Lethal Giant Disc is a target of Cdk1 and regulates ESCRT-III localization during germline stem cell abscission.

Abscission is the final step of cytokinesis that allows the physical separation of sister cells through the scission of the cellular membrane. This deformation is driven by ESCRT-III proteins, which can bind membranes and form dynamic helices. A crucial step in abscission is the recruitment of ESCRT-III proteins at the right time and place.

Cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic roles of the ESCRT-III subunit Shrub in abscission of Drosophila sensory organ precursors.

Although the molecular mechanisms governing abscission of isolated cells have largely been elucidated, those underlying the abscission of epithelial progenitors surrounded by epidermal cells (ECs), connected via cellular junctions, remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigated the remodeling of the paracellular diffusion barrier ensured by septate junctions (SJs) during cytokinesis of Drosophila sensory organ precursors (SOPs). We found that SOP cytokinesis involves the coordinated, polarized assembly and remodeling of SJs in the dividing cell and its neighbors, which remain connected to the former via membrane protrusions pointing towards the SOP midbody.

The replicative histone chaperone CAF1 is essential for the maintenance of identity and genome integrity in adult stem cells.

Chromatin packaging and modifications are important to define the identity of stem cells. How chromatin properties are retained over multiple cycles of stem cell replication, while generating differentiating progeny at the same time, remains a challenging question. The chromatin assembly factor CAF1 is a conserved histone chaperone, which assembles histones H3 and H4 onto newly synthesized DNA during replication and repair.

Abscission is regulated by the ESCRT-III protein shrub in Drosophila germline stem cells.

Abscission is the final event of cytokinesis that leads to the physical separation of the two daughter cells. Recent technical advances have allowed a better understanding of the cellular and molecular events leading to abscission in isolated yeast or mammalian cells. However, how abscission is regulated in different cell types or in a developing organism remains poorly understood.

ALIX and ESCRT-III coordinately control cytokinetic abscission during germline stem cell division in vivo.

Abscission is the final step of cytokinesis that involves the cleavage of the intercellular bridge connecting the two daughter cells. Recent studies have given novel insight into the spatiotemporal regulation and molecular mechanisms controlling abscission in cultured yeast and human cells. The mechanisms of abscission in living metazoan tissues are however not well understood.

Aurora B and cyclin B have opposite effects on the timing of cytokinesis abscission in Drosophila germ cells and in vertebrate somatic cells.

Abscission is the last step of cytokinesis that physically separates the cytoplasm of sister cells. As the final stage of cell division, abscission is poorly characterized during animal development. Here, we show that Aurora B and Survivin regulate the number of germ cells in each Drosophila egg chamber by inhibiting abscission during differentiation.

Two distinct modes of guidance signalling during collective migration of border cells.

Although directed migration is a feature of both individual cells and cell groups, guided migration has been studied most extensively for single cells in simple environments. Collective guidance of cell groups remains poorly understood, despite its relevance for development and metastasis. Neural crest cells and neuronal precursors migrate as loosely organized streams of individual cells, whereas cells of the fish lateral line, Drosophila tracheal tubes and border-cell clusters migrate as more coherent groups.

A sensitized PiggyBac-based screen for regulators of border cell migration in Drosophila.

Migration of border cells during Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis is a good model system for investigating the genetic requirements for cell migration in vivo. We present a sensitized loss-of-function screen used to identify new genes required in border cells for their migration. Chromosomes bearing FRTs on all four major autosomal arms were mutagenized by insertions of the transposable element PiggyBac, allowing multiple parallel clonal screens and easy identification of the mutated gene.

Systematic analysis of the transcriptional switch inducing migration of border cells.

Cell migration within a natural context is tightly controlled, often by specific transcription factors. However, the switch from stationary to migratory behavior is poorly understood. Border cells perform a spatially and temporally controlled invasive migration during Drosophila oogenesis.

Tumor suppressor properties of the ESCRT-II complex component Vps25 in Drosophila.

We have found that the Drosophila gene vps25 possesses several properties of a tumor suppressor. First, vps25 mutant cells activate Notch and Dpp receptor signaling, inducing ectopic organizers in developing eyes and limbs and consequent overproliferation of both mutant and nearby wild-type cells. Second, as the mutant cells proliferate, they lose their epithelial organization and undergo apoptosis.

Nodal and Fgf pathways interact through a positive regulatory loop and synergize to maintain mesodermal cell populations.

Interactions between Nodal/Activin and Fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) signalling pathways have long been thought to play an important role in mesoderm formation. However, the molecular and cellular processes underlying these interactions have remained elusive. Here, we address the epistatic relationships between Nodal and Fgf pathways during early embryogenesis in zebrafish.

Distinct and cooperative roles for Nodal and Hedgehog signals during hypothalamic development.

Despite its evolutionary conservation and functional importance, little is known of the signaling pathways that underlie development of the hypothalamus. Although mutations affecting Nodal and Hedgehog signaling disrupt hypothalamic development, the time and site of action and the exact roles of these pathways remain very poorly understood. Unexpectedly, we show here that cell-autonomous reception of Nodal signals is neither required for the migration of hypothalamic precursors within the neural plate, nor for further development of the anterior-dorsal hypothalamus.

Regulation of nodal signalling and mesendoderm formation by TARAM-A, a TGFbeta-related type I receptor.

Nodal signalling is essential for many developmental events during vertebrate development, including the establishment of left-right asymmetry, of dorsoventral axis of the central nervous system, and endoderm and mesoderm formation. The zebrafish TGFbeta-related type I receptor, TARAM-A (Tar), is expressed in the prospective mesendodermal territory and, when activated, can transfate early blastomeres into endoderm, suggesting that Nodal and Tar may represent similar signalling pathways. We have analysed the functional relationships between those two pathways in zebrafish.