Stem Cell and Developmental Biology: At the Interface of Differentiation and Morphogenesis
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Biology and Tissue Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 2 September 2024 | Viewed by 230
Special Issue Editors
Interests: stem cell and developmental biology; germ cells and spermatogenesis; cell communication; signaling; gene regulation; Drosophila genetics
Interests: epithelial morphogenesis; gene regulation; insects; live imaging microscopy; developmental genetics; molecular evolution; evolution of development
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Developmental biology has been fundamental in elucidating the properties that shape multicellular organisms from an initial fertilised egg to embryos and adults. Cell fate decisions drive differentiation, while cell interactions in the form of cell adhesion, signalling exchange and migration drive the morphogenetic movements and tissue forces that pattern structures and organs in the right place and time. Stem cells are critical in orchestrating developmental decisions, as embryonic stem cells provide functionally distinct cell lineages during embryogenesis, while specialised stem cells residing in adult organs support tissue maintenance and repair damaged cells after injury, disease or normal tissue turnover. Using genetic and genomic tools to manipulate gene function, scientists are uncovering fundamental mechanisms that govern development in vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. Recent advances in systems biology and single cell analysis, gene editing, epigenomics, high resolution imaging and biophysics to study tissue mechanics have enabled researchers to distinguish key players and regulatory networks in developmental and stem cell-related pathways with precision. Elucidating the dynamic processes, mechanisms and strategies that organisms use to build, maintain and repair themselves has implications in understanding diseases and tissue repair, and in efforts to develop therapies and regenerate organs.
For this Special Issue, we invite reviews, commentaries and original articles on developmental and stem cell themes across model organisms and tissue systems, including cutting-edge techniques that advance our understanding of related processes. Insights from rare cell types and non-model tissues are particularly welcome.
Dr. Fani Papagiannouli
Prof. Dr. Kristen Panfilio
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- stem cell biology and tissue aging
- gene regulatory networks and epigenetics
- signalling and cell–cell interactions
- differentiation and morphogenesis
- tissue mechanics and mechanotransduction
- germ cells and reproduction
- evolution of developmental control
