Articles

Embryonic and larval development in the Midas cichlid fish species flock (Amphilophus spp.): a new evo-devo model for the investigation of adaptive novelties and species differences

Central American crater lake cichlid fish of the Midas species complex (Amphilophus spp.) are a model system for sympatric speciation and fast ecological diversification and specialization. Midas cichlids have be...

Authors: Claudius F Kratochwil, Maggie M Sefton and Axel Meyer

An automated system for quantitative analysis of Drosophila larval locomotion

Drosophila larvae have been used as a model to study to genetic and cellular circuitries modulating behaviors. One of the challenges in behavioral study is the quantification of complex phenoty...

Authors: Boanerges Aleman-Meza, Sang-Kyu Jung and Weiwei Zhong

Imaging the Drosophila retina: zwitterionic buffers PIPES and HEPES induce morphological artifacts in tissue fixation

Tissue fixation is crucial for preserving the morphology of biological structures and cytological details to prevent postmortem degradation and autolysis. Improper fixation conditions could lead to artifacts a...

Authors: Jing Nie, Simpla Mahato and Andrew C Zelhof

The medaka dhc2 mutant reveals conserved and distinct mechanisms of Hedgehog signaling in teleosts

Primary cilia are essential for Hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction in vertebrates. Although the core components of the Hh pathway are highly conserved, the dependency on cilia in Hh signaling is considered to b...

Authors: Takayoshi Yamamoto, Tatsuya Tsukahara, Tadashi Ishiguro, Haruo Hagiwara, Masanori Taira and Hiroyuki Takeda

Reversible regulation of stem cell niche size associated with dietary control of Notch signalling

Stem cells can respond to environmental and physiological inputs to adaptively remodel tissues. Little is known about whether stem cell niches are similarly responsive. The Drosophila ovary germline stem cell (GS...

Authors: Alessandro Bonfini, Marian B Wilkin and Martin Baron

Transcriptome analysis of the hormone-sensing cells in mammary epithelial reveals dynamic changes in early pregnancy

Alveoli, the milk-producing units of the mammary gland, are generated during pregnancy by collaboration of different epithelial cell types. We present the first analysis of transcriptional changes within the h...

Authors: Duvini De Silva, Kamini Kunasegaran, Sujoy Ghosh and Alexandra M Pietersen

Distinct expression and localization of the type II diacylglycerol kinase isozymes δ, η and κ in the mouse reproductive organs

We have revealed that the type II diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) δ, η and κ were expressed in the testis and ovary. However, these enzymes’ functions in the reproductive organs remain unknown.

Authors: Takao Shionoya, Takako Usuki, Suguru Komenoi, Takeshi Isozaki, Hiromichi Sakai and Fumio Sakane

Reviewer acknowledgement 2014

The editors of BMC Developmental Biology would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 14 (2014).

Authors: Philippa K Harris

Development of the follicular basement membrane during human gametogenesis and early folliculogenesis

In society, there is a clear need to improve the success rate of techniques to restore fertility. Therefore a deeper knowledge of the dynamics of the complex molecular environment that regulates human gametoge...

Authors: A Marijne Heeren, Liesbeth van Iperen, Daniëlle B Klootwijk, Ana de Melo Bernardo, Matthias S Roost, Maria M Gomes Fernandes, Leonie A Louwe, Carina G Hilders, Frans M Helmerhorst, Lucette A J van der Westerlaken and Susana M Chuva de Sousa Lopes

Epigenetic regulation of histone modifications and Gata6 gene expression induced by maternal diet in mouse embryoid bodies in a model of developmental programming

Dietary interventions during pregnancy alter offspring fitness. We have shown mouse maternal low protein diet fed exclusively for the preimplantation period (Emb-LPD) before return to normal protein diet (NPD)...

Authors: Congshan Sun, Oleg Denisenko, Bhavwanti Sheth, Andy Cox, Emma S Lucas, Neil R Smyth and Tom P Fleming

Novel monoclonal antibodies to study tissue regeneration in planarians

Planarians are an attractive model organism for studying stem cell-based regeneration due to their ability to replace all of their tissues from a population of adult stem cells. The molecular toolkit for plana...

Authors: Kelly G Ross, Kerilyn C Omuro, Matthew R Taylor, Roma K Munday, Amy Hubert, Ryan S King and Ricardo M Zayas

Bioelectric patterning during oogenesis: stage-specific distribution of membrane potentials, intracellular pH and ion-transport mechanisms in Drosophila ovarian follicles

Bioelectric phenomena have been found to exert influence on various developmental and regenerative processes. Little is known about their possible functions and the cellular mechanisms by which they might act ...

Authors: Julia Krüger and Johannes Bohrmann

Denervation impairs regeneration of amputated zebrafish fins

Zebrafish are able to regenerate many of its tissues and organs after damage. In amphibians this process is regulated by nerve fibres present at the site of injury, which have been proposed to release factors ...

Authors: Mariana G Simões, Anabela Bensimon-Brito, Mariana Fonseca, Ana Farinho, Fábio Valério, Sara Sousa, Nuno Afonso, Anoop Kumar and Antonio Jacinto

Improved application of the electrophoretic tissue clearing technology, CLARITY, to intact solid organs including brain, pancreas, liver, kidney, lung, and intestine

Mapping of tissue structure at the cellular, circuit, and organ-wide scale is important for understanding physiological and biological functions. A bio-electrochemical technique known as CLARITY used for three...

Authors: Hyunsu Lee, Jae-Hyung Park, Incheol Seo, Sun-Hyun Park and Shin Kim

Generation of cell type-specific monoclonal antibodies for the planarian and optimization of sample processing for immunolabeling

Efforts to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of regeneration have required the application of methods to detect specific cell types and tissues in a growing cohort of experimental animal models. ...

Authors: David J Forsthoefel, Forrest A Waters and Phillip A Newmark

The role of Sox9 in mouse mammary gland development and maintenance of mammary stem and luminal progenitor cells

Identification and characterization of molecular controls that regulate mammary stem and progenitor cell homeostasis are critical to our understanding of normal mammary gland development and its pathology.

Authors: Gautam K Malhotra, Xiangshan Zhao, Emily Edwards, Janel L Kopp, Mayumi Naramura, Maike Sander, Hamid Band and Vimla Band

Isoform-specific functions of Mud/NuMA mediate binucleation of Drosophilamale accessory gland cells

In standard cell division, the cells undergo karyokinesis and then cytokinesis. Some cells, however, such as cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes, can produce binucleate cells by going through mitosis without cytoki...

Authors: Kiichiro Taniguchi, Akihiko Kokuryo, Takao Imano, Ryunosuke Minami, Hideki Nakagoshi and Takashi Adachi-Yamada

Perturbing the developing skull: using laser ablation to investigate the robustness of the infraorbital bones in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The development of the craniofacial skeleton from embryonic mesenchyme is a complex process that is not yet completely understood, particularly for intramembranous bones. This study investigates the developmen...

Authors: Carolyn T Chang and Tamara Anne Franz-Odendaal

TGF-β signaling can act from multiple tissues to regulate C. elegansbody size

Regulation of organ and body size is a fundamental biological phenomenon, requiring tight coordination between multiple tissues to ensure accurate proportional growth. In C. elegans, a TGF-β pathway is the major ...

Authors: Aidan Dineen and Jeb Gaudet

Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 signaling regulates cell proliferation, cell survival, and differentiation in regenerating zebrafish fins

The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex1 (mTORC1) signaling pathway has been implicated in functions of multicellular processes, including cell growth and metabolism. Although recent reports showed that ma...

Authors: Kentaro Hirose, Taishi Shiomi, Shunya Hozumi and Yutaka Kikuchi

A vertebrate-conserved cis-regulatory module for targeted expression in the main hypothalamic regulatory region for the stress response

The homeodomain transcription factor orthopedia (Otp) is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of neuronal fates. In vertebrates, Otp is necessary for the proper development of different regions of the brain a...

Authors: Jose Arturo Gutierrez-Triana, Ulrich Herget, Patrick Lichtner, Luis A Castillo-Ramírez and Soojin Ryu

Expression of maternally derived KHDC3, NLRP5, OOEP and TLE6is associated with oocyte developmental competence in the ovine species

The sub-cortical maternal complex (SCMC), located in the subcortex of mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos, is composed of at least four proteins encoded by maternal effect genes: OOEP, NLRP5/MATER, TLE6 ...

Authors: Daniela Bebbere, Federica Ariu, Luisa Bogliolo, Laura Masala, Ombretta Murrone, Mauro Fattorini, Laura Falchi and Sergio Ledda

Erratum to: Changes in expression of class 3 semaphorins and their receptors during development of the rat retina and superior colliculus

Authors: Anil Sharma, Chrisna J LeVaillant, Giles W Plant and Alan R Harvey

DNAJB13, a type II HSP40 family member, localizes to the spermatids and spermatozoa during mouse spermatogenesis

Hundreds of HSP40s derived from various species have been identified, of which several proteins are involved in spermatogenesis. DNAJB13 is a type II HSP40/DnaJ protein. In a previous study, we cloned mouse Dnajb...

Authors: Weina Li and Gang Liu

A self-avoidance mechanism in patterning of the urinary collecting duct tree

Glandular organs require the development of a correctly patterned epithelial tree. These arise by iterative branching: early branches have a stereotyped anatomy, while subsequent branching is more flexible, br...

Authors: Jamie A Davies, Peter Hohenstein, C-Hong Chang and Rachel Berry

Vascularization of primary and secondary ossification centres in the human growth plate

The switch from cartilage template to bone during endochondral ossification of the growth plate requires a dynamic and close interaction between cartilage and the developing vasculature. Vascular invasion of t...

Authors: Sonja M Walzer, Erdal Cetin, Ruth Grübl-Barabas, Irene Sulzbacher, Beate Rueger, Werner Girsch, Stefan Toegel, Reinhard Windhager and Michael B Fischer

Changes in expression of Class 3 Semaphorins and their receptors during development of the rat retina and superior colliculus

Members of the Semaphorin 3 family (Sema3s) influence the development of the central nervous system, and some are implicated in regulating aspects of visual system development. However, we lack information abo...

Authors: Anil Sharma, Chrisna J LeVaillant, Giles W Plant and Alan R Harvey

14-3-3 epsilon prevents G2/M transition of fertilized mouse eggs by binding with CDC25B

The 14-3-3 (YWHA) proteins are highly conserved in higher eukaryotes, participate in various cellular signaling pathways including cell cycle regulation, development and growth. Our previous studies demonstrat...

Authors: Cheng Cui, Xiuli Ren, Dajun Liu, Xin Deng, Xin Qin, Xiangyu Zhao, Enhua Wang and Bingzhi Yu

Proteomic analysis of fibroblastema formation in regenerating hind limbs of Xenopus laevis froglets and comparison to axolotl

To gain insight into what differences might restrict the capacity for limb regeneration in Xenopus froglets, we used High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)/double mass spectrometry to characterize protein ...

Authors: Nandini Rao, Fengyu Song, Deepali Jhamb, Mu Wang, Derek J Milner, Nathaniel M Price, Teri L Belecky-Adams, Mathew J Palakal, Jo Ann Cameron, Bingbing Li, Xiaoping Chen and David L Stocum

Surface landmark quantification of embryonic mouse craniofacial morphogenesis

Morphometric quantification of subtle craniofacial variation in studies of experimentally modified embryonic mice has proved valuable in determining the effects of developmental perturbations on craniofacial m...

Authors: Christopher J Percival, Rebecca Green, Ralph Marcucio and Benedikt Hallgrímsson

Histone deacetylase expression patterns in developing murine optic nerve

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play important roles in glial cell development and in disease states within multiple regions of the central nervous system. However, little is known about HDAC expression or functi...

Authors: Sarika Tiwari, Subramanian Dharmarajan, Mahesh Shivanna, Deborah C Otteson and Teri L Belecky-Adams

The embryology of the retinal pigmented epithelium in dwarf geckos (Gekkota: Sphaerodactylinae): a unique developmental pattern

The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is a rounded shaped structure in almost all lizards. In the New World dwarf geckos, this structure shows an unusual morphology. In addition to this ocular character, we d...

Authors: Ricardo A Guerra-Fuentes, Juan D Daza and Aaron M Bauer

Effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on asymmetric division and cytokinesis in mouse oocytes

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is used extensively as a permeable cryoprotectant and is a common solvent utilized for several water-insoluble substances. DMSO has various biological and pharmacological activities; ...

Authors: Dongjie Zhou, Xinghui Shen, Yanli Gu, Na Zhang, Tong Li, Xi Wu and Lei Lei

Notochord-derived hedgehog is essential for tail regeneration in Xenopus tadpole

Appendage regeneration in amphibians is regulated by the combinatorial actions of signaling molecules. The requirement of molecules secreted from specific tissues is reflected by the observation that the whole...

Authors: Yuka Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe and Makoto Mochii

Distinct functions of the laminin β LN domain and collagen IV during cardiac extracellular matrix formation and stabilization of alary muscle attachments revealed by EMS mutagenesis in Drosophila

The Drosophila heart (dorsal vessel) is a relatively simple tubular organ that serves as a model for several aspects of cardiogenesis. Cardiac morphogenesis, proper heart function and stability require structural...

Authors: Dominik Hollfelder, Manfred Frasch and Ingolf Reim

Targeted germ line disruptions reveal general and species-specific roles for paralog group 1 hox genes in zebrafish

The developing vertebrate hindbrain is transiently segmented into rhombomeres by a process requiring Hox activity. Hox genes control specification of rhombomere fates, as well as the stereotypic differentiation o...

Authors: Steven E Weicksel, Ankit Gupta, Denise A Zannino, Scot A Wolfe and Charles G Sagerström

Detection of differential fetal and adult expression of chloride intracellular channel 4 (CLIC4) protein by analysis of a green fluorescent protein knock-in mouse line

Chloride Intracellular Channel 4 (CLIC4) is one of seven members in the closely related CLIC protein family. CLIC4 is involved in multiple cellular processes including apoptosis, cellular differentiation, infl...

Authors: VC Padmakumar, Katelyn E Masiuk, Dror Luger, Christina Lee, Vincenzo Coppola, Lino Tessarollo, Shelley B Hoover, Irina Karavanova, Andres Buonanno, R Mark Simpson and Stuart H Yuspa

Erratum to: evidence for the requirement of 14-3-3eta (YWHAH) in meiotic spindle assembly during mouse oocyte maturation

Authors: Santanu De and Douglas Kline

G1 checkpoint establishment in vivo during embryonic liver development

The DNA damage-mediated cell cycle checkpoint is an essential mechanism in the DNA damage response (DDR). During embryonic development, the characteristics of cell cycle and DNA damage checkpoint evolve from a...

Authors: Xiao Qi Wang, Kwok Kin Chan, Xiaoyan Ming, Vincent CH Lui, Randy YC Poon, Chung Mau Lo, Chris Norbury and Ronnie TP Poon

A detailed staging scheme for late larval development in Strongylocentrotus purpuratus focused on readily-visible juvenile structures within the rudiment

The purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, has long been the focus of developmental and ecological studies, and its recently-sequenced genome has spawned a diversity of functional genomics approaches.

Authors: Andreas Heyland and Jason Hodin

TGF-β1 induces senescence of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells via increase of mitochondrial ROS production

Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (bmMSCs) are multipotent cells that can differentiate into diverse cell types, including cardiomyocytes. BmMSC-based transplantation is capable of repairing acute and...

Authors: Junfang Wu, Jie Niu, Xiaopeng Li, Xianwei Wang, Zhikun Guo and Fenxi Zhang

Interaction of light regimes and circadian clocks modulate timing of pre-adult developmental events in Drosophila

Circadian clocks have been postulated to regulate development time in several species of insects including fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster. Previously we have reported that selection for faster pre-adult deve...

Authors: Pankaj Yadav, Madhumohan Thandapani and Vijay Kumar Sharma

Multiple modes of proepicardial cell migration require heartbeat

The outermost layer of the vertebrate heart, the epicardium, forms from a cluster of progenitor cells termed the proepicardium (PE). PE cells migrate onto the myocardium to give rise to the epicardium. Impaire...

Authors: Jessica S Plavicki, Peter Hofsteen, Monica S Yue, Kevin A Lanham, Richard E Peterson and Warren Heideman

Multiple transcription factors directly regulate Hox gene lin-39 expression in ventral hypodermal cells of the C. elegans embryo and larva, including the hypodermal fate regulators LIN-26 and ELT-6

Hox genes encode master regulators of regional fate specification during early metazoan development. Much is known about the initiation and regulation of Hox gene expression in Drosophila and vertebrates, but ...

Authors: Wan-Ju Liu, John S Reece-Hoyes, Albertha JM Walhout and David M Eisenmann

Construction of a cDNA library for miniature pig mandibular deciduous molars

The miniature pig provides an excellent experimental model for tooth morphogenesis because its diphyodont and heterodont dentition resembles that of humans. However, little information is available on the proc...

Authors: Tieli Song, Tingting Wu, Fulan Wei, Ang Li, Fu Wang, Yilin Xie, Dayong Liu, Zhipeng Fan, Xuejiu Wang, Shan Cheng, Chunmei Zhang, Junqi He and Songlin Wang

Integrated proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of the Aedes aegyptieggshell

Mosquito eggshells show remarkable diversity in physical properties and structure consistent with adaptations to the wide variety of environments exploited by these insects. We applied proteomic, transcriptomi...

Authors: Osvaldo Marinotti, Tuan Ngo, Bianca B Kojin, Shao-Pei Chou, Brian Nguyen, Jennifer Juhn, Rebeca Carballar-Lejarazú, Pedro N Marinotti, Xiaofang Jiang, Marika F Walter, Zhijian Tu, Paul D Gershon and Anthony A James

Mechanisms underlying dual effects of serotonin during development of Helisoma trivolvis(Mollusca)

Serotonin (5-HT) is well known as widely distributed modulator of developmental processes in both vertebrates and invertebrates. It is also the earliest neurotransmitter to appear during neuronal development. ...

Authors: Konstantin Glebov, Elena E Voronezhskaya, Marina Yu Khabarova, Evgeny Ivashkin, Leonid P Nezlin and Evgeni G Ponimaskin

Erratum to: Desmosomal cadherins in zebrafish epiboly and gastrulation

Authors: Alexander Goonesinghe, Xing-Ming Luan, Adam Hurlstone and David Garrod

Craniofacial divergence by distinct prenatal growth patterns in Fgfr2 mutant mice

Differences in cranial morphology arise due to changes in fundamental cell processes like migration, proliferation, differentiation and cell death driven by genetic programs. Signaling between fibroblast growt...

Authors: Susan M Motch Perrine, Theodore M Cole III, Neus Martínez-Abadías, Kristina Aldridge, Ethylin Wang Jabs and Joan T Richtsmeier

Regular heartbeat rhythm at the heartbeat initiation stage is essential for normal cardiogenesis at low temperature

The development of blood flow in the heart is crucial for heart function and embryonic survival. Recent studies have revealed the importance of the extracellular matrix and the mechanical stress applied to the...

Authors: Tomomi Watanabe-Asaka, Yoshio Sekiya, Hironori Wada, Takako Yasuda, Ikuya Okubo, Shoji Oda and Hiroshi Mitani