Abstract
Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) are often governed by the transcription factor Snail and entail the loss of apical junctions from epithelial cells. In this issue, Weng and Wieschaus (2016. J Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201508056) report that actomyosin contractility can strengthen junctions to override Snail-dependent junctional disassembly and postpone EMT during Drosophila melanogaster gastrulation.
