Musculoskeletal development articles from across Nature Portfolio

Recent phylogenetic analyses have identified orphan clades, including Xenacoelomorphs, that can offer insights into bilaterian evolution. Here they generate a cell type atlas of Xenoturbella bockithat highlights cellular diversity in the nervous system and other tissues, reinforcing the idea of parallel evolution of cell types across animals.

Hicks et al. report that human regenerating myofibres expressing ACTC1 substantially contribute to supporting PAX7⁺ skeletal muscle progenitor cells.

Craniofacial disorders are among the most common congenital defects. Here, the authors examined the genetic causes of non-syndromic craniofacial disorders during human development through analysis of gene expression and epigenomics.

Researchers used single-nucleus RNA and ATAC sequencing to create an atlas of skeletal muscle development. They identified the gene programs and transcription factors that control muscle fiber development and maturation.

Successful skeletal muscle regeneration relies on the interplay of multiple cell populations. Here, the authors describe how ciliary Hedgehog signaling coordinates the intercellular crosstalk required to balance wound healing and fatty fibrosis.

The transcriptional regulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation gene expression is poorly understood. Using the developing Drosophila flight muscle, the authors identify the transcription factor M1BP as a new major regulator of this process.

During muscle development, nuclei travel from the centre of the myofibre to the periphery, a process defective in certain diseases. A new study reveals that this movement is due to centripetal forces imposed on nuclei by the crosslinking and contraction of myofibrils.

Skeletal muscles are composed of different types of fibres. Can these be thought of as distinct lineages with specific lineage-restricted progenitors? A provocative study now proposes that mesenchymal cells expressing the transcription factor Twist2 act as myogenic progenitors with selective type IIb fibre-differentiation potential.

N-WASP and nebulin induce actin filament formation in myofibrils.