Embryonic neurogenesis in echinoderms

A Note on the Biochemistry of Embryonic Determination in Echinoderms

Role of microglia in embryonic neurogenesis

Microglia begin colonizing the developing brain as early as embryonic day 9, prior to the emergence of neurons and other glia. Their ontogeny is also distinct from other central nervous system cells, as they derive from yolk sac hematopoietic progenitors and not neural progenitors. In this review, we feature these unique characteristics of microglia and assess the spatiotemporal similarities be...

Echinoderms

two fish. In the wild, kittiwakes have to learn to look for particular colours and patterns in the ocean to find the best place to fish. The researchers tried to recreate this for the captive birds by making them search for their food among a chequerboard of different coloured bowls. Chicks on the unrestricted fatty diet quickly learned which bowls contained food, but chicks on lean rations wer...

FoxP2 regulates neurogenesis during embryonic cortical development.

The transcription factor FoxP2 has been associated with the development of human speech but the underlying cellular function of FoxP2 is still unclear. Here we provide evidence that FoxP2 regulates genesis of some intermediate progenitors and neurons in the mammalian cortex, one of the key centers for human speech. Specifically, knockdown of FoxP2 in embryonic cortical precursors inhibits neuro...

EVA1A/TMEM166 Regulates Embryonic Neurogenesis by Autophagy

Self-renewal and differentiation of neural stem cells is essential for embryonic neurogenesis, which is associated with cell autophagy. However, the mechanism by which autophagy regulates neurogenesis remains undefined. Here, we show that Eva1a/Tmem166, an autophagy-related gene, regulates neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. Eva1a depletion impaired the generation of newborn neur...