Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Invention sharing is the mother of developmental biology

2021; Wiley; Volume: 63; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/dgd.12755

1440-169X

Hajime Ogino, Yasuhiro Kamei, Toshinori Hayashi, Joe Sakamoto, Makoto Suzuki, Takeshi Igawa,

Pluripotent Stem Cells Research

Many scientists might not know that the well-known phrase "necessity is the mother of invention" comes from the 18th-century Irish author Jonathan Swift, in his book, “Gulliver's Travels.” This adage may well fit to applied science, whose purpose it is to fulfill realistic needs in human society. However, this may not be true for basic science. That is, once new research tools and/or techniques are invented, they enable scientists to test hypotheses more rigorously by conducting deeper investigations in a way never imagined before. Then, as the new tools and techniques spread out over a research field, they become a source of inspiration for more ambitious ideas, and journal reviewers also come to request or suggest authors use them as standards for revising their manuscripts. Therefore, it becomes a necessity for the authors to use these newly invented tools/techniques, so, in a sense, “invention becomes the mother of necessity.” The dissemination of new tools and/or techniques is very important for moving basic science forward, since it often leads to unexpected, serendipitous discoveries. No one doubts how microscopes, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, homologous recombination techniques, next generation sequencers (NGSs) and many other inventions have made revolutionary contributions on the development of modern and current biology. However, efficient invention sharing among researchers is not easy in the current biological field, where research subjects and materials are so much diverged. In the case of developmental biology, a variety of experimental techniques including cell/tissue culture, imaging, gene delivery, genome editing and NGS analysis have been developed and/or modified for specific model organisms. A small portion of such inventions have been published as methodology papers, whereas the remainder appears to have only been briefly described in the materials and methods sections of published papers without the detailed information sufficient for replication. Moreover, a new technique developed for a certain model organism may not be noticed or shared by researchers using different model organisms, even though this technique has great potential. To promote the sharing and dissemination of useful inventions in the research community, Development, Growth and Differentiation has launched new article sections, Method articles and Protocols. “Method articles” report novel techniques or crucially improved techniques, and “Protocols” are to provide step-by-step instructions of methods that have already been used in published papers but not described in detail yet (see Author Guidelines for details). This special issue is scheduled for publication from October (issue 8) to January (issue 1) 2022 to effectively advertise the launch of these new sections. This first part of this special issue contains two method articles and three protocols for improved genetic manipulation and image analysis in vertebrates. Hosoya et al. (2021) developed a new Tet-ON system using a modified reverse tetracyclin-controlled transcriptional transactivator (rtTAm) to minimize leaky expression for ensuring cell-type specific expression in medaka fish. The use of rtTAm may help solve similar problems of leaky expression in other species and facilitate cross-species use of the modified Tet-ON tool. Ota et al. (2021) report a cell image analysis technique that extracts cell shape data from images of an ectodermal cell layer of Xenopus embryos in a much shorter time than related conventional techniques. This method should be applicable to other tissues and species as long as cell shapes are delineated. Hiyoshi et al. (2021) provide protocols for in vivo imaging of neural activity using voltage sensitive dyes or transgenic fish expressing a fluorescent protein fused to the domain of a voltage-sensing phosphatase. This technique could help elucidate not only the mechanisms of neural circuit formation but also the importance of electrical activity in morphogenesis and cellular migration. Goto and Keller (2021) provide a protocol for imaging analysis of convergent extension (CE) cell movements using three-notochord explants in Xenopus. Using this assay system, the cellular movements can be analyzed more clearly with higher resolution than classical assay systems, Keller sandwich and open-faced explants. This assay is also used for analyzing roles of genes in CE movements. Namba et al. (2021) provide a protocol for the GONAD method, which is a revolutionary simplification of genome editing in mice and rats; this method utilizes electroporation of a genome-editing mixture directly into an embryo in the oviduct. Sharing of the techniques and protocols among researchers using different organisms is expected to elucidate the critical points for cross-species adaptation of the techniques. Accumulation of such knowledge will help to develop new experimental model organisms, or even remove the technical barrier between model organisms and non-model organisms. This trend will lead the development of a cross-species research platform for comparative evolutionary developmental biology, a promising and growing research field that addresses exciting questions on the diversity of life. Jonathan Swift may change his words, if the "Methods and Protocols" section could help the developmental biologists to address questions such as “Why is the body size so different between even closely related species?” Gulliver might have asked the same question when he was captured by the tiny people in "Lilliput country"!