Developmental Biology

eLife Assessment

This is an important piece of work that sheds light on our understanding of early lung development. There is solid evidence that there is a key new role for Svep1, which may be acting via FGF9. A more precise understanding of the interactions between Svep1 and FGF9, with a possibility of other ECM factors, would add value.

eLife assessment

This important study advances our understanding of the role energy metabolism, specifically anaerobic glycolysis, plays during development. Convincing genetic and pharmacological evidence demonstrates that glycolytic flux is not only necessary during retinogenesis but also controls the rate of retinal progenitor cell proliferation and photoreceptor maturation. Interesting evidence suggests potential downstream roles for intracellular pH and Wnt/β-catenin signaling; however, more direct evidence is needed to show they are the key mediators of glycolysis. This work is expected to stimulate broad interest and possible future studies investigating the link between metabolism and development in other tissue systems.

eLife Assessment

The authors follow up on a prior paper in which they showed that beta1 adrenergic receptors contributed to the pathogenesis of cavernous malformations. In the prior work, they used morpholinos and drugs to show this. In this new advance, they now extend this using a genetic knockout of the receptor. While both reviewers agree that this is important for the CV field, there are concerns about the labeling of figures and sample sizes used to make their claims, so the evidence is currently incomplete.

eLife Assessment

This useful study by Gao et al identifies Hspa2 as a heterogeneous transcript in the early embryo and proposes a plausible mechanism showing interactions with Carm1. The authors propose that variability in HSPA2 levels among blastomeres at the 4-cell stage skews their relative contribution to the embryonic lineage. Given only 4 other heterogeneous transcripts/non-coding RNA have been proposed to act similarly at or before the 4-cell stage, this would be a key addition to our understanding of how the first cell fate decision is made. Whilst this is a solid study, in order to support its conclusions image analyses and quantifications would need to be better described, and the overexpression studies should be validated.

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates the function of a critical regulator of human early cardiac development. The convincing examination of GATA6 function is thorough and well-executed. The study will be of interest to scientists working on how the human heart acquires its identity.

eLife Assessment

This study investigates the role of Caspar (Casp), an orthologue of human Fas-associated factor-1, in regulating the number of primordial germ cells that form during Drosophila embryogenesis. The findings are important in that they reveal an additional pathway that contributes to germ cell specification and maintenance. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, as the authors identify Casp and its binding partner Transitional endoplasmic reticulum 94 (TER94) as factors that influence germ cell numbers.

eLife assessment

This work aimed at deconstructing how sebaceous gland differentiation is controlled in adult skin. Using monoclonal antibodies designed to inhibit specific Notch ligands or receptors, the authors present convincing evidence that the Jag2/Notch1 signaling axis is a crucial regulator of sebocyte progenitor proliferation and sebocyte differentiation. The valuable findings presented here contribute to the growing evidence that Notch signaling is not only key during the development of the skin and its appendages but also regulates cell fate in adult homeostatic tissues. From a translational perspective, it is intriguing that the effect of Jag2 or Notch1 inhibition, which leads to the accumulation of proliferative stem/progenitor cells in the sebaceous gland and prevents sebocyte differentiation, is reversible.

eLife assessment

This manuscript is an important contribution toward understanding the mechanisms of transcriptional bursting. The evidence is considered solid. Questions regarding the broader advance, details of the analysis, and the models used in the analysis were addressed by the authors.

eLife assessment

This important work has substantially advanced our understanding of the molecular basis of symmetry breaking and lineage specification in preimplantation mammalian embryos. The results generated using live imaging are compelling. Quantification of the functional assays is convincing and would be improved by increasing the number of embryos in the evaluations and clearly stating how many embryos are evaluated per experiment.

eLife assessment

This valuable study investigates how inter-organ communication between the tracheal stem cells and the fat body plays a key role in the directed migration of tracheal stem cells in Drosophila pupae. While the experimental data are extensive and complementary, the evidence presented to substantiate some of the conclusions appears incomplete and requires further clarification and additional experiments. The work would be of interest to researchers in the fields of developmental biology and cancer biology.