A dystroglycan-laminin-integrin axis coordinates cell shape remodeling in the developing Drosophila retina.

Cell shape remodeling is a principal driver of epithelial tissue morphogenesis. While progress continues to be made in our understanding of the pathways that control the apical (top) geometry of epithelial cells, we know comparatively little about those that control cell basal (bottom) geometry. To examine this, we used the Drosophila ommatidium, which is the basic visual unit of the compound eye.

RanBP1 plays an essential role in directed migration of neural crest cells during development.

Collective cell migration is essential for embryonic development, tissue regeneration and repair, and has been implicated in pathological conditions such as cancer metastasis. It is, in part, directed by external cues that promote front-to-rear polarity in individual cells. However, our understanding of the pathways that underpin the directional movement of cells in response to external cues remains incomplete.

The ultrastructural organization of endoplasmic reticulum-plasma membrane contacts is conserved in epithelial cells.

Contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum and the plasma membrane (ER-PM contacts) have important roles in membrane lipid and calcium dynamics, yet their organization in polarized epithelial cells has not been thoroughly described. Here we examine ER-PM contacts in hepatocytes in mouse liver using electron microscopy, providing the first comprehensive ultrastructural study of ER-PM contacts in a mammalian epithelial tissue. Our quantitative analyses reveal strikingly distinct ER-PM contact architectures spatially linked to apical, lateral, and basal PM domains.

Shaping an optical dome: The size and shape of the insect compound eye.

The insect compound eye is the most abundant eye architecture on earth. It comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, which are exquisitely adapted to specific ecosystems. Here, we explore the organisational principles and pathways, from molecular to tissular, that underpin the building of this organ and highlight why it is an excellent model system to investigate the relationship between genes and tissue form.