During organogenesis, cell proliferation is followed by the differentiation of specific cell types to form an organ. Any aberration in differentiation can result in developmental defects, which can result in a partial to a near‐complete loss of an organ. We employ the Drosophila eye model to understand the genetic and molecular mechanisms involved in the process of differentiation. In a forward genetic

The chromodomain family member chromodomain 1 (CHD1) has been shown to have numerous critical molecular functions including transcriptional regulation, splicing, and DNA repair. Complete loss of function of this gene is not compatible with life. On the other hand, missense and copy number variants of CHD1 can result in intellectual disabilities and craniofacial malformations in human patients including

Reactive oxygen species signaling in primordial germ cell development in Drosophila embryos (58:6)

The generation and maintenance of genome edited zebrafish lines is typically labor intensive due to the lack of an easy visual read‐out for the modification. To facilitate this process, we have developed a novel method that relies on the inclusion of an artificial intron with a transgenic marker (InTraM) within the knock‐in sequence of interest, which upon splicing produces a transcript with a precise

PR domain zinc finger protein 14 (PRDM14) plays an essential role in the development of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in mice. However, its functions in avian species remain unclear. In the present study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the PRDM14 locus in chickens in order to demonstrate its importance in development. The eGFP gene was introduced into the PRDM14 locus of cultured chicken PGCs to knockout

The Cre‐loxP strategy for tissue selective gene deletion has become a widely employed tool in neuroscience research. The validity of these models is largely underpinned by the temporal and spatial selectivity of recombinase expression under the promoter of the Cre driver line. Ectopic Cre‐recombinase expression gives rise to off‐target effects which can confound results and is especially detrimental

MicroRNAs are modulators of cellular phenotypes and their functions contribute to development, homeostasis, and disease. miR‐145 is a conserved microRNA that has been implicated in regulating an array of phenotypes. These include supporting smooth muscle differentiation, repression of stem cell pluripotency, and inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis. Previously, our lab demonstrated that miR‐145

Random gene trapping is the application of insertional mutagenesis techniques that are conventionally used to inactivate protein‐coding genes in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Transcriptionally silent genes are not effectively targeted by conventional random gene trapping techniques, thus we herein developed an unbiased poly (A) trap (UPATrap) method using a Tol2 transposon, which preferentially

Wnt signal transduction controls tissue morphogenesis, maintenance and regeneration in all multicellular animals. In mammals, the WNT/CTNNB1 (Wnt/β‐catenin) pathway controls cell proliferation and cell fate decisions before and after birth. It plays a critical role at multiple stages of embryonic development, but also governs stem cell maintenance and homeostasis in adult tissues. However, it remains

Endothelial cells are specialized epithelium lining the interior surface of vessels and play fundamental roles in angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and immune response. To identify endothelial cells in vivo, we constructed a Pecam1nlacZ‐H2B‐GFP/+ knock‐in mouse model in which the endothelial cells are labeled by nuclear LacZ (nlacZ) expression. When Pecam1nlacZ‐H2B‐GFP/+ mice are bred with germline

Cell Atlases are currently being constructed for human tissues as well as several model organisms. New technologies make creation of vast datasets in many species possible, but the value of such data crucially depends on the quality of annotation. The tools of annotating single cell data and creating knowledge representations comparable across organisms have been lagging. We argue that successfully

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are abundant, lipid‐enclosed vectors that contain nucleic acids and proteins, they can be secreted from donor cells and freely circulate, and they can be engulfed by recipient cells thus enabling systemic communication between heterotypic cell types. However, genetic tools for labeling, isolating, and auditing cell type‐specific EVs in vivo, without prior in vitro manipulation

Orthopedia (Otp) is a homeodomain transcription factor that plays an essential role in the development of hypothalamic neurosecretory systems. Loss of Otp results in the failure of differentiation of key hypothalamic neuroendocrine cell types, and pups die soon after birth. Although the constitutive knockout Otp mouse model (Otp KO) has significantly expanded our understanding of Otp's function in

Maintaining genome integrity in the germline is essential for survival and propagation of a species. In both mouse and human, germ cells originate during fetal development and are hypersensitive to both endogenous and exogenous DNA damaging agents. Currently, mechanistic understanding of how primordial germ cells respond to DNA damage is limited in part by the tools available to study these cells.

Hox genes encode transcription factors that have been implicated in embryonic, adult and disease processes. The earliest developmental program known to be directed by Hox genes is the timing of ingression of presumptive axial mesoderm during gastrulation. We previously used morpholino (MO)‐based knockdown to implicate the zebrafish hoxd4a gene in the specification of the hemangioblast, an event occurring

REDOX mechanisms that induce biosynthesis of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) have attracted considerable attention due to both the deleterious and beneficial responses elicited by the reactive radical. In several organisms including Drosophila melanogaster, modulation of ROS activity is thought to be crucial for the maintenance of cell fates in developmental contexts. Interestingly, REDOX mechanisms

Germ cell development is essential for maintaining reproduction in animals. In postpubertal females, oogenesis is a highly complicated event for producing fertilizable oocytes. It starts when dormant primordial oocytes undergo activation to become growing oocytes. In postpubertal males, spermatogenesis is a differentiation process for producing sperm from spermatogonial stem cells. To obtain full understanding

We report model experiments in which simple microinjection of fertilized eggs has been used to effectively perform homology‐directed repair (HDR)‐mediated gene editing in the two Xenopus species used most frequently for research: X. tropicalis and X. laevis. We have used long single‐stranded DNAs having phosphorothioate modifications as donor templates for HDR at targeted genomic sites using the Clustered

Heterozygous deletion of Six2, which encodes a member of sine oculis homeobox family transcription factors, has recently been associated with the frontonasal dysplasia syndrome FND4. Previous studies showed that Six2 is expressed in multiple tissues during craniofacial development in mice, including embryonic head mesoderm, postmigratory frontonasal neural crest cells, and epithelial and mesenchymal

Cardiac neural crest cells (cNCCs) are required for normal heart development. cNCCs are a multipotent and migratory cell lineage that differentiates into multiple cell types. cNCCs migrate into the developing heart to contribute to the septation of the cardiac outflow tract (OFT). Foxc1 and Foxc2 are closely related members of the FOX (Forkhead box) transcription factor family and are expressed in

Cover illustration: The front cover image is based on the Original Article Drosophila Pericentrin‐like protein promotes the formation of primordial germ cells by Dorothy Lerit and Junnan Fang, https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23347.

Cover illustration: The back cover image is based on the Short Communication Generation of a hypoxia‐sensing mouse model by Zhong Yun, Qun Lin, Frank, J. Giordano et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23352.

Recombination systems represent a major breakthrough in the field of genetic model engineering. The Flp recombinases (Flp, Flpe, and Flpo) bind and cleave DNA Frt sites. We created a transgenic mouse strain ([Fsp1‐Flpo]) expressing the Flpo recombinase in fibroblasts. This strain was obtained by random insertion inside mouse zygotes after pronuclear injection. Flpo expression was placed under the control

Cystinuria Type A is a relatively common genetic kidney disease occurring in 1 in 7,000 people worldwide that results from mutation of the cystine transporter rBAT encoded by Slc3a1. We used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to engineer cystinuria Type A mice via genome editing of the C57BL/6NHsd background. These mice are an improvement on currently available models as they are on a coisogenic genetic background

Vertebrates possess paired cranial sensory ganglia derived from two embryonic cell populations, neural crest and placodes. Cranial sensory ganglia arose prior to the divergence of jawed and jawless vertebrates, but the developmental mechanisms that facilitated their evolution are unknown. Using gene expression and cell lineage tracing experiments in embryos of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, we

H1 histones bind to linker DNA. H1t (H1f6), a testis‐specific linker histone variant, is present in pachytene spermatocytes and spermatids. The expression of H1t histone coincides with the acquisition of metaphase I competence in pachytene spermatocytes. Here we report the generation of H1t‐GFP transgenic mice. The H1t‐GFP (H1 histone testis‐green fluorescence protein) fusion protein expression recapitulates

Cover illustration: The cover image is based on the Short Communication Generation of a MOR‐CreER knock‐in mouse line to study cells and neural circuits involved in mu opioid receptor signaling by Dai Watanabe et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23341.

To investigate microRNA (miR) functions in early eye development, we asked whether eye field transcription factors (EFTFs) are targets of miR‐dependent regulation in Xenopus embryos. Argonaute (AGO) ribonucleoprotein complexes, including miRs and targeted mRNAs, were coimmunoprecipitated from transgenic embryos expressing myc‐tagged AGO under the control of the rax1 promoter; mRNAs for all EFTFs coimmunoprecipitated

Oxygen (O2) homeostasis is essential to the metazoan life. O2‐sensing or hypoxia‐regulated molecular pathways are intimately involved in a wide range of critical cellular functions and cell survival from embryogenesis to adulthood. In this report, we have designed an innovative hypoxia sensor (O2CreER) based on the O2‐dependent degradation domain of the hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α and Cre recombinase

Analysis of the human and murine transcriptomes has identified long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as major functional components in both species. Transcriptional profiling of the murine limb led to our discovery of lncRNA‐HIT, which our previous in vitro analyses suggested a potential role for this lncRNA in the development of limb, craniofacial, and genitourinary tissues (Carlson et al., 2015). To test

A previous animal study by our group found that sleep deprivation during preimplantation was associated with decreased pregnancy maintenance. Given its impact on human society, we aimed in the current study to assess whether sleep deprivation affects blastocyst gene expression and/or the implantation process. For this, pregnant mice (gestational day 0 [GD 0]) were assigned into paradoxical sleep deprivation

Cover illustration: The cover image is based on the Technology Report Generation of Nanog reporter mice that distinguish pluripotent stem cells from unipotent primordial germ cells by Atsushi Suzuki et al., https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23334.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the precursors to the adult germline stem cells that are set aside early during embryogenesis and specified through the inheritance of the germ plasm, which contains the mRNAs and proteins that function as the germline fate determinants. In Drosophila melanogaster, formation of the PGCs requires the microtubule and actin cytoskeletal networks to actively segregate the

The ear drum, or tympanic membrane (TM), is a key component in the intricate relay that transmits air‐borne sound to our fluid‐filled inner ear. Despite early belief that the mammalian ear drum evolved as a transformation of a reptilian drum, newer fossil data suggests a parallel and independent evolution of this structure in mammals. The term “drum” belies what is in fact a complex three‐dimensional

Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (PECAM‐1) is an adhesion and signaling receptor that is expressed on endothelial and hematopoietic cells and plays important roles in angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and regulation of cellular responsiveness. To better understanding the tissue specificity of PECAM‐1 functions, we generated mice in which PECAM1, the gene encoding PECAM‐1, could be conditionally

This study was conducted to check whether the three chick Early B‐cell Factor (Ebf) genes, particularly cEbf1, would be targets for Shh and Bmp signals during somites mediolateral (ML) patterning. Tissue manipulations and gain and loss of function experiments for Shh and Bmp4 were performed and the results revealed that cEbf1 expression was initiated in the cranial presomitic mesoderm by low dose of

Mucus secretion and ciliary motility are hallmarks for muco‐ciliary epithelia (MCE). Both, mammalian airways as well as the less complex epidermis of Xenopus embryos show cilia‐driven mucus flow to protect the organism against harmful effects by exogenous pathogens or pollutants. Four cell types set up the epidermal MCE in Xenopus. Multi‐ciliated cells (MCCs) generate an anterior to posterior flow

Myosin phosphatase targeting subunit 1 (Mypt1) is the regulatory subunit of myosin phosphatase which dephosphorylates the light chain of myosin II to inhibit its contraction. Although biochemical properties of Mypt1 have been characterized in detail, its biological functions in organisms are not well understood. The zebrafish mypt1 sq181 allele was found defective in the ventral pancreatic bud and