Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Cell Migration

Cell Migration

Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.

Morphogenesis

Morphogenesis

Plant morphogenesis—the development of a plant’s form and structure—involves several overlapping developmental processes, including growth and cell differentiation. Precursor cells differentiate into specific cell types, which are organized into the tissues and organ systems that make up the functional plant.

Cell Migration

Cell Migration

Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.

Position-effect Variegation

Position-effect Variegation

In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Fluid Flow and Spatiotemporal Chaos in Chemically Active Emulsions.

Physical review letters·2026

Same author

Advancing mechanobiology from single molecules to complex cellular systems.

Nature nanotechnology·2026

Same author

Kinetic theory of emulsions with matter supply.

Physical review. E·2026

Same author

Injury-induced electrochemical coupling triggers organ growth.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Theory of Reversed Ripening in Active Phase Separating Systems.

Physical review letters·2025

Same author

Nonequilibrium Structure and Relaxation in Active Microemulsions.

Physical review letters·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Growth control by a moving morphogen gradient during Drosophila eye development.

Ortrud Wartlick¹, Frank Jülicher, Marcos Gonzalez-Gaitan

¹Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, 30 Quai Ernest Ansermet, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.

Development (Cambridge, England)

|April 24, 2014

Summary

Organ growth is controlled by signaling dynamics. In Drosophila eyes, cells divide when signaling increases by 60%, explaining proliferation and differentiation waves.

Keywords:

Biophysics Development Drosophila Eye Growth Models Morphogen

Related Experiment Videos

Area of Science:

Developmental biology
Cell signaling
Morphogenesis

Background:

Organ growth to stereotyped sizes is crucial but poorly understood.
Morphogen signaling dynamics regulate tissue development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the signaling dynamics of the morphogen Dpp in Drosophila eye development.
To elucidate the mechanisms controlling cell proliferation and differentiation during morphogenesis.

Main Methods:

Measured Dpp signaling dynamics in the developing Drosophila eye.
Analyzed gene expression patterns, including the target gene hairy.
Quantified cell proliferation and differentiation waves relative to the Dpp source.

Main Results:

Dpp expression domain advances, creating a moving morphogen source.
A Dpp gradient activates the target gene hairy, scaling with tissue size.
Cells divide in a mitotic wave when signaling levels increase by approximately 60%.

Conclusions:

A simple growth control mechanism based on a 60% signaling increase quantitatively explains proliferation and differentiation.
This mechanism may be conserved across different growth factors, as a Dpp-independent input also follows this rule.