The Gonzalez lab just got published a new article on the control of growth by Dpp in imaginal discs.

In the Science paper in 2007, we have studied the biophysics of the formation of the Dpp and Wingless gradients in the wing. In this new report, we studied this in the context of growth. We found that the Dpp gradient scales during growth and scaling is due to a decrease of the degradation rate of Dpp. We also found that cells measure the relative increase in Dpp signaling during the cell cycle and use this information to decide when to divide: cells undergo mitosis when they experience an increase of Dpp signaling by 50% from the beginning of the cell cycle.

This work is the result of a synergistic exchange with our physicist collaborators in the Jülicher group at the Max-Planck institute (PKS) in Dresden.

We have started an experiment: a forum where other scientists can comment, discuss, criticize or ask methodological details about our recently published papers. The very first experiment is with this paper. The idea is to have an open forum where to exchange ideas, which goes beyond what can be written in the limited space of a publication. We have started a couple of threads to break the ice. Visit our forum and participate!!!

The paper has been commented in a "news and views" piece in Science by Thomas Lecuit and Loïc Le Goff.