers, as small bumps on plantar skin, made only of keratins. Avian scales, with their own set of beta-corneous proteins, appear more recently than feathers on the shank, and only in some species. In the chick embryo, when feather placodes form, all the non-feather areas of the inte...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 8, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Danielle Dhouailly Source Type: research

The avian ectodermal default competence to make feathers
Dev Biol. 2024 Jan 6:S0012-1606(24)00002-2. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.01.002. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTFeathers originate as protofeathers before birds, in pterosaurs and basal dinosaurs. What characterizes a feather is not only its outgrowth, but its barb cells differentiation and a set of beta-corneous proteins. Reticula appear concomitantly with feathers, as small bumps on plantar skin, made only of keratins. Avian scales, with their own set of beta-corneous proteins, appear more recently than feathers on the shank, and only in some species. In the chick embryo, when feather placodes form, all the non-feather areas...
Source: Developmental Biology - January 8, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Danielle Dhouailly Source Type: research