Genome editing in the choanoflagellate Salpingoeca rosetta opens newfound possibilities to functionally probe choanoflagellate genes that may illuminate the origin of their closest relatives, the animals.
The development of colonies of cells in choanoflagellates, water-dwelling organisms that feed on bacteria, is triggered by the presence of very low concentrations of a lipid molecule produced by certain types of bacteria.
A genetic screen reveals that two predicted glycosyltransferases promote rosette development and prevent cell clumping in one of the closest living relatives of animals, the choanoflagellate S. rosetta.
Pairwise combinations of growth-promoting genes regulating distinct cellular mechanisms lead to synergistic effects on leaf growth, and hence greatly increased leaf size.
Gavin T Knight, Brady F Lundin ... Randolph Scott Ashton
A bioengineering approach identifies tissue morphology as an effective variable for controlling the inception of neural organoid morphogenesis via induction of a biomimetic, singular neural rosette tissue cytoarchitecture.
Douglas P Anderson, Dustin S Whitney ... Kenneth E Prehoda
Experimentally reconstructing the evolution of the molecular complex that animals use to orient the mitotic spindle establishes a simple genetic and physical mechanism for the emergence of a function essential for multicellularity.