Developmental Biology

Single-cell spatial mapping reveals reproducible cell type organization and spatially-dependent gene expression in gastruloids

1. Catherine G Triandafillou
2. Pranav Sompalle
3. Yael Heyman
4. Arjun Raj

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work presents important findings on quantifying gene coexpression from spatial omics. These quantification methods have been applied to gastruloid to describe how genes are spatialised. The description of the quantifying tools might be incomplete, which also weakens the biological message. Clearer formalization and justification of quantification will improve the study.

Reviewed by eLife

Hox – Meis -relayed topographical genetic switch underlies cardiopharyngeal neural crest diversification, revealed by multimodal analysis

1. Akiyasu Iwase
2. Yasunobu Uchijima
3. Daiki Seya
4. Mayuko Kida
5. Hiroki Higashiyama
6. Kazuhiro Matsui
7. Akashi Taguchi
8. Yukihiro Harada
9. Yunce Wang
10. Shogo Yamamoto
11. Shiro Fukuda
12. Seitaro Nomura
13. Takahide Kohro
14. Chisa Shukunami
15. Haruhiko Akiyama
16. Masahide Seki
17. Akinori Kanai
18. Yutaka Suzuki
19. Teruhisa Kawamura
20. Osamu Nakagawa
21. Hiroto Katoh
22. Shumpei Ishikawa
23. Youichiro Wada
24. Hiroyuki Aburatani
25. Yukiko Kurihara
26. Sachiko Miyagawa-Tomita
27. Hiroki Kurihara

Reviewed by Review Commons

Genotype-phenotype correlations and de novo induction of cancer stem cells in Wilms tumor initiation

1. N.S. Pop
2. D. Koot
3. C.M. Brouwers
4. M.M. Linssen
5. J.W.C. Claassens
6. C.W.J. Cartlidge
7. D.D. Özdemir
8. K.S. Dolt
9. P. Hohenstein

Reviewed by Review Commons

The neurotrophin DNT-2 regulates cell survival and connectivity via the Toll-2 receptor during visual system development of Drosophila

1. Naser Alshamsi
2. Francisca Rojo-Cortés
3. Bangfu Zhu
4. Samaher Fahy
5. Guiyi Li
6. Anna Lassota
7. Marta Moreira
8. Alicia Hidalgo

Reviewed by Review Commons

Paternal over- and under-nutrition program fetal and placental development in a sex-specific manner in mice

1. Hannah L Morgan
2. Nader Eid
3. Nadine Holmes
4. Matthew Carlile
5. Sonal Henson
6. Fei Sang
7. Victoria Wright
8. Marcos Castellanos-Uribe
9. Iqbal Khan
10. Nazia Nazar
11. Sean T May
12. Rod T Mitchell
13. Federica Lopes
14. Robert S Robinson
15. Antonio Augusto Coppi
16. Vipul Batra
17. Adam J Watkins

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study demonstrates that paternal diet influences not only testicular morphology but also placental and fetal development, supporting a role for paternal contributions to offspring health. The study also considers potential links between the microbiome and male reproductive health. By combining transcriptomic and histological analyses across multiple tissues, the evidence supporting the central conclusions of the study is convincing.

Reviewed by eLife

The co-repressor Groucho limits progression through the early transcription elongation checkpoint in vivo

1. María Lorena Martínez Quiles
2. Barbara H Jennings

Reviewed by Review Commons

Functional Separation of mRNA Domains Coordinates Pluripotent Cell Behavior

1. Ze Yang
2. Shaoyi Ji
3. Kristina Ivanov
4. Priyanka Kadav
5. Mengmeng Song
6. Leonardi Gozali
7. Sophie Parsa
8. Barry Behr
9. Mary A Hynes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides fundamental insights by demonstrating that the Nanog mRNA coding sequence (CDS) and 3′UTR domains are spatially segregated and functionally distinct in pluripotent stem cells and blastocysts, with 3′UTR-enriched border cells primarily influencing morphogenesis and CDS-enriched inner cells largely regulating transcription and epigenetic programs. The work opens a novel conceptual avenue for understanding how separable mRNA domains can differentially control cell behavior and differentiation. However, the evidence is incomplete, as key aspects of the molecular nature, biogenesis, and precise characterization of the separated 3′UTR and CDS RNA species, as well as causal links between their perturbation and the observed phenotypes (e.g., via rescue and deeper characterization of 3′UTR elements), remain to be fully established.

Reviewed by eLife

The microtubule-binding protein EML3 is required for mammalian embryonic growth and cerebral cortical development; Eml3 null mice are a model of cobblestone brain malformation

1. Isabelle Carrier
2. Eduardo Diez
3. Valerio EC Piscopo
4. Susanne Bechstedt
5. Hans van Bokhoven
6. Myriam Srour
7. Albert Berghuis
8. Stefano Stifani
9. Yojiro Yamanaka
10. Roderick R McInnes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study is the first characterization of the phenotype caused by a lack of Eml3 expression in mice. Mutant animals present a disrupted pial basement membrane, leading to focal extrusions from the cerebral cortex, called ectopias. The methodology is convincing and the conclusions are solid, although further investigations on the molecular and cellular mechanisms are required to improve the manuscript. This work would be of interest to neural development biologists and human geneticists working on brain disorders.

Reviewed by eLife

Desert Hedgehog mediates stem Leydig cell differentiation through Ptch2/Gli1/Sf1 signaling axis

1. Changle Zhao
2. Yongxun Chen
3. Lei Liu
4. Xiang Liu
5. Hesheng Xiao
6. Feilong Wang
7. Qin Huang
8. Xiangyan Dai
9. Wenjing Tao
10. Deshou Wang
11. Jing Wei

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable contributions to establish canonical Dhh signaling as a primary mediator in the differentiation of Leydig cells and their steroidogenic capacity. Together, the experimental design using their established stem Leydig cell line alongside relevant genetically mutated models, both derived using the relevant Nile tilapia animal system, provided largely convincing evidence to support their conclusions. The work will be of broad interest to developmental biologists interested in differentiation of steroidogenic or hormone producing cells.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife

Single-Cell Characterization of Anterior Segment Development: Cell Types, Pathways, and Signals Driving Formation of the Trabecular Meshwork and Schlemm’s Canal

1. Revathi Balasubramanian
2. Nicholas Tolman
3. Taibo Li
4. Abdul Hannan
5. Violet Bupp-Chickering
6. Karina Polanco
7. Aakriti Bhandari
8. Sally Zhou
9. Marina Simón
10. John Peregrin
11. Christa Montgomery
12. Krishnakumar Kizhatil
13. Jiang Qian
14. Simon WM John

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important work advances our understanding of the development of the visual system. The data presented is compelling and provides a detailed single-cell atlas of post-natal anterior chamber development in mice, highlighting the trabecular meshwork and Schlemm's canal.

Reviewed by eLife