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Morphogenesis is the process by which an organism, tissue or organ develops its shape. Morphogenesis is driven by various cellular and developmental processes including cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, cell migration and cell adhesion.
Using micropipette aspiration on donated human embryos, cell surface tensions during compaction were mapped, indicating a role for defective cell contractility in poor quality embryos.
During organ regeneration, gene expression patterns similar to those in normal development are reestablished. Here, Kawasumi-Kita et al. explore core rebooting factors that operate during Xenopus limb regeneration. Their results indicate that hoxc12 and hoxc13 are critical for reactivating tissue growth.
The mechanisms of bifurgation, a key step in thyroid development, are largely unknown. Here, Fang et al. find that HGF/Met is indispensable for the bifurgation of the thyroid primordium during zebrafish thyroid development.
Cell–cell adhesions are inevitably exposed to mechanical forces. A landmark paper by Yonemura et al. identified how tension alters molecular function of the cadherin adhesion apparatus. Its legacy lies in the many on-going efforts to understand how mechanical force is used in cell–cell communication.
Analysis of cells shed from the mouse gut, using bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, as well as single-molecule FISH and intravital imaging, revealed that shed cells are diverse, remain viable for a few hours and upregulate anti-microbial gene expression programs.
In this Tools of the Trade article, Sarah Paramore (from the Devenport and Nelson labs) discusses the use of mouse strains carrying genomic alterations in PCP genes and how they can increase our understanding of mammalian planar cell polarity.