Gain-of-function Shh mutants activate Smo cell-autonomously independent of Ptch1/2 function
Publication date: Available online 23 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Catalina Casillas, Henk RoelinkAbstractSonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling is characterized by non-cell autonomy; cells expressing Shh do not respond to the ligand. Here, we identify several Shh mutations that can activate the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway cell-autonomously. Cell-autonomous pathway activation requires the extracellular cysteine rich domain of Smoothened, but is otherwise independent of the Shh receptors Patched1 and -2. Many of the Shh mutants that gain activity fail to undergo auto processing resulting in the perdurance of the...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 23, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The Period protein homolog LIN-42 regulates germline development in C. elegans
Publication date: Available online 23 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Skyler Berardi, Alanna McFall, Amanda Toledo-Hernandez, Carolyn Coote, Hillary Graham, Laurel Stine, Kyle Rhodehouse, Anna Auernhamer, Priscilla M. Van WynsbergheAbstractGermline stem cells are maintained in the distal region of the C. elegans gonad. These cells undergo mitotic divisions, and GLP-1/Notch signaling dictates whether they remain in this state. The somatic distal tip cell (DTC) caps the end of the distal gonad and is essential for maintenance of the germline mitotic zone. As germ cells move away from the DTC they exit ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 23, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Fishing forward and reverse: Advances in zebrafish phenomics
Publication date: Available online 18 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Ricardo Fuentes, Joaquín Letelier, Benjamin Tajer, Leonardo E. Valdivia, Mary C. MullinsAbstractUnderstanding how the genome instructs the phenotypic characteristics of an organism is one of the major scientific endeavors of our time. Advances in genetics have progressively deciphered the inheritance, identity and biological relevance of genetically encoded information, contributing to the rise of several, complementary omic disciplines. One of them is phenomics, an emergent area of biology dedicated to the systematic multi-scale ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 19, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Single transcript imaging to assay gene expression in wholemount Drosophila melanogaster tissues
Publication date: Available online 14 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Nikhita Pasnuri, Purnati Khuntia, Aprotim MazumderAbstractSingle molecule Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (smFISH) for mRNA provides a powerful quantitative handle on expression from endogenous gene loci. While the method has been widely applied in cells in culture, applications to primary tissue samples remain fewer, and often use involved cryosectioning. Even apart from quantitative access to absolute transcript counts in specific tissue volumes, many other advantages of smFISH can be envisaged in tissue samples. Primary among...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 14, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Methylation status of the putative Pax6 promoter in olive ridley sea turtle embryos with eye defects: An initial approach
Publication date: Available online 12 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Rodolfo Martín-del-Campo, Annelisse Bárcenas-Ibarra, Itzel Sifuentes-Romero, Raúl Llera-Herrera, Alejandra García-GascaAbstractNormal development involves the interplay of genetic and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms. Pax6 is an eye-selector factor responsible for initiating the regulatory cascade for the development of the eyes. For the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), a threatened species, eye malformations have been reported. In order to study the DNA methylation status of the putative promoter of the Pax6 ge...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 12, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Exogenous Vitamin D signaling alters skeletal patterning, differentiation, and tissue integration during limb regeneration in the axolotl
Publication date: Available online 7 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Warren A. Vieira, Kaylee M. Wells, Roni Milgrom, Catherine D. McCuskerAbstractUrodele amphibians such as the axolotl regenerate complete limbs as adults, and understanding how the “blueprint”, or pattern, of the regenerate is established and manipulated are areas of intense interest. Nutrient signaling plays an important role in pattern formation during regeneration. Retinoic acid signaling is the most characterized pathway during this process. Exogenous retinoic acid (RA) reprograms the pattern information in regenerating cells...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 8, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
An in vitro method for studying subcellular rearrangements during cell polarization in Drosophila melanogaster hemocytes
Publication date: Available online 7 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Sandra Edwards, María Graciela Delgado, Guilherme Nader, Matthieu Piel, Yohanns Bellaïche, Ana María Lennon, Álvaro GlavicAbstractThanks to the power of Drosophila genetics, this animal model has been a precious tool for scientists to uncover key processes associated to innate immunity. The fly immune system relies on a population of macrophage-like cells, also referred to as hemocytes, which are highly migratory and phagocytic, and can easily be followed in vivo. These cells have shown to play important roles in fly development...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 7, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Gli2 is required for the induction and migration of Xenopus laevis neural crest
Publication date: Available online 4 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Santiago Cerrizuela, Guillermo A. Vega-López, María Belén Palacio, Celeste Tríbulo, Manuel J. AybarAbstractThe neural crest (NC) is a multipotent migratory embryonic population that is formed during late gastrulation and gives rise to a wide array of derivatives, including cells from the peripheral nervous system (PNS), the craniofacial bones and cartilages, peripheral glial cells, and melanocyte cells, among others. In this work we analyzed the role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway effector gli2 in Xenopus NC. We provide evide...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 5, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Latin American contributions to the neural crest field
Publication date: Available online 4 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Gabriel da Silva Pescador, Andrea Gonçalves Trentin, Ricardo Castilho GarcezAbstractThe neural crest (NC) is one of the most fascinating structures during embryonic development. Unique to vertebrate embryos, these cells give rise to important components of the craniofacial skeleton, such as the jaws and skull, as well as melanocytes and ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Worldwide, several groups have been studying NC development and specifically in the Latin America (LA) they have been growing in numbers since the 1990s. It...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 4, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Characterizing the embryonic development of B. hygida (Diptera: Sciaridae) following enzymatic treatment to permeabilize the serosal cuticle
Publication date: Available online 4 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): João Vitor Cardoso Uliana, Guilherme Thomaz Pereira Brancini, James Castelli-Gair Hombría, Luciano Antonio Digiampietri, Luiz Paulo Andrioli, Nadia MonesiAbstractUnderstanding the evolution of the developmental programs active during dipteran embryogenesis depends on comparative studies. As a counterpoint to the intensively investigated and highly derived cyclorrhaphan flies that include the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, we are studying the basal Diptera Bradysia hygida, a member of the Sciaridae family that is amenable ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 4, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Formation and dynamics of cytoplasmic domains and their genetic regulation during the zebrafish oocyte-to-embryo transition
Publication date: Available online 2 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Ricardo Fuentes, Mary C. Mullins, Juan FernándezAbstractEstablishment and movement of cytoplasmic domains is of great importance for the emergence of cell polarity, germline segregation, embryonic axis specification and correct sorting of organelles and macromolecules into different embryonic cells. The zebrafish oocyte, egg and zygote are valuable material for the study of cytoplasmic domains formation and dynamics during development. In this review we examined how cytoplasmic domains form and are relocated during zebrafish early ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 3, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Translating genetic, biochemical and structural information to the calpain view of development
Publication date: Available online 1 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Helena Araujo, Alison Julio, Maira CardosoAbstractEmbryonic development repeatedly deploys a finite number of signaling pathways to control a multitude of processes such as patterning, growth and differentiation. Diversity in gene expression resulting from these signals depends on the epigenetic landscape as well as the network of interactions between different pathways at a given time. A third mechanism to generate diversity from a sole signal is to modify downstream pathway effectors by modulatory protein activity. The calcium-dep...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 1, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
FGF8 and Shh promote the survival and maintenance of multipotent neural crest progenitors
Publication date: Available online 1 August 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Meline Coelho da Costa, Andréa Gonçalves Trentin, Giordano Wosgrau CalloniAbstractThe developmental mechanisms that control the building of the complex head of vertebrates and particularly, facial skeletogenesis, remain poorly known. Progenitor cells derived from the embryonic neural crest (NC) are the major constituents and players of facial tissue development. Deciphering the cellular and molecular machinery that controls NC cell (NCC) differentiation into bone, cartilage, fat and other mesenchymal tissues, is thus a main issue ...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - August 1, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Ric-8A, a GEF for heterotrimeric G-proteins, controls cranial neural crest cell polarity during migration
Publication date: Available online 31 July 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Juan Ignacio Leal, Soraya Villaseca, Andrea Beyer, Gabriela Toro-Tapia, Marcela TorrejónAbstractThe neural crest (NC) is a transient embryonic cell population that migrates extensively during development. Ric-8A, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for different Gα subunits regulates cranial NC (CNC) cell migration in Xenopus through a mechanism that still remains to be elucidated. To properly migrate, CNC cells establish an axis of polarization and undergo morphological changes to generate protrusions at the leading edge an...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - July 31, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Tracking morphological complexities of organ development in culture
Publication date: Available online 29 July 2018Source: Mechanisms of DevelopmentAuthor(s): Natalia Sánchez, Verónica Inostroza, María Cristina Pérez, Paulina Moya, Angélica Ubilla, Jovita Besa, Emanuel Llaguno, Claudio Vera P-G, Oscar Inzunza, Marcia GaeteAbstractOrganogenesis is one of the most striking process during development. During this period, organ primordia pass throughout several stages in which the level of organisation increases in complexity to achieve the final organ architecture. Organ culture, a method in which an isolated organ is explanted and maintained ex-vivo, is an excellent tool for following t...
Source: Mechanisms of Development - July 29, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research
