{"title":"Sex-type specification and meristem development in fern gametophytes.","authors":"Dinh Nhan Lai, Yun Zhou","doi":"10.1007/s00427-025-00728-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00427-025-00728-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sex determination, involving the physiological and morphological separation of male and female gamete-producing structures, promotes outcrossing and helps maintain genetic diversity in land plants. In homosporous ferns, which lack sex chromosomes, sex determination is specified during the gametophyte stage and is regulated by intergametophytic signaling mediated by the pheromone antheridiogen. <i>Ceratopteris richardii</i> has long served as a model for dissecting the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying fern sex determination and associated meristem development in fern gametophytes, and in recent years, important new progress has been achieved. In this review, we summarize recent findings that uncover key environmental and molecular factors influencing antheridiogen responses and highlight the cellular basis of sex-type specification and the initiation and maintenance of meristems in <i>Ceratopteris</i> gametophytes. We also discuss emerging directions in the field, emphasizing the importance of spatial expression dynamics and interacting regulatory networks in fern sexual differentiation. Future advances will likely be driven by integrating genetic tools, multi-omics platforms, and quantitative live-imaging approaches, offering a more comprehensive view of the regulatory logic underlying sex determination and meristem development in ferns.</p>","PeriodicalId":521116,"journal":{"name":"Discover developmental biology","volume":"236 1","pages":"1"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12645819/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145644627","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparative analysis of <i>Asterias forbesi</i> development reveals distinct mechanisms of hydro-vascular organ formation across sea stars.","authors":"Talia Kathleen Marc, Allison Rodger, Margherita Perillo","doi":"10.1007/s00427-026-00731-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00427-026-00731-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A central question in developmental biology is how organs acquire their final shape. Since a conserved organ might form through distinct steps, even within animals belonging to the same class, comparative studies are needed to reveal conserved or unique principles. Sea stars are a useful system to investigate how organs develop their specific structure across various species. This species-rich and diverse class of animals provide embryos that can be easily cultured in large numbers and are optically clear, which allows morphogenesis to be observed live. All sea star larvae develop a coelom: a hollow tube that fills the body cavity. We recently named it the \"hydro-vascular organ\" (HVO), as most of this organ will form the adult water-vascular system after metamorphosis. Understanding the distinct steps that drive HVO development across species requires comparative studies, but detailed characterizations of embryonic and larval stages have been reported for only a few representatives of asteroidea. Here we use brightfield microscopy and live imaging to document for the first time the development of <i>Asterias forbesi</i>, an ecologically important species that lacks a detailed description of embryonic and larval stages. Leveraging the optical clarity of these larvae, we defined distinct stages of HVO morphogenesis. To understand whether the same organ forms through shared steps across different species, we compare <i>A. forbesi</i> HVO development with sea stars from two other orders, <i>Patiria minata</i> and <i>Astropecten aranciacus.</i></p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00427-026-00731-5.</p>","PeriodicalId":521116,"journal":{"name":"Discover developmental biology","volume":"236 1","pages":"4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13272227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148280853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}