How neurons and glia cells are created in the developing brain
The production of neurons and glia in the developing cortex is tightly regulated. RGPs produce the majority of them. In previous studies, Hippenmeyer and colleagues have shown that the division pattern of RGPs is not random. They have demonstrated that each individual RGP produces a predefined unit of neurons and glia cells in a precisely orchestrated developmental program which ensures that the brain faithfully grows to its normal size. In the present Neuron study, the authors asked what mechanisms control the exact output of RGPs. In particular, the researchers investigated the role of the gene Lgl1, which had been predicted to regulate RGP proliferation. The gene's precise role was previously unknown and Hippenmeyer and colleagues now used a technique called MADM, short for Mosaic Analysis with Double Markers in order to decipher the function of Lgl1 in RGPs at unprecedented single cell resolution. Using MADM, Hippenmeyer and colleagues eliminated Lgl1 either in ju...