Notch signalling is a cell-cell communication process, which allows the establishment of patterns of gene expression and differentiation, regulates binary cell fate choice and the maintenance of stem cell populations. So far, the data published has elucidated the main players in the Notch signalling pathway. However, its regulatory mechanisms are exhibiting an increasing complexity which could account for the multitude of roles it has during development and in adult organisms. In this review, we will describe the multiple roles of Notch and how various factors can regulate Notch signalling.

Marine invertebrate ascidians display embryonic reproducibility: Their early embryonic cell lineages are considered invariant and are conserved between distantly related species, despite rapid genomic divergence. Here, we address the drivers of this reproducibility. We used light-sheet imaging and automated cell segmentation and tracking procedures to systematically quantify the behavior of individual cells every 2 minutes during Phallusia mammillata embryogenesis. Interindividual reproducibility was observed down to the area of individual cell contacts. We found tight links between the reproducibility of embryonic geometries and asymmetric cell divisions, controlled by differential sister cell inductions. We combined modeling and experimental manipulations to show that the area of contact between signaling and responding cells is a key determinant of cell communication. Our work establishes the geometric control of embryonic inductions as an alternative to classical morphogen gradients and suggests that the range of cell signaling sets the scale at which embryonic reproducibility is observed.

Selective-plane illumination microscopy has proven to be a powerful imaging technique due to its unsurpassed acquisition speed and gentle optical sectioning. However, even in the case of multiview imaging techniques that illuminate and image the sample from multiple directions, light scattering inside tissues often severely impairs image contrast. Here we combine multiview light-sheet imaging with electronic confocal slit detection implemented on modern camera sensors. In addition to improved imaging quality, the electronic confocal slit detection doubles the acquisition speed in multiview setups with two opposing illumination directions allowing simultaneous dual-sided illumination. Confocal multiview light-sheet microscopy eliminates the need for specimen-specific data fusion algorithms, streamlines image post-processing, easing data handling and storage.