Morphogenesis articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How morphogen gradients induce complex gene expression programmes in the receiving cells is poorly understood. Here the authors use a quantitative approach to show that inC. elegansvulva induction cells control morphogen-induced gene expression by changing their sensitivity to the morphogen.

    • Jeroen Sebastiaan van Zon
    • , Simone Kienle
    •  & Alexander van Oudenaarden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The evolution of the amniote middle ear remains unclear. Here, the authors show that inactivation of the Edn1-Dlx5/6 cascade during development results in loss of the tympanic membrane in mouse and duplication in chicken, which suggests independent evolution of the tympanic membrane in different amniotes.

    • Taro Kitazawa
    • , Masaki Takechi
    •  & Hiroki Kurihara

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Several pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans undergo transitions between single-celled forms and multicellular filaments. Here the authors perform a genome-scale analysis of C. albicansand show that, contrary to common belief, filamentation is not required for escape from host immune cells.

    • Teresa R. O’Meara
    • , Amanda O. Veri
    •  & Leah E. Cowen

  • Article |

    Asymmetric spindle positioning in female mouse meiosis depends on the assembly of actin networks. Here, Chaigne et al. show by theoretical modelling and artificial manipulation of the oocyte cortex that a narrow stiffness regime is required to correctly position the spindle during meiosis I in the mouse oocyte.

    • A. Chaigne
    • , C. Campillo
    •  & M. E. Terret

  • Article |

    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

  • Article |

    During Drosophilaoogenesis, migration of follicle cells causes the egg chamber to rotate, changing the shape of the egg chamber from spherical to oval. Here the authors show, using live imaging, that lamellopodia on the follicle cells are required for this rotation and alignment of contractile actin bundles.

    • Maureen Cetera
    • , Guillermina R. Ramirez-San Juan
    •  & Sally Horne-Badovinac

  • Article |

    Endosomes are critical for regulating the amount and localization of cell surface molecules. Here the authors performed a genetic screen in Drosophilaand identified the protein, Strip, as a molecular linker between retrograde transport and fusion of early endosomes, which is required for axonal growth.

    • Chisako Sakuma
    • , Takeshi Kawauchi
    •  & Takahiro Chihara

  • Article |

    Cell–cell adhesion molecules and the cytoskeleton determine endothelial cell shape during the formation of blood vessels. Here the authors show that the scaffold protein, amotL2, couples adherens junctions to contractile cytoskeletal proteins to coordinate cellular morphogenesis with aortic lumen expansion.

    • Sara Hultin
    • , Yujuan Zheng
    •  & Lars Holmgren

  • Article |

    Loss-of-function mutations in PKD1, the gene encoding the plasma membrane receptor Polycystin-1, lead to renal cyst formation in polycystic kidney disease. Here, Castelli et al. show that Polycystin-1 interacts with the Par3 polarity complex and has a role in the morphogenesis of kidney tubules during mouse development.

    • Maddalena Castelli
    • , Manila Boca
    •  & Alessandra Boletta

  • Article |

    Ca2+ is an intracellular messenger that has a critical role in zebrafish development. Here Prudent et al. show that during gastrulation, the newly identified Bcl-2 homologue, Bcl-wav and the mitochondrial calcium uniporter regulate cell migration by controlling mitochondrial Ca2+storage.

    • Julien Prudent
    • , Nikolay Popgeorgiev
    •  & Germain Gillet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    During epithelial morphogenesis in Drosophila, the villous apical cell surface is flattened. Fabrowski et al. show that this flattening depends on a dramatic increase in endocytosis associated with the formation of tubular invaginations, revealing a role for membrane trafficking in morphological remodelling.

    • Piotr Fabrowski
    • , Aleksandar S. Necakov
    •  & Stefano De Renzis

  • Article |

    Dipeptidyl-peptidase 6 is implicated in different neuropsychiatric pathologies. Lin and colleagues genetically delete dipeptidyl-peptidase 6 in mice and find that this results in impaired development of dendritic filopodia, as well as a reduction in the dendritic tree size, spine density and functional synapses.

    • Lin Lin
    • , Wei Sun
    •  & Dax A. Hoffman

  • Article |

    The Wnt/β-catenin pathway has important roles during neurogenesis in bilaterian animals. The authors show that this pathway regulates the transition from proliferating neural progenitors to differentiating neurons in the annelid Platynereis dumerilii, suggesting a conserved role in the last common bilaterian ancestor.

    • Adrien Demilly
    • , Patrick Steinmetz
    •  & Michel Vervoort

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cavin proteins are key components of mammalian caveolae and are expressed from four genes in a tissue-specific manner. Gram Hansen et al. demonstrate that caveolae in the endothelia of different tissues are remarkably heterogeneous, and reveal a role for cavin 2 in determining the apparent size of cavin complexes.

    • Carsten Gram Hansen
    • , Elena Shvets
    •  & Benjamin James Nichols

  • Article |

    Food availability elicits behavioural and developmental responses. Adamset al. show that, in sea urchin larvae, food availability mediates developmental plasticity by regulating changes in arm length through dopamine signalling, a pathway widely used to mediate food-induced behavioural responses.

    • Diane K. Adams
    • , Mary A. Sewell
    •  & Lynne M. Angerer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    What controls the binding partner selection of the target of rapamycin protein, TOR, is unknown. Using theCaenorhabditis elegans tail as a model, Nukazuka et al. determine that signals of semaphorin through plexin control the binding partner selection of TOR and are required for the correct organization of rays in the tail.

    • Akira Nukazuka
    • , Shusaku Tamaki
    •  & Shin Takagi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In the developing eye, the lens and retina are derived from different embryonic tissues, and how these two structures develop next to each other is of interest. In this study, the authors show that transforming growth factor-β secreted by neural crest cells is critical for the positioning of the lens next to the retina.

    • Timothy Grocott
    • , Samuel Johnson
    •  & Andrea Streit

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many animals have complex body patterns, which are fixed in some species and flexible in others. Here, using reaction-diffusion mathematical models, together with salmonid fish crosses, intermediate patterns are shown to occur in hybrid animals produced by mating species with different flexible patterns.

    • Seita Miyazawa
    • , Michitoshi Okamoto
    •  & Shigeru Kondo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The embryonic development of forelimbs and hindlimbs is regulated by transcription factors, including Pitx1, Tbx4 and Tbx5. In this study, the contributions of Tbx4 and Tbx5 to limb identity are further delineated, resulting in the demonstration of a role for Tbx4 in hindlimb skeletal and muscle patterning.

    • Jean-François Ouimette
    • , Marisol Lavertu Jolin
    •  & Jacques Drouin

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Morphogenesis across other nature.com journals