{"title":"The Origin and Early Evolution of Fungi: Challenges, Inferences, and Principles.","authors":"Antonis Rokas","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-045246","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-045246","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fungi are widespread on our planet and essential for life as we know it, but how did they come about? Their last common ancestor lived hundreds of millions of years ago, but its characteristics, and the contours of early fungal evolution, remain mysterious. This review synthesizes information from fungal and eukaryotic microbial diversity, geology, fossils, and evolutionary genomics to infer the early evolution of fungi, identify challenges and major gaps in our knowledge, dispel misconceptions, and propose general evolutionary principles exemplified by the fungal lineage. Even though fungi likely emerged earlier than animals or land plants, their origins and early evolution are the least studied. Reconstruction of the evolutionary and ecological portrait of the first fungi is key for deciphering life in ancient ecosystems, for understanding how fungi eventually facilitated the advent of life on land, and for inferring principles that govern fungal evolution.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"183-199"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13285959/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148209888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oscillatory Gene Expression During Cell Differentiation.","authors":"Ryoichiro Kageyama, Akihiro Isomura","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-093438","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-093438","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Both the levels and duration of gene expression play critical roles in many biological processes. Recent studies have further revealed that the dynamics of oscillatory versus sustained gene expression also provide essential regulatory information during cell proliferation and differentiation. Oscillatory expression, governed by intracellular negative feedback loops and intercellular coupling with appropriate delays, promotes the proliferation of stem cells, whereas sustained expression typically drives cells toward quiescence or differentiation. Over time, oscillations can result in the gradual upregulation or downregulation of downstream factors or shifts in phase relationships between distinct oscillators, thereby functioning as a timer for cell state transition. Moreover, oscillation frequency encodes critical cues for cell fate choice. Thus, oscillatory dynamics add an extra dimension to the informational landscape of gene expression. Here, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of how oscillatory gene expression is regulated and how it influences the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"383-403"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147626819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Specification of Ciliated Cells.","authors":"Hao Lu, Govind Yadav, Sudipto Roy","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-094101","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-094101","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>It is believed that the last common eukaryotic ancestor was a ciliated organism that used cilia for locomotion and sensation. Many extant ciliated protozoans exemplify this archetypal condition. However, in metazoans, particularly vertebrates, there appears to be a demarcation of cilia types. Thus, immotile primary cilia function in sensory neurons for the perception of environmental stimuli and in many other cells for the transduction of morphogenetic and physiological signals. By contrast, motile cilia are more restricted in their distribution, and their rhythmic beating drives fluid flow over epithelia or cellular locomotion. Here, we review the mechanisms that regulate ciliated cell specification, focusing principally on ciliogenic transcriptional networks and inductive signals that activate them in different cell lineages. We also highlight human disorders that arise from misspecification of ciliated cells and conclude with a discussion on how ciliated cell specification pathways could be utilized for the amelioration of disease phenotypes in ciliopathies.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"427-451"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147615706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diversity and Evolvability of Self-/Nonself-Discrimination and the Origins of Vertebrate Adaptive Immunity.","authors":"Anthony W De Tomaso, Henry Rodriguez-Valbuena","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111822-123126","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111822-123126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ability to discriminate self from nonself is found throughout the tree of life and underlies a diverse range of processes, including immunity, mate choice, and cooperative social interactions. Self-/nonself-recognition also operates during development, for example, coordinating the formation of complex neural circuits. Despite this ubiquity, proteins that mediate self-/nonself-recognition are lineage-specific. Novel genetic interactions have arisen repeatedly and in a punctuated manner, in some cases even evolving de novo within the same lineages. This review examines the fundamental principles of self-/nonself-recognition across diverse taxa, focusing on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying discrimination, the generation and maintenance of novel recognition specificities, and how these systems have been modified over time. Together, these modifications provide a mechanistic foundation to address a central problem in evolutionary biology: the origins of vertebrate adaptive immunity, a system capable of unparalleled self-/nonself-discrimination.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"307-337"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148434806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Interstitial Spaces: A Basolateral Source of Structure and Signals.","authors":"Rebecca G Wells, Neil D Theise","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-023144","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-023144","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The mammalian interstitium is a body-wide network of fluid-filled, prelymphatic spaces. Recent studies demonstrate that it exists at three scales in continuity both within and between organs, comprising intercellular, pericapillary, and large (or fascial) interstitial spaces, the latter including fascia, dermis, organ submucosae and capsules, vascular adventitia, and perineurium. Hyaluronic acid fills all interstitial spaces, but large interstitial spaces also contain additional structurally complex and varied extracellular matrices that support soluble factor, mechanical, and potentially electrical signaling. Here we review areas where the new anatomic concept of the interstitium has led to the re-examination of previous findings, including data on interstitial matrix composition and cell trafficking. We also identify new questions arising specifically from the finding that the interstitium is multiscale and body-wide, including questions about the characteristics and drivers of interstitial fluid flow and the role of the interstitium as a rich and active basolateral signaling compartment.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"83-103"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148209894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Emergence of the Endoderm in the Mammalian Embryo: From Cell Fate Specification to Gut Tube Formation.","authors":"Sonja Nowotschin, Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-021734","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-021734","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The endoderm is the embryonic tissue that gives rise to vital organ systems in both the developing embryo and adult animal. Cells with a definitive (embryonic) endoderm identity emerge from the pluripotent epiblast at gastrulation, and go on to form the gut tube, which develops into the epithelial component of the digestive and respiratory tracts. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms driving endoderm emergence and morphogenesis, including key epithelial-mesenchymal and mesenchymal-epithelial transitions, the mechanical forces driving gut tube formation, and the patterning events that subdivide the gut tube into different organ territories. We also elaborate on the role of the primitive endoderm, which emerges earlier at the blastocyst stage and contributes mainly to extraembryonic tissues in amniotes-such as the yolk sacs-essential for the embryo's nutrition and protection. Together, this review provides an overview of the current understanding of early endoderm development and highlights key open questions.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":"42 1","pages":"361-382"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149102813","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Pixels to Discovery: Microscopy Image Analysis in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.","authors":"Virginie Uhlmann, Florian Jug, Anna Kreshuk","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-111428","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-111428","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Modern microscopy generates data volumes that far exceed human analytical capacity. Over the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed microscopy image analysis into an engine for quantitative insights. This review retraces the evolution from supervised models automating tedious manual tasks, through self-supervised approaches uncovering patterns without annotations, to generative models learning the rules underlying biological processes. We examine the emerging trend toward universal visual representations with foundation models, while highlighting the persistent need for biological specialization. Looking forward, we identify factors that will be determinant in realizing the transformative potential of AI in microscopy: developing trustworthy models with calibrated uncertainty, training computationally fluent biologists, and building infrastructure to free microscopy image data from institutional silos. As AI transitions from accelerating existing analyses to driving discoveries, coordinated action across the scientific community will be required to ensure that microscopy image analysis develops as a transparent, equitable tool for understanding biology.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":"42 1","pages":"1-30"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149102751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gregory M Alushin, Sarah M Connolly, Blessing C Njoku
{"title":"Structural Biophysics of Cytoskeletal Force Transduction.","authors":"Gregory M Alushin, Sarah M Connolly, Blessing C Njoku","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-101223-022717","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-101223-022717","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cells mechanically interface with their surroundings through the actin cytoskeleton, a network of dynamic actin filaments, force-generating myosin motor proteins, and hundreds of associated binding proteins. The cytoskeleton plays a central role in the capacity of cells to sense and respond to physical forces and the mechanical properties of their environments (mechanosensing). Mechanosensing is essential for development and tissue homeostasis, and it is frequently disrupted in hereditary developmental disorders and cancers. Mechanistic studies of cytoskeletal mechanosensing have uncovered mechanically regulated binding interactions between cytoskeletal proteins, as well as force-sensitive dynamics of subcellular cytoskeletal networks that emerge at the scale of hundreds to thousands of molecules. Here, we review recent efforts to decipher the biophysical and protein structural bases of cytoskeletal mechanosensing, emphasizing emerging approaches for directly visualizing active force transduction from the angstrom to micrometer scale.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"31-58"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"mRNA-Scaffolded Cytoplasmic Compartments.","authors":"Christine Mayr","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-021431","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-111524-021431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cytoplasm of vertebrate cells is compartmentalized into the cytosol and several messenger RNA (mRNA)-scaffolded condensates, present at steady-state conditions and in the absence of stress. They include TIS granules and the FXR1 network and act as translation, folding, and signaling environments. Therefore, in addition to serving as templates for protein synthesis, mRNAs play essential roles in cytoplasmic organization. However, not all mRNAs function as condensate scaffolds. Whereas mRNAs with short and structured 3' untranslated regions (UTRs) usually diffuse freely and localize to the cytosol, scaffold mRNAs are characterized by long and multivalent 3' UTRs. Scaffold mRNAs are responsible for the characteristic irregular, network-like morphology of mesh-like condensates and play active, functional roles during protein biosynthesis. For example, mesh-like condensates act as folding environments for proteins with long intrinsically disordered regions, where multivalent 3' UTRs act as cotranslational chaperones to prevent protein misfolding. The scaffold function of mRNAs is also important for post-translational processes, where the mRNA-mediated proximity of signaling factors promotes cellular signaling reactions. In this review, the discovery of cytoplasmic mRNA-scaffolded mesh-like compartments and their currently known assembly principles and biological roles are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"255-278"},"PeriodicalIF":12.5,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148325407","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Challenges and Opportunities in Spatiotemporal Models of Mammalian Gastrulation.","authors":"Hernan Rubinstein, Yoav Mayshar, Yonatan Stelzer","doi":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-101323-125216","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-cellbio-101323-125216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>How cells diversify to form an embryo represents a profound interdisciplinary challenge. Decades of innovative research using model organisms have uncovered principles of lineage specification, morphogenesis, epigenetic mechanisms, and gene regulation that underlie this fundamental process. As biology enters the genomic era, marked by rapid convergence of technological and computational advances, construction of quantitative and heuristic models of development becomes increasingly feasible. In gastrulation, a founding population of equipotent stem cells rapidly diversifies in a highly canonical manner to form the basic body plan. This review discusses considerations required to establish a time-resolved model that reflects the cellular and molecular aspects involved in this process. Building on insights from recent studies and the transformative potential of evolving technologies and experimental frameworks, we discuss how to devise such a model by integrating multiple molecular modalities at the single-cell level within the spatial context as a benchmark for studying cell specification.</p>","PeriodicalId":7944,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of cell and developmental biology","volume":" ","pages":"135-158"},"PeriodicalIF":11.4,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144224075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}