The neocortex is comprised of six neuronal layers that are generated in a defined temporal sequence. While extrinsic and intrinsic cues are known to regulate the sequential production of neocortical neurons, how these factors interact and function in a coordinated manner is poorly understood. The proneural gene Neurog2 is expressed in progenitors throughout corticogenesis, but is only required ...

INTRODUCTION The cytoarchitecture of the mammalian cortex is formed during embryonic and postnatal development through the synchronization of progenitor proliferation and specification, neuronal differentiation and neuronal migration (reviewed by Shoemaker and Arlotta, 2010; Molyneaux et al., 2007; Marin and Rubenstein, 2003). These tightly regulated events lead to a multilaminar structure cont...

Understanding the biology of adult neural stem cells has important implications for nervous system development and may contribute to our understanding of neurodegenerative disorders and their treatment. We have characterized the process of olfactory neurogenesis in adult mice lacking inhibitor of DNA binding 2(-/-) (Id2(-/-)). We found a diminished olfactory bulb containing reduced numbers of g...

Distinct classes of neurons and glial cells in the developing spinal cord arise at specific times and in specific quantities from spatially discrete neural progenitor domains. Thus, adjacent domains can exhibit marked differences in their proliferative potential and timing of differentiation. However, remarkably little is known about the mechanisms that account for this regional control. Here, ...

In the present study, we demonstrated that insulin is produced not only in the mammalian pancreas but also in adult neuronal cells derived from the hippocampus and olfactory bulb (OB). Paracrine Wnt3 plays an essential role in promoting the active expression of insulin in both hippocampal and OB-derived neural stem cells. Our analysis indicated that the balance between Wnt3, which triggers the ...

UNLABELLED The expansion of the mammalian cerebral cortex is safeguarded by a concerted balance between amplification and neuronal differentiation of intermediate progenitors (IPs). Nonetheless, the molecular controls governing these processes remain unclear. We found that the scaffold protein Axin is a critical regulator that determines the IP population size and ultimately the number of neuro...

Neural progenitors of the vertebrate CNS are defined by generic cellular characteristics, including their pseudoepithelial morphology and their ability to divide and differentiate. SOXB1 transcription factors, including the three closely related genes Sox1, Sox2, and Sox3, universally mark neural progenitor and stem cells throughout the vertebrate CNS. We show here that constitutive expression ...

The ability to induce targeted mutations in somatic cells in developing organisms and then track the fates of those cells is a powerful approach both for studying neural development and for modeling human disease. The CRISPR/Cas9 system allows for such targeted mutagenesis, and we therefore tested it in combination with a piggyBac transposase lineage labeling system to track the development of ...

Recessive mutations in WD repeat domain 62 (WDR62) cause microcephaly and a wide spectrum of severe brain malformations. Disruption of the mouse ortholog results in microcephaly underlain by reduced proliferation of neocortical progenitors during late neurogenesis, abnormalities in asymmetric centrosome inheritance leading to neuronal migration delays, and altered neuronal differentiation. Spin...

How neuronal and glial fates are specified from neural precursor cells is an important question for developmental neurobiologists. We address this question in the Drosophila optic lobe, composed of the lamina, medulla, and lobula complex. We show that two gliogenic regions posterior to the prospective lamina also produce lamina wide-field (Lawf) neurons, which share common progenitors with lami...