{
  "id": 6672301,
  "title": "Cell size overrides ganglion mother cell fate specification in Drosophila",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/cell-size-overrides-ganglion-mother-cell-fate-specification-in",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.08.750127v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cell size plays a crucial role in determining lineage behavior in Drosophila type I neural stem cells, despite the cells inheriting fate cues from their mother cell, according to a recent study. Neurobiologists have discovered that the size of daughter cells can override their inherited fate, with larger daughter cells exhibiting neuroblast-like properties and smaller daughter cells following a ganglion mother cell (GMC)-like trajectory. By using novel methods to manipulate daughter-cell size during a single neuroblast division while maintaining cortical polarity and asymmetric inheritance of fate determinants, researchers were able to identify atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) as a regulator of size asymmetry. When aPKC and Rho kinase were partially inhibited, the resulting daughters spanned a size range, including near-symmetric sibling cells, despite inheriting GMC determinants. This finding challenges the notion that daughter-cell size is solely determined by inherited fate cues and highlights the importance of cell size in shaping lineage behavior in Drosophila neural stem cells.",
  "summary": "The size of cells varies enormously in biology and how cell size and function are linked are fundamental questions. Asymmetrically dividing Drosophila neural stem cells, also called neuroblasts, produce a large neuroblast and a smaller ganglion mother cell (GMC) at each division. However, why GMCs need to be smaller than neuroblasts has largely remained unexplained. Here, we developed acute and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}