Making endocrine pancreas cells at will is one of the major goals of cellular based therapies for diabetes. The experimentally induced conversion of hepatocytes into pancreatic cells, using a modified version of the transcription factor Pdx-1, may provide an alternative to stem cell approaches.

Organogenesis, the process by which organs develop from individual precursor stem cells, requires that the precursor cells proliferate, differentiate, and aggregate to form a functioning structure. This process progresses through changes in 4 dimensions: time and 3 dimensions of space-4D. Experimental analysis of organogenesis, by its nature, cuts the 4D developmental process into static, 2D hi...

Legumes have evolved the capacity to form a root nodule symbiosis with soil bacteria called rhizobia. The establishment of this symbiosis involves specific developmental events occurring both in the root epidermis (notably bacterial entry) and at a distance in the underlying root cortical cells (notably cell divisions leading to nodule organogenesis). The processes of bacterial entry and nodule...

Development is a complex process that involves differentiation into a variety of cell types. In spite of its complexity, the macroscopic pattern and cell types are robust to environmental and developmental perturbations. Even in vitro far from normal developmental conditions, ten normal tissues have been generated from Xenopus animal caps by successive treatment with activin and retinoic acid (...

Morphogenesis of exocrine glands is a complex stepwise process of epithelial ingrowth, ductal elongation, ductal branching, and alveolar or acinar differentiation. Emerging from an increasing number of mouse gene knockout, dominant-negative, and antisense models is the identification of a remarkable collection of cell adhesion molecules, growth factors, and their receptors whose time-dependent ...

carbon and nitrogen are the two elements that most affect plant organogenesis. in vitro, usually as part of the macronutrients. some anecdotal evidence from the literature suggests that the ammonium (nh4+) to nitrate (no3–) ratio may affect orchid organogenesis. in this study, to test this hypothesis, different nh4+: no3– ratios were tested on the development of protocorm-like bodies (plbs) of ...