Developmental Biology

Coordinated Tbx3/Tbx5 transcriptional control of the adult ventricular conduction system

1. Ozanna Burnicka-Turek
2. Katy A Trampel
3. Brigitte Laforest
4. Michael T Broman
5. Xinan H Yang
6. Zoheb Khan
7. Eric Rytkin
8. Binjie Li
9. Ella Schaffer
10. Margaret Gadek
11. Kaitlyn M Shen
12. Igor R Efimov
13. Ivan P Moskowitz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The work presented is important for our understanding of the development of the cardiac conduction system and its regulation by T-box transcription factors. The conclusions are supported by convincing data. Overall this is an excellent study that advances our understanding of cardiac biology and has implications beyond the immediate field of study.

Reviewed by eLife

Meioc-Piwil1 complexes regulate rRNA transcription for differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells

1. Toshihiro Kawasaki
2. Toshiya Nishimura
3. Naoki Tani
4. Carina Ramos
5. Emil Karaulanov
6. Minori Shinya
7. Kenji Saito
8. Emily Taylor
9. Rene F Ketting
10. Kei-ichiro Ishiguro
11. Minoru Tanaka
12. Kellee R Siegfried
13. Noriyoshi Sakai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important paper describes the regulatory pathway of rRNA synthesis by Meioc-Piwil1 in germ cell differentiation in zebrafish. Using the molecular genetic and cytological approaches, the authors provide convincing evidence that Meioc antagonizes Piwil1, which downregulates the 45S pre-rRNA synthesis by heterochromatin formation for spermatocyte differentiation. The results will be of use to researchers in the field of germ cell/meiosis as well as RNA biosynthesis and chromatin.

Reviewed by eLife

Spectral decomposition unlocks ascidian morphogenesis

1. Joel Dokmegang
2. Emmanuel Faure
3. Patrick Lemaire
4. Ed Munro
5. Madhav Mani

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important work, a quantitative analysis method for three-dimensional morphogenetic processes during embryonic development is introduced. The proposed method is a pipeline combining several methods, allowing quantitative analysis of developmental processes without cell segmentation and tracking. Upon application of their method, the authors obtain convincing evidence that ascidian gastrulation is a two-step process. This work should be of interest to a broad range of developmental biologists who aim to obtain a quantitative understanding of morphogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife

A low-level Cdkn1c/p57 ^kip2 expression in spinal progenitors drives the transition from proliferative to neurogenic modes of division

1. Baptiste Mida
2. Nathalie Lehman
3. Fanny Coulpier
4. Kamal Bouhali
5. Rosette Goiame
6. Morgane Thomas-Chollier
7. Evelyne Fischer
8. Xavier Morin

Reviewed by Review Commons

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

Reviewed by Review Commons

The retinoic acid receptor regulates development of a key evolutionary novelty - the molluscan shell

1. Keisuke Shimizu
2. Paul A. O’Neill
3. Kazuyoshi Endo
4. Tetsuhiro Kudoh

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Prenatal exposure to environmental stressors alters gut macrophage development and gastrointestinal function of male offspring

1. Dang M. Nguyen
2. Sarah K. Monroe
3. Danielle N. Rendina
4. Kevin S. Boyd
5. Erika D. Rispoli
6. Olivia M. Wirfel
7. A. Brayan Campos-Salazar
8. Anna R. Araujo
9. Trisha V. Vaidyanathan
10. Virginia L. Keziah
11. Benjamin A. Devlin
12. Caroline J. Smith
13. Staci D. Bilbo

Reviewed by preLights

Gene regulatory mechanisms guiding bifurcation of inhibitory and excitatory neuron lineages in the anterior brainstem

1. Sami Kilpinen
2. Lassi Virtanen
3. Silvana Bodington-Celma
4. Amos Bonsdorff
5. Heidi Heliölä
6. Kaia Achim
7. Juha Partanen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors provide valuable insights into the candidate upstream transcriptional regulatory factors that control the spatiotemporal expression of selector genes and their targets for GABAergic vs glutamatergic neuron fate in the anterior brainstem. The computational analysis of single-cell RNA-seq and single-cell ATAC-seq datasets to predict TF binding combined with cut and tag-seq to find TF binding represents a solid approach to support the findings in the study, although the display and discussion of the datasets could be strengthened. This study will be of interest to neurobiologists who study transcriptional mechanisms of neuronal differentiation.

Reviewed by eLife

Site-specific DNA demethylation during spermatogenesis presets the sites of nucleosome retention in mouse sperm

1. So Maezawa
2. Masashi Yukawa
3. Akihiko Sakashita
4. Artem Barski
5. Satoshi H Namekawa

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable findings on the role of site-specific DNA methylation changes during spermatogenesis and their contribution to paternal epigenetic inheritance. The study proposes that selective loss of DNA methylation at a subset of promoters is required for nucleosome retention and the establishment of epigenetic states that may influence embryonic gene regulation. The present study's conclusion is mostly supported by solid data.

Reviewed by eLife

SRSF3 is a key regulator of epicardial formation

1. Irina-Elena Lupu
2. Susann Bruche
3. Anob M. Chakrabarti
4. Ian R. McCracken
5. Tamara Carsana
6. Andia N. Redpath
7. Nicola Smart

Reviewed by Review Commons