Publisher's Note: Eya1 controls cell polarity, spindle orientation, cell fate and Notch signaling in distal embryonic lung epithelium by El-Hashash et al. Development doi:10.1242/dev.058479.

Publisher's Note: Eya1 controls cell polarity, spindle orientation, cell fate and Notch signaling in distal embryonic lung epithelium by El-Hashash et al. Development This Publisher's Note relates to the article 'Eya1 controls cell polarity, spindle orientation, cell fate and Notch signaling in distal embryonic lung epithelium' by El-Hashash et al. (doi:10.1242/dev.058479). We have recently been made aware that several of the panels in Fig. 7 of this article may also appear in a paper from some of the same authors published in Developmental Biology (El-Hashash et al., 2011). We have contacted the authors to alert them to this alleged duplication to enable them to conduct further investigation. We are publishing this Note to inform readers of this situation. This course of action follows the advice set out by COPE (The Committee on Publication Ethics), of which Development is a member. INTRODUCTION The correct functioning of lung epithelium is essential to life. Mammalian lung development begins when two primary buds consisting of an inner epithelial layer surrounded by mesenchyme, arise from the laryngotracheal groove in the ventral foregut. These buds undergo stereotypic rounds of branching and outgrowth to give rise to a tree-like respiratory organ, which contains different specialized epithelial cell types organized along the proximodistal In order to function effectively, the alveolar surface must form a selectively permeable monolayer where cell-cell contact provides important spatial cues that are required to generate cell polarity/communications (Nelson, 2003a; Nelson, 2003b; Boitano et al., 2004). Cell polarity, the asymmetry in distribution of cellular constituents within a single cell, is fundamental to cellular functions and essential for generating cell diversity. Epithelial cells have a characteristic apicobasal polarity, which is necessary for their function as barriers between different extracellular environments (Drubin and Nelson, 1996; Mostov et al., 2000). In epithelial cells, the axis of polarity that will determine the