Developmental Biology

A conserved RNA switch for acetylcholine receptor clustering at neuromuscular junctions in chordates

1. Md. Faruk Hossain
2. Sydney Popsuj
3. Burcu Vitrinel
4. Nicole A. Kaplan
5. Alberto Stolfi
6. Lionel Christiaen
7. Matteo Ruggiu

Reviewed by Review Commons

Inducible, virus-free direct lineage reprogramming enhances scalable generation of human inner ear hair cell-like cells

1. Robert N. Rainey
2. Sam D. Houman
3. Louise Menendez
4. Ryan Chang
5. Litao Tao
6. Helena Bugacov
7. Andrew P. McMahon
8. Radha Kalluri
9. John S. Oghalai
10. Andrew K. Groves
11. Neil Segil

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The findings of this important study substantially advance our understanding of the transcription factors that can induce hair cell-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells. The presented evidence supporting these findings is compelling, including rigorous characterization of the effects of hair cell induction using both single-cell RNA sequencing and electrophysiological assessments.

Reviewed by eLife

Contraction-induced endocardial id2b plays a dual role in regulating myocardial contractility and valve formation

1. Shuo Chen
2. Jinxiu Liang
3. Jie Yin
4. Weijia Zhang
5. Peijun Jiang
6. Wenyuan Wang
7. Xiaoying Chen
8. Yuanhong Zhou
9. Peng Xia
10. Fan Yang
11. Ying Gu
12. Ruilin Zhang
13. Peidong Han

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable finding that the biomechanical force of heart contractility is required for robust endocardial id2b expression, which in return promotes valve development and myocardial function through upregulation of Neuregulin 1. The data were collected and analyzed using solid methodology and can be used as a starting point for deeper mechanistic insights into the genetic programs regulating endocardial-myocardial crosstalk during heart development.

Reviewed by eLife

Multiple pathways prevent bi-parental mitochondria transmission in C. elegans

1. Valentine Melin
2. Justine Cailloce
3. Fanny Husson
4. Jorge Merlet
5. Vincent Galy

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable work used molecular biology, cell biology, and genetic approaches to unravel individual genes and potential pathways that contribute to paternal mitochondrial inheritance using C. elegans as the model organism. Their microscopy method is cutting edge, with sufficient biological replicates, proper control, and appropriate statistics. These findings are convincing and are of general interest for understanding mitochondrial inheritance in C. elegans, which could have implications for understanding similar biological processes in other organisms.

Reviewed by eLife

Long-term live imaging, cell identification and cell tracking in regenerating crustacean legs

1. Çağrı Çevrim
2. Béryl Laplace-Builhé
3. Ko Sugawara
4. Maria Lorenza Rusciano
5. Nicolas Labert
6. Jacques Brocard
7. Alba Almazán
8. Michalis Averof

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable technical advance in the long-term live imaging of limb regeneration at cellular resolution in Parhyale hawaiensis. The authors develop and carefully validate a method to continuously image entire regenerating legs over several days while minimizing photodamage and optimizing conditions for robust cell tracking, together with post-hoc in situ identification of cell types. The data are convincing, the methodology is rigorous and clearly documented, and the results will be of interest to researchers in regeneration biology, developmental biology, and advanced live imaging and cell tracking software development.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Redistribution of fragmented mitochondria ensure symmetric organelle partitioning and faithful chromosome segregation in mitotic mouse zygotes

1. Haruna Gekko
2. Ruri Nomura
3. Daiki Kuzuhara
4. Masato Kaneyasu
5. Genpei Koseki
6. Deepak Adhikari
7. Yasuyuki Mio
8. John Carroll
9. Tomohiro Kono
10. Hiroaki Funahashi
11. Takuya Wakai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study investigates the role of Drp1 in early embryo development. The authors have addressed most of the original comments and the work now presents convincing evidence on how this protein influences mitochondrial localization and partitioning during the first embryonic divisions. The research employs the Trim-Away technique to eliminate Drp1 in zygotes, revealing critical insights into mitochondrial clustering, spindle formation, and embryonic development.

Reviewed by eLife

Live imaging and functional characterization of the avian hypoblast redefine the mechanisms of primitive streak induction

1. Aurélien Villedieu
2. Olinda Alegria-Prévot
3. Carole Phan
4. Yu Ieda
5. Francis Corson
6. Jérôme Gros

Reviewed by preLights

Engineering fluorescent reporters in human pluripotent cells and strategies for live imaging human neurogenesis

1. Alwyn Dady
2. Lindsay Davidson
3. Nicolas Loyer
4. Sophie Rappich
5. Greg Findlay
6. Timothy Sanders
7. Jens Januschke
8. Kate G. Storey

Reviewed by Review Commons

Mechanical cues organize planar cell polarity during vertebrate morphogenesis and embryonic wound repair

1. Chih-Wen Chu
2. Satheeja Velayudhan
3. Jakob H. Schauser
4. Sapna Krishnakumar
5. Stephanie Yang
6. Keiji Itoh
7. Dominique Alfandari
8. Ala Trusina
9. Sergei Y. Sokol

Reviewed by preLights

Cytoneme-mediated intercellular signaling in keratinocytes is essential for epidermal remodeling in zebrafish

1. Yi Wang
2. Thomas Nguyen
3. Qingan He
4. Oliver Has
5. Kiarash Forouzesh
6. Dae Seok Eom

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study showing that differentiated cells of the zebrafish skin form membrane protrusions called cytonemes that contact and likely transmit Notch signals to cells of the undifferentiated layer below. The data are convincing that cytoneme like protrusions from the periderm are required for proper periderm structure, proliferation, gene expression, and Notch signaling. Evidence that inflammatory signaling through IL-17 affects epidermal differentiation, Notch and cytoneme formation is solid, but whether these are through a single common or two parallel pathways requires further investigation.

Reviewed by eLife