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Self-patterning of human stem cells into post-implantation lineages
Human pluripotent stem cells can be triggered to self-organize into structures recapitulating early human post-implantation embryonic development.
- Monique Pedroza
- , Seher Ipek Gassaloglu
- & Berna Sozen
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Article
| Open Access
Primate gastrulation and early organogenesis at single-cell resolution
In-depth transcriptomic analyses of 56,636 single cells from monkey embryos revealed transcriptional features of major perigastrulation cell types, and comparative analyses with mouse embryos and human embryoids uncovered conserved and divergent features of perigastrulation development across species.
- Jinglei Zhai
- , Jing Guo
- & Hongmei Wang
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Article |
Hmx gene conservation identifies the origin of vertebrate cranial ganglia
In the tunicate Ciona intestinalis, the homeobox transcription factor Hmx drives differentiation of bipolar tail neurons, indicating conserved regulation and function, and homology with cranial sensory ganglia in higher vertebrates.
- Vasileios Papadogiannis
- , Alessandro Pennati
- & Sebastian M. Shimeld
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Perspective |
A roadmap for the Human Developmental Cell Atlas
This Perspective outlines the Human Developmental Cell Atlas initiative, which uses state-of-the-art technologies to map and model human development across gestation, and discusses the early milestones that have been achieved.
- Muzlifah Haniffa
- , Deanne Taylor
- & Matthias Zilbauer
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Article |
Ex utero mouse embryogenesis from pre-gastrulation to late organogenesis
A new culture system makes it possible to grow mouse embryos and study their development outside the uterus up to the point of late organogenesis.
- Alejandro Aguilera-Castrejon
- , Bernardo Oldak
- & Jacob H. Hanna
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Article |
Modelling human blastocysts by reprogramming fibroblasts into iBlastoids
Human fibroblasts are reprogrammed to generate blastocyst-like structures called iBlastoids, which recapitulate aspects of embryo implantation.
- Xiaodong Liu
- , Jia Ping Tan
- & Jose M. Polo
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Article |
The landscape of RNA Pol II binding reveals a stepwise transition during ZGA
Binding of RNA polymerase II during zygotic genome activation in mouse embryos is determined using the newly developed method Stacc–seq.
- Bofeng Liu
- , Qianhua Xu
- & Wei Xie
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Article |
Basement membrane remodelling regulates mouse embryogenesis
Nodal signalling coordinates embryonic development before and during gastrulation by directing perforation of the basement membrane via spatiotemporal regulation of matrix metalloprotease expression.
- Christos Kyprianou
- , Neophytos Christodoulou
- & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
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Article |
Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal somitogenesis in gastruloids
Single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics reveal that the somitogenesis clock is active in mouse gastruloids, which can be induced to generate somites with the correct rostral–caudal patterning.
- Susanne C. van den Brink
- , Anna Alemany
- & Alexander van Oudenaarden
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Article |
A developmental landscape of 3D-cultured human pre-gastrulation embryos
A 3D culture system to model human embryonic development, together with single-cell transcriptome profiling, provides insights into the molecular developmental landscape during human post-implantation embryogenesis.
- Lifeng Xiang
- , Yu Yin
- & Tianqing Li
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Article |
Mutations that prevent caspase cleavage of RIPK1 cause autoinflammatory disease
Heterozygous mutateons in the caspase-8 cleavage site of RIPK1 cause a range of autoinflammatory symptoms in humans, and caspase-8 cleavage of RIPK1 in a mouse model limits TNF-induced cell death and inflammation.
- Najoua Lalaoui
- , Steven E. Boyden
- & John Silke
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Article |
Evolution of the new head by gradual acquisition of neural crest regulatory circuits
Analysis of gene expression in the neural crest of vertebrate embryos supports the idea that gene regulatory circuits that define the cranial neural crest evolved gradually from a more trunk-like identity.
- Megan L. Martik
- , Shashank Gandhi
- & Marianne E. Bronner
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Matters Arising |
Reversion after replacement of mitochondrial DNA
- Gavin Hudson
- , Yuko Takeda
- & Mary Herbert
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Matters Arising |
Reply to: Reversion after replacement of mitochondrial DNA
- Eunju Kang
- , Amy Koski
- & Shoukhrat Mitalipov
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Letter |
Controlled modelling of human epiblast and amnion development using stem cells
Landmarks of early stages of human embryogenesis can be recapitulated in a highly controllable and scalable fashion by culturing human pluripotent stem cells in a microfluidic device.
- Yi Zheng
- , Xufeng Xue
- & Jianping Fu
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Letter |
Neurocranial development of the coelacanth and the evolution of the sarcopterygian head
Micro-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of a growth series of the coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae traces the ontogeny of the brain and neurocranium, which sheds light on neurocranial evolution in sarcopterygian fishes.
- Hugo Dutel
- , Manon Galland
- & Marc Herbin
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Article |
A single-cell molecular map of mouse gastrulation and early organogenesis
Single-cell profiling is used to create a molecular-level atlas of cell differentiation trajectories during gastrulation and early organogenesis in the mouse.
- Blanca Pijuan-Sala
- , Jonathan A. Griffiths
- & Berthold Göttgens
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Letter |
Multi-axial self-organization properties of mouse embryonic stem cells into gastruloids
Cultures grown from small aggregates of mouse embryonic stem cells can be induced to organize spatial and temporal patterns of gene expression that parallel those of the early embryo, offering a potentially useful system for studying early development.
- Leonardo Beccari
- , Naomi Moris
- & Alfonso Martinez Arias
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Letter |
Self-organization of a human organizer by combined Wnt and Nodal signalling
Stimulation of Wnt and Nodal pathways in micropatterned human embryonic stem cell colonies induce these colonies to exhibit characteristic spatial expression patterns of the organizer and reproduce organizer function when grafted into a host embryo.
- I. Martyn
- , T. Y. Kanno
- & A. H. Brivanlou
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Letter |
RSPO2 inhibition of RNF43 and ZNRF3 governs limb development independently of LGR4/5/6
Independently of the LGR4/5/6 receptors, RSPO2 acts as a direct antagonistic ligand to RNF43 and ZNRF3 during embryogenesis, and specifies the position and number of limbs that an embryo should form.
- Emmanuelle Szenker-Ravi
- , Umut Altunoglu
- & Bruno Reversade
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Letter |
Chromatin analysis in human early development reveals epigenetic transition during ZGA
By applying an optimized ATAC-seq protocol to human early embryos, distinct accessible chromatin landscapes are found before and after zygotic genome activation, revealing a marked epigenetic transition during zygotic genome activation and putative regulatory elements wiring human early development.
- Jingyi Wu
- , Jiawei Xu
- & Yingpu Sun
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Article |
Correction of a pathogenic gene mutation in human embryos
CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing is used to induce a DNA repair response and correct a disease-causing heterozygous mutation in human embryos with reduced mosaicism and preferential repair using the wild-type copy of the gene.
- Hong Ma
- , Nuria Marti-Gutierrez
- & Shoukhrat Mitalipov
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Letter |
Pre-oral gut contributes to facial structures in non-teleost fishes
In contrast to the prevailing belief that the gut begins with the mouth and continues backwards from there, this work shows that substantial areas of the faces of ray-finned fishes originate from the pre-oral gut or endoderm.
- Martin Minarik
- , Jan Stundl
- & Robert Cerny
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Letter |
Principles of early human development and germ cell program from conserved model systems
The authors trace the emergence of porcine primordial germ cells and develop in vitro models of primordial germ cell development from human and monkey pluripotent stem cells in order to provide insight into early human development.
- Toshihiro Kobayashi
- , Haixin Zhang
- & M. Azim Surani
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Letter |
Single-nucleus Hi-C reveals unique chromatin reorganization at oocyte-to-zygote transition
Using a single-nucleus Hi-C protocol, the authors find that spatial organization of chromatin during oocyte-to-zygote transition differs between paternal and maternal nuclei within a single-cell zygote.
- Ilya M. Flyamer
- , Johanna Gassler
- & Kikuë Tachibana-Konwalski
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Letter |
Ancient evolutionary origin of vertebrate enteric neurons from trunk-derived neural crest
Whereas the enteric nervous system of jawed vertebrates is derived largely from the vagal neural crest, that of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) is populated by trunk-derived neural crest cells that may be homologous to Schwann cell precursors.
- Stephen A. Green
- , Benjamin R. Uy
- & Marianne E. Bronner
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Letter |
Evolution of Hoxa11 regulation in vertebrates is linked to the pentadactyl state
The mutually exclusive expression of the Hoxa11 and Hoxa13 genes is required for pentadactyl (five-digit) limbs and is proposed to have contributed to the transition from several digits polydactyl (several-digit) limbs in the earliest tetrapods.
- Yacine Kherdjemil
- , Robert L. Lalonde
- & Marie Kmita
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Letter |
Distinct features of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 chromatin domains in pre-implantation embryos
Three papers in this issue of Nature use highly sensitive ChIP–seq assays to describe the dynamic patterns of histone modifications during early mouse embryogenesis, showing that oocytes have a distinctive epigenome and providing insights into how the maternal gene expression program transitions to the zygotic program.
- Xiaoyu Liu
- , Chenfei Wang
- & Shaorong Gao
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Letter |
Molecular architecture of the human sperm IZUMO1 and egg JUNO fertilization complex
This study describes the structures of the IZUMO1 protein, found on sperm, and the JUNO protein, found on eggs, and sheds light on their roles in sperm–egg fusion during fertilization.
- Halil Aydin
- , Azmiri Sultana
- & Jeffrey E. Lee
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Letter |
Towards clinical application of pronuclear transfer to prevent mitochondrial DNA disease
Preclinical evaluation and optimization of mitochondrial replacement therapy reveals that a modified form of pronuclear transfer is likely to give rise to normal pregnancies with a reduced risk of mitochondrial DNA disease, but may need further modification to eradicate the disease in all cases.
- Louise A. Hyslop
- , Paul Blakeley
- & Mary Herbert
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Letter |
Cell differentiation and germ–soma separation in Ediacaran animal embryo-like fossils
Spheroidal microfossils from the Ediacaran Doushantuo phosphorites show clear signs of cell differentiation, programmed cell death, and separation between soma and germline, and seem to represent a hitherto unknown experiment in multicellular life like nothing on Earth today.
- Lei Chen
- , Shuhai Xiao
- & Xunlai Yuan
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Letter |
Rb suppresses human cone-precursor-derived retinoblastoma tumours
The nature of the retinal cell-type-specific circuitry that predisposes to retinoblastoma is demonstrated, in which a program that is unique to post-mitotic human cone precursors sensitizes to the oncogenic effects of retinoblastoma (Rb) protein depletion; hence, the loss of Rb collaborates with the molecular framework of cone precursors to initiate tumorigenesis.
- Xiaoliang L. Xu
- , Hardeep P. Singh
- & David Cobrinik
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Letter |
Haematopoietic stem cell induction by somite-derived endothelial cells controlled by meox1
A new somite compartment, called the endotome, that contributes to the formation of the embryonic dorsal aorta by providing endothelial progenitors is identified here; endotome-derived endothelial progenitors, whose formation is regulated by the activity of the meox1 gene, induce haematopoietic stem cell formation upon colonization of the nascent dorsal aorta.
- Phong Dang Nguyen
- , Georgina Elizabeth Hollway
- & Peter David Currie
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Letter |
Jam1a–Jam2a interactions regulate haematopoietic stem cell fate through Notch signalling
Notch signalling has a key role in the generation of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during vertebrate development; here two adhesion molecules, Jam1a and Jam2a, are shown to be essential for the contact between precursors of HSCs and the somite during embryonic migration, and the Jam1a–Jam2a interaction is shown to be needed to transmit the Notch signal and produce HSCs.
- Isao Kobayashi
- , Jingjing Kobayashi-Sun
- & David Traver
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Letter |
Inappropriate p53 activation during development induces features of CHARGE syndrome
Inappropriate activation of the tumour-suppressor protein p53 during development can promote phenotypes similar to those of CHARGE syndrome, suggesting that p53 activation not only has a beneficial function in suppressing cancer but also a deleterious function in promoting developmental syndromes.
- Jeanine L. Van Nostrand
- , Colleen A. Brady
- & Laura D. Attardi
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Letter |
Two independent transcription initiation codes overlap on vertebrate core promoters
The transcription start sites used during the maternal to zygotic transition in zebrafish are mapped, revealing that the transition is characterized by a switch between two different sequence signs to guide transcription initiation, which often co-exist in core promoters.
- Vanja Haberle
- , Nan Li
- & Boris Lenhard
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Research Highlights |
Early signs of embryo trouble
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News |
Mammals put embryo development on hold
The ability to postpone embryo growth temporarily may be more widespread than previously thought.
- Henry Nicholls
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Letter |
Transcriptomic analysis of avian digits reveals conserved and derived digit identities in birds
- Zhe Wang
- , Rebecca L. Young
- & Günter P. Wagner
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Research Highlights |
Embryo rhythm predicts success
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News |
Baby's genome hidden in mother's blood
A complete fetal genome can be deduced from maternal DNA.
- Ewen Callaway
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News |
UK embryo agency faces the axe
Coalition government promises to abolish respected regulator in effort to cut back on quangos.
- Daniel Cressey
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Letter |
A random cell motility gradient downstream of FGF controls elongation of an amniote embryo
Most animal embryos grow through cell accumulation in a posterior growth zone, but the underlying forces are unknown. It is now proposed that posterior elongation in chicken embryos is an emergent property that arises from graded cell motility in random directions (as opposed to directed movement). This occurs in response to signalling through the fibroblast growth factor.
- Bertrand Bénazéraf
- , Paul Francois
- & Olivier Pourquié
Complete human day 14 post-implantation embryo models from naive ES cells