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Monoclonal antibodies as tools for studying the osteoblast lineage.

Knowledge of the number and kinds of differentiation steps characterizing cells of the osteoblast lineage is inadequate. To analyze further osteoblast differentiation, a number of labs have generated monoclonal antibodies to osteogenic cells, derived from both normal bone and osteosarcomas. A variety of immunolabelling patterns on primary cell cultures, cell lines, and tissue sections has been reported, including cell surface, cytoplasmic, and extracellular matrix-associated patterns. Most of the antibodies selected recognize predominantly the mature osteoblast and osteocyte; in addition, however, antibodies have been generated that recognize pre-osteoblasts. Some recognize cells of both the osteoblast and chondroblast lineages and may contribute to a better understanding of the lineage and phenotypic relationships between these two cell types. In addition to recognition in vivo of cell subpopulations of discrete maturational stages, changes in the immunolabelling patterns in vitro have also documented a differentiation sequence in cells undergoing osteogenesis in cell and tissue cultures. In at least two cases, the antibodies have been used to isolate subpopulations of cells from bone, including relatively pure populations of osteocytes. With the exception of several antibodies that are against alkaline phosphatase or known matrix proteins including osteocalcin, the nature of the macromolecular species recognized by most of the antibodies generated to date are unknown. Recently, however, one antibody was used to clone the cDNA for the beta-galactoside-binding lectin, galectin 3 or epsilon binding protein (epsilon BP; IgE-binding protein; Mac-2), from a lambda gt11 osteoblast expression library; another was used to clone from an ROS 17/2.8-COS cell expression library the cDNA for OTS-8, a putative target gene of early response genes stimulated in response to phorbol esters in MC3T3-E1 cells. Neither of these macromolecules had previously been identified in bone cells, but the recent molecular and cellular analyses have shown them to be developmentally and/or hormonally regulated in osteoblastic cells. These antibodies extend the available markers and support earlier observations that a variety of molecules are differentially expressed by cells at different stages of the osteoblast lineage. This chapter will not be an exhaustive survey of all immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical analyses of osteogenic cells and tissues but will focus on the approach of eliciting novel monoclonal antibodies by the injection of osteogenic cells or crude bone extracts and its potential for establishing new markers of the osteoblast lineage. We have not included a large number of studies documenting the use of antibodies raised against several known bone matrix proteins; while these have been crucial in developing our current understanding of osteogenic differentiation, we sought rather to highlight the potential of the "random" injection approach.

Animals↗

Drosophila neuroblast 7-3 cell lineage: a model system for studying programmed cell death, Notch/Numb signaling, and sequential specification of ganglion mother cell identity.

Cell lineage studies provide an important foundation for experimental analysis in many systems. Drosophila neural precursors (neuroblasts) sequentially generate ganglion mother cells (GMCs), which generate neurons and/or glia, but the birth order, or cell lineage, of each neuroblast is poorly understood. The best-characterized neuroblast is NB7-3, in which GMC-1 makes the EW1 serotonergic interneuron and GW motoneuron; GMC-2 makes the EW2 serotonergic interneuron and a programmed cell death; and GMC-3 gives rise to the EW3 interneuron. However, the end of this lineage has not been determined. Here, we use positively marked genetic clones, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling, mutations that affect Notch signaling, and antibody markers to further define the end of the cell lineage of NB7-3. We provide evidence that GMC-3 directly differentiates into EW3 and that the sibling neuroblast undergoes programmed cell death. Our results confirm and extend previous work on the early portion of the NB7-3 lineage (Novotny et al. [2002] Development 129:1027-1036; Lundell et al. [ 2003] Development 130:4109-4121).

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From rodent glial precursor cell to human glial neoplasia in the oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte lineage.

With only a few exceptions, the precursor cells representing the normal counterparts of human tumours are unknown. The comparative lack of information about the lineages involved in tissue development, and difficulties in growing many human tumors in a manner suitable for cellular biological analysis, together often make it difficult to study the differences between normal and tumor cells and to develop many of the model systems that would be useful in the study of human cancer. By applying techniques previously utilized to study glial progenitor cells, we have isolated a human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)-derived population that expresses many properties otherwise uniquely expressed by oligodendrocyte-type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) progenitor cells. Hu-O-2A/Gb1 (for Human O-2A lineage Glioblastoma number 1) cells responded to similar mitogens and differentiation modulators as rodent O-2A progenitors, and generated cells with features of precursor cells, oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. Moreover, 1H-NMR analysis of amino acid composition demonstrated a striking conversation of types and quantities of free amino acids between the human tumour cells and the rodent primary cells. Hu-O-2A/Gb1 cells represent the first human glioma-derived population for which unambiguous lineage assignment has been possible, and our results indicate that the human O-2A lineage can contribute to one of the most malignant of glial tumours. In addition, the highly diagnostic 1H-NMR spectrum expressed by Hu-O-2A/Gb1 cells raises the possibility of eventual non-invasive identification of tumors of this lineage.

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Size distribution of retrovirally marked lineages matches prediction from population measurements of cell cycle behavior.

Mechanisms that regulate neuron production in the developing mouse neocortex were examined by using a retroviral lineage marking method to determine the sizes of the lineages remaining in the proliferating population of the ventricular zone during the period of neuron production. The distribution of clade sizes obtained experimentally in four different injection-survival paradigms (E11-E13, E11-E14, E11-E15, and E12-E15) from a total of over 500 labeled lineages was compared with that obtained from three models in which the average behavior of the proliferating population [i.e., the proportion of cells remaining in the proliferative population (P) vs. that exiting the proliferative population (Q)] was quantitatively related to lineage size distribution. In model 1, different proportions of asymmetric, symmetric terminal, and symmetric nonterminal cell divisions coexisted during the entire developmental period. In model 2, the developmental period was divided into two epochs: During the first, asymmetric and symmetric nonterminal cell divisions occurred, but, during the second, asymmetric and symmetric terminal cell divisions occurred. In model 3, the shifts in P and Q are accounted for by changes in the proportions of the two types of symmetric cell divisions without the inclusion of any asymmetric cell divisions. The results obtained from the retroviral experiments were well accounted for by model 1 but not by model 2 or 3. These findings demonstrate that: 1) asymmetric and both types of symmetric cell divisions coexist during the entire period of neurogenesis in the mouse, 2) neuron production is regulated in the proliferative population by the independent decisions of the two daughter cells to reenter S phase, and 3) neurons are produced by both asymmetric and symmetric terminal cell divisions. In addition, the findings mean that cell death and/or tangential movements of cells in the proliferative population occur at only a low rate and that there are no proliferating lineages "reserved" to make particular laminae or cell types.

Animals↗

Evaluation of cytokines for expansion of the megakaryocyte and granulocyte lineages.

The goal of our study was to identify cytokine combinations that would result in simultaneous ex vivo expansion of both the megakaryocyte (Mk) and granulocyte lineages, since these cell types have the potential to reduce the periods of thrombocytopenia and neutropenia following chemotherapy. We investigated the effects of cytokine combinations on expansion of the Mk (CD41a+ cells and colony forming unit [CFU]-Mk) and granulocyte (CD15+ cells and CFU-granulocyte/monocyte [GM]) lineages. Peripheral blood CD34+ cells were cultured in serum-free medium with interleukin 3 (IL-3), stem cell factor (SCF), and various combinations of thrombopoietin (TPO), IL-6, GM-CSF, and/or G-CSF. The Mk lineage was primarily influenced by TPO in our cultures, although Mk and CFU-Mk numbers were increased when TPO was combined with IL-6. The primary stimulator of the granulocyte lineage was G-CSF, although many synergistic and additive effects were observed with addition of other factors. Expansion of CFU-GM increased upon addition of more cytokines. The cytokine combination of IL-3, SCF, TPO, IL-6, GM-CSF and G-CSF produced the greatest number of granulocytes and CFU-GM. The minimum cytokines necessary for expansion of both the Mk and granulocyte lineages included TPO and G-CSF, since no other factors examined could increase Mk and granulocyte numbers to the same extent. The number of hematopoietic progenitors produced in our culture system should be sufficient for successful engraftment following myelosuppressive therapy if produced on a scale of about one liter.

Antigens, CD34↗

Neuronal differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells: lineage selection and forced differentiation paradigms.

Primitive embryonic stem cells are an ideal starting cell population for studies of gene expression and lineage segregation during development. Despite their potential, it has been difficult to determine culture conditions that cause single-lineage differentiation of these pluripotent cells. Both genetic and epigenetic approaches have been taken to promote neuronal differentiation of embryonic stem cells, including aggregation, exposure to the nonspecific teratogen/morphogen retinoic acid, low-density culture, exposure to growth/differentiation factors, and forced differentiation following expression of lineage-restricted "developmental control" genes. In the current investigation, a hybrid approach involving genetic techniques of "lineage selection" or "forced differentiation" has been employed to develop primitive neural progenitor cell lines. These lines form an important starting point to examine the cascades of gene expression (and inhibition) during neuronal and glial lineage segregation, to study growth factor effects on neural differentiation, and ultimately to provide a source of cells for transplantation to a damaged nervous system.

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Smooth muscle lineage diversity in the chick embryo. Two types of aortic smooth muscle cell differ in growth and receptor-mediated transcriptional responses to transforming growth factor-beta.

Lineage analysis studies in the avian embryo have identified two types of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the tunica media of large elastic arteries; one that originates within the cardiac neural crest and is ectoderm in origin (Ect) and another that arises from local mesenchyme of mesodermal origin (Mes). To determine if differences in primary embryonic lineage can give rise to SMCs with stable differences in growth and differentiation properties, we isolated Ect and Mes SMCs from the Day 14 chick embryo aorta. We report that despite different primary embryonic origins, Ect and Mes SMCs express nearly identical levels of seven SMC differentiation markers in vitro, consistent with their common smooth muscle developmental fates in vivo. By contrast, Ect SMCs displayed a greater capacity for growth in serum-free medium than Mes SMCs, but only under conditions permitting short-range cell-cell interactions. Most of the peptide growth factors tested that might account for serum-independent growth (PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB, basic FGF, EGF, or activin) stimulated DNA synthesis to similar extents in Ect and Mes SMCs. However, we found dramatic, lineage-dependent differences in SMC responses to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). Exposure to TGF-beta 1 (0.4 to 400 pmole/liter) consistently increased DNA synthesis in Ect SMCs, whereas in paired cultures of Mes SMCs, TGF-beta 1 was growth inhibitory. In SMC cultures transfected with p3TP-lux, a luciferase reporter controlled by the TGF-beta 1-response elements of the human PAI-1 promoter, TGF-beta 1 (120 pM) produced 12 +/- 2-fold increases in luciferase activity in Ect SMCs and only 3 +/- 1.5-fold increases in Mes SMCs. Analysis of TGF-beta receptor phenotypes by Northern blot, radioligand binding, and crosslinking assays showed that Ect and Mes SMCs expressed similar levels of types I, II, and III TGF-beta receptors. However, using a polyclonal antibody specific for the chick type II TGF-beta receptor subunit, we demonstrate that Mes SMCs produce a fully glycosylated form of this protein while Ect SMCs elaborate only an unglycosylated type II TGF-beta receptor. These results show that Ect and Mes SMCs exhibit lineage-dependent differences in growth and receptor-mediated transcriptional responses to at least one important class of SMC morphogens and growth modifiers, e.g., the TGF-betas. Our findings suggest that different SMC populations within a common vessel wall may respond in lineage-dependent ways to signals that direct formation of the tunica media in the embryo and to factors involved in the progression of vascular disease later in life.

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Intracellular fate mapping in a basal metazoan, the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, reveals the origins of mesoderm and the existence of indeterminate cell lineages.

Ctenophores are marine invertebrates that develop rapidly and directly into juvenile adults. They are likely to be the simplest metazoans possessing definitive muscle cells and are possibly the sister group to the Bilateria. All ctenophore embryos display a highly stereotyped, phylum-specific pattern of development in which every cell can be identified by its lineage history. We generated a cell lineage fate map for Mnemiopsis leidyi by injecting fluorescent lineage tracers into individual blastomeres up through the 60-cell stage. The adult ctenophore body plan is composed of four nearly identical quadrants organized along the oral-aboral axis. Each of the four quadrants is derived largely from one cell of the four-cell-stage embryo. At the eight-cell stage each quadrant contains a single E ("end") and M ("middle") blastomere. Subsequently, micromeres are formed first at the aboral pole and later at the oral pole. The ctene rows, apical organ, and tentacle apparatus are complex structures that are generated by both E and M blastomere lineages from all four quadrants. All muscle cells are derived from micromeres born at the oral pole of endomesodermal precursors (2M and 3E macromeres). While the development of the four quadrants is similar, diagonally opposed quadrants share more similarities than adjacent quadrants. Adult ctenophores possess two diagonally opposed endodermal anal canals that open at the base of the apical organ. These two structures are derived from the two diagonally opposed 2M/ macromeres. The two opposing 2M/ macromeres generated a unique set of circumpharyngeal muscle cells, but do not contribute to the anal canals. No other lineages displayed such diagonal asymmetries. Clones from each blastomere yielded regular, but not completely invariant patterns of descendents. Ectodermal descendents normally, but not always, remained within their corresponding quadrants. On the other hand, endodermal and mesodermal progeny dispersed throughout the body. The variability in the exact complements of adult structures, along with previously published cell deletion experiments, demonstrates that cell interactions are required for normal cell fate determination. Ctenophore embryos, like those of many bilaterian phyla (e.g., spiralians, nematodes, and echinoids), display a highly stereotyped cleavage program in which some, but not all, blastomeres are determined at the time of their birth. The results suggest that mesodermal tissues originally evolved from endoderm tissue.

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Wnt and BMP signaling govern lineage segregation of melanocytes in the avian embryo.

Recent studies show that specification of some neural crest lineages occurs prior to or at the time of migration from the neural tube. We investigated what signaling events establish the melanocyte lineage, which has been shown to migrate from the trunk neural tube after the neuronal and glial lineages. Using in situ hybridization, we find that, although Wnts are expressed in the dorsal neural tube throughout the time when neural crest cells are migrating, the Wnt inhibitor cfrzb-1 is expressed in the neuronal and glial precursors and not in melanoblasts. This expression pattern suggests that Wnt signaling may be involved in specifying the melanocyte lineage. We further report that Wnt-3a-conditioned medium dramatically increases the number of pigment cells in quail neural crest cultures while decreasing the number of neurons and glial cells, without affecting proliferation. Conversely, BMP-4 is expressed in the dorsal neural tube throughout the time when neural crest cells are migrating, but is decreased coincident with the timing of melanoblast migration. This expression pattern suggests that BMP signaling may be involved in neural and glial cell differentiation or repression of melanogenesis. Purified BMP-4 reduces the number of pigment cells in culture while increasing the number of neurons and glial cells, also without affecting proliferation. Our data suggest that Wnt signaling specifies melanocytes at the expense of the neuronal and glial lineages, and further, that Wnt and BMP signaling have antagonistic functions in the specification of the trunk neural crest.

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Lineage analysis in the chicken inner ear shows differences in clonal dispersion for epithelial, neuronal, and mesenchymal cells.

The epithelial components of the vertebrate inner ear and its associated ganglion arise from the otic placode. The cell types formed include neurons, hair-cell mechanoreceptors, supporting cells, secretory cells that make endolymphatic fluid or otolithic membranes, and simple epithelial cells lining the fluid-filled cavities. The epithelial sheet is surrounded by an inner layer of connective and vascular tissues and an outer capsule of bone. To explore the mechanisms of cell fate specification in the ear, retrovirus-mediated lineage analysis was performed after injecting virus into the chicken otocyst on embryonic days 2.5-5.5. Because lineage analysis might reveal developmental compartments, an effort was made to study clonal dispersion by sampling infected cells from different parts of the same ear, including the auditory ganglion, cochlea, saccule, utricle, and semicircular canals. Lineage relationships were confirmed for 75 clones by amplification and sequencing of a variable DNA tag carried by each virus. While mesenchymal clones could span different structural parts of the ear, epithelial clones did not. The circumscribed epithelial clones indicated that their progenitors were not highly migratory. Ganglion cell clones, in contrast, were more dispersed. There was no evidence for a common lineage between sensory cells and their associated neurons, a prediction based on a proposal that the ear sensory organs and fly mechanosensory organs are evolutionarily homologous. As expected, placodal derivatives were unrelated to adjacent mesenchymal cells or to nonneuronal cells of the ganglion. Within the otic capsule, fibroblasts and cartilage cells could be related by lineage.

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Classification of cell lineage and anatomical site, and prognosis of extranodal T-cell lymphoma -- natural killer cell, cytotoxic T lymphocyte, and non-NK/CTL types.

Due to their minority among the non-Hodgkin lymphomas, classification of extranodal T-cell lymphomas, including those of the natural killer (NK) cell type, has long been controversial and unclear, and the clinical outcome is not well clarified. Recently, new well-defined disease entities have been described based on tumor cell biology combined with anatomical site, clinical features, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status, and cell lineage as determined by immunophenotype and genotype. Cytological features are usually not specific, and there are no morphologic correlates with the classification of extranodal T/NK-cell lymphomas. From a human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) endemic area in Japan, we report here the analysis of 144 cases of extranodal T-cell lymphoma, from which fresh tissues were available. As the clinicopathological features were known, we simply reclassified the cases according to cell lineage and anatomical site. The extranodal T-cell lymphomas were classified into three types on the basis of cell lineage: (1) natural killer cell (NK) type [sCD3-, CD56+, T-cell receptor gene (TCR) germline], (2) cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) type [sCD3+, TIA-1+, TCR rearranged, CD8+/-, CD4-/+], and (3) non-NK/CTL type [sCD3+, TIA-1-, TCR rearranged, CD4+/-, CD8-/+]. In addition to cell lineage, the anatomical site and clinical features were added for subclassification. NK type tumors (35 cases) included the lymphoblastic type, nasal/nasal-type NK lymphoma, and NK leukemia. The CTL type (46 cases) included anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), cutaneous type, intestinal, gamma delta T-cell type, and an unspecified type. The non-NK/CTL type (63 cases) included adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL), mycosis fungoides (MF), and an unspecified type. With the exception of ATLL and MF, most extranodal T-cell lymphomas had a cytotoxic phenotype of NK type or CTL type and were often associated with EBV infection. MF and the unspecified type within the non-NK/CTL tumors, with the exception of ATLL, had a favorable prognosis. However, NK and CTL types, with the exception of ALCL, were associated with a poor prognosis. Our results indicate that anatomical site and cell lineage are useful predictors of clinical outcomes of extranodal T-cell lymphomas.

Antigens, CD↗

Epithelial lineages of the small intestine have unique patterns of GATA expression.

The ability of the GATA family of factors to interact with numerous other factors, co-factors, and repressors suggests that they may play key roles in tissues and cells where they are expressed. Adult mouse small intestine has been shown to express GATA-4, GATA-5, and GATA-6, where they have been implicated in the activation of a number of intestinal genes. Determination of which GATA factor(s) are involved in a specific function in tissues expressing multiple family members has proven difficult. The immunohistochemical analysis presented here demonstrate that within the mouse small intestine GATA-4/-5/-6 are found to be uniquely distributed among the various differentiated lineages of the intestinal epithelium. Among differentiated cells GATA-4 is found only in the villous enterocytes. GATA-5 is absent from enterocytes, but was found in the remaining lineages: goblet, Paneth and enteroendocrine. Additionally, high levels of GATA-6 are found in only one of these differentiated cell types, the enteroendocrine lineage. The observed distribution suggests that the GATA factors may have distinct roles in lineage allocation, lineage maintenance, and/or terminal differentiation events in small intestine.

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Identification of Flt3+ lympho-myeloid stem cells lacking erythro-megakaryocytic potential a revised road map for adult blood lineage commitment.

All blood cell lineages derive from a common hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). The current model implicates that the first lineage commitment step of adult pluripotent HSCs results in a strict separation into common lymphoid and common myeloid precursors. We present evidence for a population of cells which, although sustaining a high proliferative and combined lympho-myeloid differentiation potential, have lost the ability to adopt erythroid and megakaryocyte lineage fates. Cells in the Lin-Sca-1+c-kit+ HSC compartment coexpressing high levels of the tyrosine kinase receptor Flt3 sustain granulocyte, monocyte, and B and T cell potentials but in contrast to Lin-Sca-1+c-kit+Flt3- HSCs fail to produce significant erythroid and megakaryocytic progeny. This distinct lineage restriction site is accompanied by downregulation of genes for regulators of erythroid and megakaryocyte development. In agreement with representing a lymphoid primed progenitor, Lin-Sca-1+c-kit+CD34+Flt3+ cells display upregulated IL-7 receptor gene expression. Based on these observations, we propose a revised road map for adult blood lineage development.

Age Factors↗

Matrix elasticity directs stem cell lineage specification.

Microenvironments appear important in stem cell lineage specification but can be difficult to adequately characterize or control with soft tissues. Naive mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are shown here to specify lineage and commit to phenotypes with extreme sensitivity to tissue-level elasticity. Soft matrices that mimic brain are neurogenic, stiffer matrices that mimic muscle are myogenic, and comparatively rigid matrices that mimic collagenous bone prove osteogenic. During the initial week in culture, reprogramming of these lineages is possible with addition of soluble induction factors, but after several weeks in culture, the cells commit to the lineage specified by matrix elasticity, consistent with the elasticity-insensitive commitment of differentiated cell types. Inhibition of nonmuscle myosin II blocks all elasticity-directed lineage specification-without strongly perturbing many other aspects of cell function and shape. The results have significant implications for understanding physical effects of the in vivo microenvironment and also for therapeutic uses of stem cells.

Biomarkers↗

Th17: an effector CD4 T cell lineage with regulatory T cell ties.

The naive CD4 T cell is a multipotential precursor with defined antigen recognition specificity but substantial plasticity for development down distinct effector or regulatory lineages, contingent upon signals from cells of the innate immune system. The range of identified effector CD4 T cell lineages has recently expanded with description of an IL-17-producing subset, called Th17, which develops via cytokine signals distinct from, and antagonized by, products of the Th1 and Th2 lineages. Remarkably, Th17 development depends on the pleiotropic cytokine TGF-beta, which is also linked to regulatory T cell development and function, providing a unique mechanism for matching CD4 T cell effector and regulatory lineage specification. Here, we review Th17 lineage development, emphasizing similarities and differences with established effector and regulatory T cell developmental programs that have important implications for immune regulation, immune pathogenesis, and host defense.

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Introgression shapes the genomic conflict landscape of Malus, providing evidence for a reticulate backbone in a woody crop lineage.

Phylogenomic discordance is widespread across plants, but its evolutionary significance is often obscured when conflict is treated primarily as analytical noise rather than as evidence of underlying processes. In woody lineages in particular, incomplete lineage sorting, introgression, and genome duplication can interact over long timescales to produce complex genomic histories that are not adequately summarized by a strictly bifurcating tree. Here, we use Malus as a model woody genus to investigate how these processes structure conflict across a genus-scale, accession-based phylogenomic framework. Using broad taxon sampling, hundreds of nuclear loci, plastid genomes, and genome-wide SNP summaries, we reconstruct a robust nuclear backbone for sampled Malus lineages and evaluate where discordance is concentrated and which processes best explain it. Nuclear analyses resolve eight major clades, whereas conflict is non-random and localized to recurrent hotspots rather than evenly distributed across the tree. Cytonuclear discordance is similarly concentrated, especially around Clade H, represented by sampled accessions of M. tschonoskii, where localized plastid-nuclear disagreement is consistent with candidate plastid capture or organellar introgression. Multiple complementary analyses further indicate that the strongest conflict is not explained by ILS alone, but instead reflects lineage-structured introgression, while polyploid complexes represent additional localized sources of evolutionary complexity. Together, these results provide evidence for a reticulate genomic backbone in Malus and show how integrating nuclear, plastid, and genome-wide conflict analyses can help distinguish background discordance from process-specific signals in woody plant radiations. Several lineage-level reticulation hypotheses identified here should now be tested with broader population-level sampling and curated reference accessions.

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Embryonic cell lineage of the marine nematode Pellioditis marina.

We describe the complete embryonic cell lineage of the marine nematode Pellioditis marina (Rhabditidae) up to somatic muscle contraction, resulting in the formation of 638 cells, of which 67 undergo programmed cell death. In comparison with Caenorhabditis elegans, the overall lineage homology is 95.5%; fate homology, however, is only 76.4%. The majority of the differences in fate homology concern nervous, epidermal, and pharyngeal tissues. Gut and, remarkably, somatic muscle is highly conserved in number and position. Partial lineage data from the slower developing Halicephalobus sp. (Panagrolaimidae) reveal a lineage largely, but not exclusively, built up of monoclonal sublineage blocs with identical fates, unlike the polyclonal fate distribution in C. elegans and P. marina. The fate distribution pattern in a cell lineage could be a compromise between minimizing the number of specification events by monoclonal specification and minimizing the need for migrations by forming the cells close at their final position. The latter could contribute to a faster embryonic development. These results reveal that there is more than one way to build a nematode.

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An activated form of Notch influences the choice between CD4 and CD8 T cell lineages.

Notch is a transmembrane receptor that controls cell fate decisions in Drosophila and whose role in mammalian cell fate decisions is beginning to be explored. We are investigating the role of Notch in a well-studied mammalian cell fate decision: the choice between the CD8 and CD4 T cell lineages. Here we report that expression of an activated form of Notch1 in developing T cells of the mouse leads to both an increase in CD8 lineage T cells and a decrease in CD4 lineage T cells. Expression of activated Notch permits the development of mature CD8 lineage thymocytes even in the absence of class I major histocompatability complex (MHC) proteins, ligands that are normally required for the development of these cells. However, activated Notch is not sufficient to promote CD8 cell development when both class I and class II MHC are absent. These results implicate Notch as a participant in the CD4 versus CD8 lineage decision.

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