Article
Cell Biology
Pu Zhang, Taylor N. Medwig-Kinney, Bob Goldstein
Summary: Zhang, Medwig-Kinney, and Goldstein show that the medioapical actomyosin network driving apical constriction in C. elegans gastrulation has a diffuse organization with a mixed-polarity actin filament network. This differs from the sarcomere-like architecture observed in the Drosophila ventral furrow. They further demonstrate that C. elegans endodermal precursor cells apically constrict using a mixed-polarity actin filament network and with myosin and myosin activator distributed throughout the network. These results suggest that diverse actomyosin architectures are used in animal cells to accomplish apical constriction.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Developmental Biology
Mary C. Mullins, Joaquin Navajas Acedo, Rashmi Priya, Lilianna Solnica-Krezel, Stephen W. Wilson
Summary: In the 1990s, labs in Germany and the US conducted the largest genetic mutagenesis screen using zebrafish; the 25th anniversary of the zebrafish issue prompted five researchers to reflect on its significance and impact.
Article
Developmental Biology
Pei Zhang, Jiwei Chen, Xiangchuan Wang, Yingchao Geng, Liangyu Sun, Hongjie Zhang
Summary: Organ morphogenesis requires coordination of cellular events, including cell division, shape change, rearrangement, and death. However, the regulatory mechanism of cytokinesis in organ size and shape remains unclear. This study demonstrates that the centralspindlin complex regulates cytokinesis and epithelial morphogenesis, affecting cell division and causing malformation in Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca. Analysis shows that CYK-4 regulates cytokinesis of spermathecal cells in a GTPase activator activity-independent manner. Furthermore, the centralspindlin components CYK-4 and ZEN-4, along with RHO-1 and CDC-42, play crucial roles in a signaling network that guides spermathecal morphogenesis by enabling completion of cytokinesis.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Albert Zhang, Dong Yan
Summary: Glia cells make up roughly half of all cells in the mammalian nervous system and play a major role in development, function, and disease. Recent research on glial development in C. elegans has provided insights into genetic pathways and potential conservation of findings in vertebrates.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Joseph Sutlive, Haning Xiu, Yunfeng Chen, Kun Gou, Fengzhu Xiong, Ming Guo, Zi Chen
Summary: Understanding the mechanical properties, generation and transmission of forces in cells and tissues, and the tools and methods for measuring and predicting these forces, is essential for comprehending the regulation and control of generated forces during morphogenesis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Celia M. Smits, Sayantan Dutta, Vishank Jain-Sharma, Sebastian J. Streichan, Stanislav Y. Shvartsman
Summary: Bilateral symmetry is crucial for the function of bilaterian organisms, but how it is maintained during morphogenetic events is largely unknown. This study reveals that the terminal patterning system in Drosophila is critical for preserving bilateral symmetry during body axis elongation. Attenuation of this system leads to a corkscrew phenotype that disrupts tissue flow and affects viability.
Review
Cell Biology
Alyssa A. Emig, Margot L. K. Williams
Summary: Recent advances in pluripotent stem cell culture have made it possible to generate embryonic cell types and structures entirely in vitro, known as synthetic morphogenesis. However, the ability of stem cell-based models to recapitulate the morphogenetic cell behaviors of natural embryos is still uncertain. In this review, examples of synthetic morphogenesis, focusing on gastrulation and surrounding stages, are explored, highlighting opportunities for more complete models of early development.
SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Ali Hashmi, Sham Tlili, Pierre Perrin, Molly Lowndes, Hanna Peradziryi, Joshua M. Brickman, Alfonso Martinez Arias, Pierre-Francois Lenne
Summary: Shaping the animal body plan involves complex processes of spatial organization and patterning of different germ layers. This study focuses on the formation of the endoderm using gastruloids, 3D aggregates of mouse embryonic stem cells. The researchers discovered a three-step mechanism leading to the generation of the endoderm, involving the loss of E-cadherin contacts, separation of cell populations, and differentiation. Interestingly, the endoderm formation does not require an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, but instead relies on the maintenance of an epithelial state and fragmentation of E-cadherin contacts. This study highlights the importance of signaling and tissue flows in establishing the body plan.
Article
Developmental Biology
Joel M. Serre, Bethany Lucas, Sterling C. T. Martin, Jonathon A. Heier, Xiangqiang Shao, Jeff Hardin
Summary: The study reveals a previously unknown role of the srGAP protein SRGP-1 in cadherin-dependent morphogenesis during embryonic development. SRGP-1 binds to the core CCC component alpha-catenin and stabilizes and organizes the CCC. This finding provides important insights into understanding epithelial morphogenesis.
Article
Cell Biology
Xiaoxiang Cheng, Pei Zhang, Hongyu Zhao, Hui Zheng, Kai Zheng, Hong Zhang, Hongjie Zhang
Summary: This study reveals the critical role of C53A5.6/RIKE-1-mediated proteostasis in maintaining the basal level of autophagy and epithelial integrity.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Tania Mendonca, Ana A. Jones, Jose M. Pozo, Sarah Baxendale, Tanya T. Whitfield, Alejandro F. Frangi
Summary: Morphogenesis involves the formation of three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional epithelial sheets through cell shape changes. The alignment of single cells along a biological axis can be challenging in epithelia with highly curved surfaces. 'Origami' is a MATLAB-based image analysis pipeline that accurately computes direction vectors along the epithelial apico-basal axis.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Takamitsu Maruyama, Ronay Stevens, Alan Boka, Laura DiRienzo, Connie Chang, Hsiao-Man Ivy Yu, Katsuhiko Nishimori, Clinton Morrison, Wei Hsu
Summary: Skeletal stem cells known as suture stem cells (SuSCs) exhibit long-term self-renewal, clonal expansion, and multipotency, playing a crucial role in calvarial development, homeostasis, injury repair, and regeneration. BMPR1A is identified as essential for SuSC self-renewal and SuSC-mediated bone formation, and its disruption leads to craniosynostosis. SuSCs show potential for stem cell-based therapy with their ability to maintain stemness properties and osteogenic ability.
SCIENCE TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Florian Geisler, Sanne Remmelzwaal, Vera Jankowski, Ruben Schmidt, Mike Boxem, Rudolf E. Leube
Summary: Using Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers have identified the IF polypeptide IFB-2 as an efficient suppressor of structural and functional deficiencies in mutants that disrupt the organization of the intestinal IF cytoskeleton. This rescue capability is specific to IF isotypes and extends to mutants that disrupt the function of other cytoskeletal proteins. The findings provide strong evidence for the adverse consequences of deranged IF networks, with implications for diseases characterized by altered IF network organization.
Article
Developmental Biology
Guillermo Serrano Najera, Cornelis J. Weijer
Summary: During gastrulation, the topology of germ layers in early embryos is specified and reorganized, and recent experiments have shown that different alternative modes of gastrulation can be generated in single organisms, such as early cnidarian, arthropod and vertebrate embryos. This process is not rigidly constrained by evolutionary pressures, allowing for high variability in gastrulation morphology throughout the animal kingdom. This review discusses the mechanisms underlying the plasticity of vertebrate gastrulation, its effects on yolk volume, and two crucial innovations during amniote gastrulation: the transition from a ring-shaped mesoderm domain to a crescent-shaped domain, and the evolution of the reptilian blastoporal plate/canal into the avian primitive streak.
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Alexandra A. Vetrova, Tatiana S. Lebedeva, Aleena A. Saidova, Daria M. Kupaeva, Yulia A. Kraus, Stanislav Kremnyov
Summary: Our study focused on the embryonic development of Dynamena pumila, a cnidarian species with apolar gastrulation. We found that morphological polarity in the embryos only appears after gastrulation, while molecular prepatterning already exists during gastrulation. Additionally, we experimentally confirmed that in D. pumila, the oral-aboral axis is robust against perturbations in cWnt activity. Our results suggest that morphogenetic processes are decoupled from molecular axial patterning during gastrulation in D. pumila, which could provide new insights into the relationship between morphological polarization and axial molecular patterning in Metazoa.
DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hayretin Yumerefendi, Hui Wang, Daniel J. Dickinson, Andrew M. Lerner, Per Malkus, Bob Goldstein, Klaus Hahn, Brian Kuhlman
Letter
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bob Goldstein
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Jennifer K. Heppert, Ariel M. Pani, Allyson M. Roberts, Daniel J. Dickinson, Bob Goldstein
Article
Cell Biology
Tanner C. Fadero, Therese M. Gerbich, Kishan Rana, Aussie Suzuki, Matthew DiSalvo, Kristina N. Schaefer, Jennifer K. Heppert, Thomas C. Boothby, Bob Goldstein, Mark Peifer, Nancy L. Allbritton, Amy S. Gladfelter, Amy S. Maddox, Paul S. Maddox
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Jennifer K. Heppert, Ariel M. Pani, Allyson M. Roberts, Daniel J. Dickinson, Bob Goldstein
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Frank W. Smith, Mandy Cumming, Bob Goldstein
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kacy L. Gordon, Sara G. Payne, Lara M. Linden-High, Ariel M. Pani, Bob Goldstein, E. Jane Albert Hubbard, David R. Sherwood
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Sophia C. Tintori, Patrick Golden, Bob Goldstein
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Bob Goldstein, Jeremy Nance
Review
Physiology
Jonathan D. Hibshman, James S. Clegg, Bob Goldstein
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Guinevere E. Ashley, Tam Duong, Max T. Levenson, Michael A. Q. Martinez, Londen C. Johnson, Jonathan D. Hibshman, Hannah N. Saeger, Nicholas J. Palmisano, Ryan Doonan, Raquel Martinez-Mendez, Brittany R. Davidson, Wan Zhang, James Matthew Ragle, Taylor N. Medwig-Kinney, Sydney S. Sirota, Bob Goldstein, David Q. Matus, Daniel J. Dickinson, David J. Reiner, Jordan D. Ward
Summary: This study presents a toolkit for enhancing the application of the AID system in Caenorhabditis elegans, including tissue-specific and pan-somatic TIR1-expressing strains, as well as plasmids for constructing repair templates for generating fluorescent protein::AID fusions. These reagents will complement existing TIR1 strains and facilitate rapid and high-throughput tagging of genes with fluorescent protein::AID.
Article
Biology
Jonathan D. Hibshman, Bob Goldstein
Summary: LEA proteins play a crucial role in protecting plants and animals from desiccation. Studies on the nematode C. elegans demonstrate that LEA-1 protein is required in various tissues for resistance against desiccation and osmotic stress. Identification of minimal motifs within LEA-1 suggests the potential for engineering peptides for optimized desiccation protection.
Editorial Material
Biochemical Research Methods
Bob Goldstein
Summary: Tardigrades, tiny and mostly transparent, are being studied as emerging models to understand the evolution of body forms and the survival of biological materials in extreme conditions.
Article
Developmental Biology
Daniel S. Costa, Isabel W. Kenny-Ganzert, Qiuyi Chi, Kieop Park, Laura C. Kelley, Aastha Garde, David Q. Matus, Junhyun Park, Shaul Yogev, Bob Goldstein, Theresa V. Gibney, Ariel M. Pani, David R. Sherwood
Summary: Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) barriers is crucial in development, immune function, and cancer progression. The AC transcriptome of Caenorhabditis elegans anchor cell invasion provides insights into the mechanisms underlying BM transmigration, revealing the roles of ribosome biogenesis and endomembrane expansion. The identification of new invasion regulators, such as TCTP, and the enrichment of ribosomal proteins contribute to our understanding of the invasion process.
Article
Cell Biology
Pu Zhang, Taylor N. Medwig-Kinney, Bob Goldstein
Summary: Zhang, Medwig-Kinney, and Goldstein show that the medioapical actomyosin network driving apical constriction in C. elegans gastrulation has a diffuse organization with a mixed-polarity actin filament network. This differs from the sarcomere-like architecture observed in the Drosophila ventral furrow. They further demonstrate that C. elegans endodermal precursor cells apically constrict using a mixed-polarity actin filament network and with myosin and myosin activator distributed throughout the network. These results suggest that diverse actomyosin architectures are used in animal cells to accomplish apical constriction.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Developmental Biology
Cheng Shi, Pengfei Jiao, Zhiyi Chen, Lan Ma, Siyue Yao
Summary: This review discusses the molecular etiology of congenital craniofacial abnormalities, with a focus on the role and mechanism of noncoding RNAs in regulating craniofacial development. Aberrant expression of noncoding RNAs has been implicated in the pathogenesis of craniofacial abnormalities, providing potential therapeutic targets.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Hideru Togashi, Steven Ray Davis, Makoto Sato
Summary: Tile patterns, regulated by cell adhesion molecules, are regular arrangements of cells that play important functional roles in multicellular organisms. The physical constraints and cell adhesion regulate both cell shape and tissue morphogenesis.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Armen Khanbabei, Lina Segura, Cynthia Petrossian, Aaron Lemus, Ithan Cano, Courtney Frazier, Armen Halajyan, Donnie Ca, Mariano Loza-Coll
Summary: This article investigates the genetic regulatory mechanisms of Drosophila intestinal stem cells. The study found that most target genes co-regulated by Esg and STAT show a consistent gene expression pattern. However, manipulating these validated targets in vivo rarely replicated the effects of manipulating Esg and STAT, suggesting the presence of complex genetic interactions among the downstream targets of these two master regulator genes.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Bayley J. Waters, Zoe R. Birman, Matthew R. Wagner, Julia Lemanski, Barak Blum
Summary: Researchers found that conditional deletion of Robo2 in adult mice led to a significant loss of islet architecture without affecting beta cell identity or function, suggesting that Robo2 plays a role in actively maintaining adult islet architecture. Understanding the factors required for islet architecture maintenance is crucial for developing future diabetes therapies.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Rhiannon Clements, Tyler Smith, Luke Cowart, Jennifer Zhumi, Alan Sherrod, Aidan Cahill, Ginger L. Hunter
Summary: Cell protrusions play a crucial role in regulating cell activities during development. By studying the regulation mechanism in fruit fly sensory bristle patterning, it was found that Myosin XV is essential for the dynamics of signaling filopodia and promotes long-range Notch signaling.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Margaret Keating, Ryan Hagle, Daniel Osorio-Mendez, Anjelica Rodriguez-Parks, Sarah I. Almutawa, Junsu Kang
Summary: Knock-in reporter (KI) animals are essential for studying gene expression in biomedical research. This study developed a new strategy using minicircle technology and a minimal promoter to enhance knock-in events and establish stable KI transgenic reporter lines. The study also highlighted the importance of selecting the proper KI line due to potential inappropriate influence of genome editing on reporter gene expression.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Developmental Biology
Christian Altbuerger, Meta Rath, Daniel Armbruster, Wolfgang Driever
Summary: This study reveals that Neurog1 and Olig2 transcription factors have differential requirements for the development of dopaminergic neurons, and they integrate local patterning signals and Notch neurogenic selection signaling to specify the progenitor population and initiate neurogenesis and differentiation.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2024)