Developmental Biology

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. Thomas Jacobsen
5. Sadia Siddika Dima
6. Hung-Yuan Chen
7. Rosangela Sozzani
8. Gregory T Reeves

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable quantitative data and analysis that reveals variations in 'Dorsal' nuclear dynamics along the dorso-ventral axis in the early Drosophila embryo. The evidence that supports that these variations are due to Dorsal/Cactus interactions in dorsal nuclei is convincing, albeit incomplete to understand the biological implications of these findings for developmental patterning.

Reviewed by eLife

Tgfbr1 regulates lateral plate mesoderm and endoderm reorganization during the trunk to tail transition

1. Anastasiia Lozovska
2. Ana Casaca
3. Ana Novoa
4. Ying-Yi Kuo
5. Arnon D Jurberg
6. Gabriel G Martins
7. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
8. Moises Mallo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Morphological characteristics and phenotypes of mutations in key developmental genes suggest that head, trunk, and tail development are regulated by discernible modules. Gdf11 signalling plays a crucial role in orchestrating the transition from trunk to tail tissues in vertebrate embryos. This important study presents convincing evidence that Tgfbr1 acts upstream of Isl1 (a pivotal effector of Gdf11 signalling) and regulates blood vessels, the lateral plate mesoderm, and the endoderm associated with the trunk-to-tail transition. Together with the previous studies, this work identifies a key signal that acts as the pivot of the trunk-to-tail transition.

Reviewed by eLife

Cellular signalling protrusions enable dynamic distant contacts in spinal cord neurogenesis

1. Joshua Hawley
2. Robert Lea
3. Veronica Biga
4. Nancy Papalopulu
5. Cerys Manning

Reviewed by PREreview, preLights

Opposing roles for Bmp signalling during the development of electrosensory lateral line organs

1. Alexander S Campbell
2. Martin Minařík
3. Roman Franěk
4. Michaela Vazačová
5. Miloš Havelka
6. David Gela
7. Martin Pšenička
8. Clare VH Baker

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study reports analysis of the formation of electrosensory ampullary organs in non-model organisms, the sterlet sturgeon. By using a combination of targeted gene knock-out and inhibition, the study provides overall convincing evidence for differential roles of BMP signaling in lateral-line development, with few aspects that could be improved. The study is particularly valuable for understanding the development of a still-mysterious sensory system, and for its evolutionary implications.

Reviewed by eLife

Germplasm stability in zebrafish requires maternal Tdrd6a and Tdrd6c

1. Alessandro Consorte
2. Yasmin El Sherif
3. Fridolin Kielisch
4. Nadine Wittkopp
5. René F. Ketting

Reviewed by preLights, Review Commons

Drosophila Hamlet mediates epithelial tissue assembly of the reproductive system

1. Huazhen Wang
2. Ludivine Bertonnier-Brouty
3. Isabella Artner
4. Jiayu Wen
5. Qi Dai

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study that combines an array of genetic, cell biological, and genomic techniques to elucidate the role of the transcription factor Hamlet in reproductive development. It provides compelling evidence that Hamlet is a master regulator of cell fate and differentiation to reveal transcriptional targets that mediate epithelial tissue fusion. While the genetic and genomic analyses are convincing, the images that report the phenotypes are difficult to interpret for non-experts. This, and other identified issues, should be addressed.

Reviewed by eLife

The Drosophila hematopoietic niche assembles through collective cell migration controlled by neighbor tissues and Slit-Robo signaling

1. Kara A Nelson
2. Kari F Lenhart
3. Lauren Anllo
4. Stephen DiNardo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable findings on the role of a well-studied signal transduction pathway, the Slit/Robo system, in the context of the assembly of the hematopoietic niche in the Drosophila embryo. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will interest developmental biologists working on molecular mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife

Aberrant FGF signaling promotes granule neuron precursor expansion in SHH subgroup infantile medulloblastoma

1. Odessa R Yabut
2. Jessica Arela
3. Hector G Gomez
4. Jesse Garcia Castillo
5. Thomas Ngo
6. Samuel J Pleasure

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable new insight into the role of Fgf signalling in SUFU mutation-linked cerebellar tumors and indicates novel therapeutic interventions via inhibition of Fgf signalling. The potential impact of this work is therefore very high and it is supported by solid evidence. However, due to current limitations in the full identification of the cell types secreting FGF5, and issues with robustness of evaluation of genetically engineered animals, the validation of some interpretations awaits future experiments.

Reviewed by eLife

Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells Co-Opt the Tenogenic Gene Scleraxis to Instruct Regeneration

1. Yun Bai
2. Tyler Harvey
3. Colin Bilyou
4. Minjie Hu
5. Chen-Ming Fan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript presents important finding regarding the regulation of a key stem cell population, namely muscle stem cells (or "satellite cells"). The evidence presented is convincing that Scx, a marker for tendon, is expressed in some myogenic cells and is essential for adult muscle regeneration.

Reviewed by eLife

Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye

1. Alicia Hurtado
2. Víctor López-Soriano
3. Miguel Lao
4. M Ángeles Celis-Barroso
5. Pilar Lazúen
6. Alejandro Chacón de Castro
7. Yolanda Ramírez-Casas
8. Miguel Alaminos
9. J Martin Collinson
10. Miguel Burgos
11. Rafael Jiménez
12. F David Carmona
13. Francisco J Barrionuevo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study informs the transcriptional mechanisms that promote stem cell differentiation and prevent degeneration in the adult eye. Through inducible mouse mutagenesis, the authors uncover a dual role for a transcription factor (Sox9) in stem cell differentiation and prevention of retinal degeneration. The data at hand provide solid support to the main conclusions with several minor weaknesses identified as well. The study will be of general interest to the fields of neuronal development and neurodegeneration.

Reviewed by eLife