Developmental Biology

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

ZNHIT1-dependent H2A.Z deposition at meiotic prophase I underlies pachytene gene expression and meiotic progression during male meiosis

1. Shenfei Sun
2. Yamei Jiang
3. Ning Jiang
4. Qiaoli Zhang
5. Hongjie Pan
6. Fujing Huang
7. Xinna Zhang
8. Yuxuan Guo
9. Xiaoyu You
10. Kai Gong
11. Wei Wei
12. Hanmin Liu
13. Zhenju Song
14. Yuanlin Song
15. Xiaofang Tang
16. Miao Yu
17. Runsheng Li
18. Xinhua Lin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study shows that Znhit1, a regulator of chromatin and of the histone variant H2A.Z, is required for progression through meiotic prophase. It is an important observation that describes the role of epigenetics and gene expression during meiosis. The analysis is based on complementary approaches at the cytological, single-cell, and genomic levels that provide solid evidence for the role of Znhit1 in the control of gene expression and in the loading of H2A.Z in mouse spermatocytes.

Reviewed by eLife

Dorsal/NF-κB exhibits a dorsal-to-ventral mobility gradient in the Drosophila embryo

1. Hadel Al Asafen
2. Natalie M Clark
3. Etika Goyal
4. Sadia Siddika Dima
5. Hung-Yuan Chen
6. Thomas Jacobsen
7. Rosangela Sozzani
8. Gregory T Reeves

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides quantitative data and analysis to reveal that variations in Dorsal (Dl ) nuclear dynamics along the Dorso-ventral axis in the early Drosophila embryo are governed by Dl-Cactus nuclear interactions. The solid evidence partially supports a mechanism where nuclear localized Cactus contributes to the fraction of Dl that binds to DNA, but additional work will be necessary to confirm the claims and the biological significance of these findings.

Reviewed by eLife

A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of inner ear morphogenesis in zebrafish

1. Akankshi Munjal
2. Kalki Kukreja
3. Samara Williams
4. Toru Kawanishi
5. Natasha M O’Brown
6. Kana Ishimatsu
7. Allon Klein
8. Sean G Tsung-Megason
9. Ian A Swinburne

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study on single-cell transcriptomic analyses, focused on morphogenesis of the zebrafish inner ear in wildtype and lmx1bb mutants. The supporting evidence is mostly convincing, but incomplete in parts.

Reviewed by eLife

Tumors mimic the niche to inhibit neighboring stem cell differentiation

1. Yang Zhang
2. Yuejia Wang
3. Jinqiao Song
4. Lizhong Yan
5. Ziguang Wang
6. Dongze Song
7. Haojun Wang
8. Sining Yang
9. Liyuan Niu
10. Chang Sun
11. Hanning Zhang
12. Yudi Zhao
13. Shaowei Zhao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides important insights into how tumorous germline stem cells (GSCs) in the Drosophila melanogaster ovary can mimic niche function and suppress the differentiation of neighboring cells. The findings that GSC tumors can incorporate non-mutant cells and inhibit their differentiation are compelling and extend current understanding of stem cell-niche interactions. However, the evidence supporting the conclusion that GSC tumors produce BMP ligands to mediate this effect remains incomplete, due to concerns regarding the quality and interpretation of the HCR-FISH data.

Reviewed by eLife

HSD17B7 is required for the function of sensory hair cells by regulating cholesterol synthesis

1. Yuqian Shen
2. Ziyang Wang
3. Xun Wang
4. Fuping Qian
5. Mingjun Zhong
6. Xin Wang
7. Jing Cheng
8. Dong Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable data on the role of Hsd17b7, a gene involved in cholesterol biosynthesis, as a potential regulator of mechanosensory hair cell function. The authors used both zebrafish and the HEI cell line to examine the effects of deletion of Hsd17b7 on hair cell function and survival. While the study presents convincing evidence, the effect sizes observed across several experiments, including functional readouts such as the acoustic startle response, are modest, which raises questions about the biological significance of the proposed mechanism.

Reviewed by eLife

A spatiotemporal transcriptomic atlas of the mouse placenta reveals glycogen cell-mediated metabolic support essential for fetal viability

1. Yuting Fu
2. Xiaoqi Zeng
3. Yifang Liu
4. Shikai Jia
5. Yujia Jiang
6. Jia Ping Tan
7. Yue Yuan
8. Tianchang Xia
9. Yun Mei
10. Shan Wen
11. Xiaojing Liu
12. Yue You
13. Weike Pei
14. Chengshuo Yang
15. Sida Shao
16. Junhua Shen
17. Liangshan Mu
18. Xiaoxue Ma
19. Matthew Paul McCormack
20. Saifeng Cheng
21. Luyi Tian
22. Longqi Liu
23. Xiaoyu Wei
24. Xiaodong Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study reports a spatiotemporal atlas of mouse placental development and explores the role of glycogen trophoblast cells in fetal viability. Solid data are presented to support the main conclusion. This work will be of great interest to developmental DNA reproductive biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Arrayed single-gene perturbations identify drivers of human anterior neural tube closure

1. Roya E Huang
2. Giridhar M Anand
3. Heitor C Megale
4. Jason Chen
5. Chudi Abraham-Igwe
6. Sharad Ramanathan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This landmark study investigates how patterned human gastruloids can provide insights into neural tube closure. Using a screen, they identified positive and negative regulators and defines the epistasis among them using optimization of micro-pattern based gastruloid protocol and CRISPRi. This technical tour de force is exceptional and one of the first studies to reveal new knowledge on human development through embryo models.

Reviewed by eLife

Label-free assessment of pre-implantation embryo quality by the Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (FLIM)-phasor approach

1. Ning Ma
2. Nabora Reyes de Mochel
3. Paula Duyen Pham
4. Tae Yeon Yoo
5. Ken W. Y. Cho
6. Michelle A. Digman

Reviewed by Arcadia Science