A large body of evidence indicates that genome annotation pipelines have biased our view
of coding sequences because they generally undersample small proteins and peptides. The …

Apical extracellular matrices (aECMs) coat exposed surfaces of epithelia to shape
developing tissues and protect them from environmental insults. Despite their widespread …

Genes include cis-regulatory regions that contain transcriptional enhancers. Recent reports
have shown that developmental genes often possess multiple discrete enhancer modules …

A substantial proportion of eukaryotic transcripts are considered to be noncoding RNAs
because they contain only short open reading frames (sORFs). Recent findings suggest …

Epithelial cells acquire functionally important shapes (eg, squamous, cuboidal, columnar)
during development. Here, we combine theory, quantitative imaging, and perturbations to …

ZP3, a major component of the zona pellucida (ZP) matrix coating mammalian eggs, is
essential for fertilization by acting as sperm receptor. By retaining a propeptide that contains …

A wide variety of RNAs encode small open-reading-frame (smORF/sORF) peptides, but their
functions are largely unknown. Here, we show that Drosophila polished-rice (pri) sORF …

How tissues acquire their characteristic shape is a fundamental unresolved question in
biology. While genes have been characterized that control local mechanical forces to …

Membrane expansion integrates multiple forces to mediate precise tube growth and network
formation. Defects lead to deformations, as found in diseases such as polycystic kidney …

Septins are members of the GTPase superfamily, which has been implicated in diverse
cellular functions including cytokinesis and morphogenesis. Septin 12 (SEPT12) is a testis …