Developmental Biology

Cataloguing the postnatal small intestinal transcriptome during the first postnatal month

1. Luiz Fernando Silva Oliveira
2. Radhika S Khetani
3. Yu-Syuan Wu
4. Venkata Siva Dasuri
5. Amanda W Harrington
6. Oluwabunmi Olaloye
7. Jeffrey Goldsmith
8. David T Breault
9. Liza Konnikova
10. Shannan J Ho Sui
11. Amy E O’Connell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a useful inventory of genes that are up- and down-regulated in the mouse small intestine (duodenum and ileum) during the first postnatal month; the data were collected and analyzed using solid and validated methodology and can be used as a starting point for additional validation of specific markers and for follow-up functional studies. Some aspects of the study were incomplete, with claims being only partially supported by the data, and it is suggested that additional validation be performed. The authors attempted to correlate gene expression changes with periods of high and low NEC susceptibility, but these correlations are speculative and not supported by functional follow-up studies. Discussion of gene expression changes with NEC susceptibility would be more appropriate to include in the Discussion section and to be tempered in the results section.

Reviewed by eLife

Spatiotemporal WNT and BMP gradients orchestrate regional enteroendocrine cell diversity along the Drosophila midgut

1. Jiaying Lv
2. Xingting Guo
3. Rongwen Xi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study is a comprehensive investigation into the regulatory mechanisms and regional distribution of enteroendocrine cell subtypes in the Drosophila midgut, significantly advancing the understanding of how WNT and BMP gradients contribute to EE diversity. The methodological foundation and robust genetic evidence are solid in supporting the key roles of compartment boundary signals, particularly WNT and BMP, in specifying EE subtypes and division modes. However, there is a lack of full mechanistic insight regarding Notch pathway involvement, incomplete quantification of phenotype data, and insufficient global pattern analysis, which detracts from fully supporting some proposed models. Overall, the study provides a platform for future work but would benefit from stronger data integration and expanded mechanistic exploration.

Reviewed by eLife

Deep learning predicts tissue outcomes in retinal organoids

1. Cassian Afting
2. Norin Bhatti
3. Christina Schlagheck
4. Encarnación Sánchez Salvador
5. Laura Herrera-Astorga
6. Rashi Agarwal
7. Risa Suzuki
8. Nicolaj Hackert
9. Hanns-Martin Lorenz
10. Lucie Zilova
11. Joachim Wittbrodt
12. Tarik Exner

Reviewed by Review Commons

Life-cycle-related gene expression patterns in the brown algae

1. Pélagie Ratchinski
2. Olivier Godfroy
3. Benjamin Noel
4. Jean-Marc Aury
5. J Mark Cock

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript presents an in-depth analysis of gene expression across multiple brown algal species with differing life histories, providing convincing evidence for the conservation of life cycle-specific gene expression. While largely descriptive, the study is an important step forward in understanding the core cellular processes that differ between life cycle phases, and its findings will be of broad interest to developmental and evolutionary biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Lineage domains and cytoskeletal cables organize a cellular square grid in a crustacean

1. Beatrice L. Steinert
2. Leo Blondel
3. Chandrashekar Kuyyamudi
4. Evangelia Stamataki
5. Anastasios Pavlopoulos
6. Cassandra G. Extavour

Reviewed by preLights

Chronic replication stress-mediated genomic instability disrupts placenta development in mice

1. Mumingjiang Munisha
2. Rui Huang
3. Jordan Khan
4. John C. Schimenti

Reviewed by Review Commons

A tissue boundary orchestrates the segregation of inner ear sensory organs

1. Ziqi Chen
2. Magdalena Żak
3. Shuting Xu
4. Javier de Andrés
5. Nicolas Daudet

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study describing the morphological changes during boundary formation between sensory and non-sensory tissues of the inner ear. The authors provided solid evidence that a transcription factor, Lmx1a and ROCK-dependent actinomyosin are key for border formation in the inner ear. However, future studies will be needed to investigate the direct relationships among boundary formation, Lmx1a and ROCK. This work will be of interest to developmental biologists interested in boundary formation.

Reviewed by eLife

miR-184 modulates Ilp8 to control developmental timing during normal growth conditions and in response to developmental perturbations

1. Jervis Fernandes
2. Muhammed Naseem
3. Ayisha Marwa Mangattu Parambil
4. Jishy Varghese

Reviewed by Review Commons

Nup107 is a crucial regulator of torso-mediated metamorphic transition in Drosophila melanogaster

1. Jyotsna Kawadkar
2. Pradyumna Ajit Joshi
3. Ram Kumar Mishra

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study presents findings on the developmental roles of Nup107, a key nucleoporin, in regulating the larval-to-pupal transition in Drosophila melanogaster through its involvement in ecdysone signaling. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is solid, with robust experimental approaches including RNAi knockdown and rescue experiments. The authors propose that Nup107 influences EcR localization indirectly by reducing the expression of Halloween genes, a consequence of impaired Torso signaling. However, it remains uncertain whether Torso is the sole receptor tyrosine kinase involved, and this disruption ultimately leads to decreased ecdysone production. In addition, finding a mechanism would strengthen the findings as the currently proposed mechanism is not completely supported by the data.

Reviewed by eLife

Nucleation-dependent propagation of Polycomb modifications emerges during the Drosophila maternal to zygotic transition

1. Natalie Gonzaga-Saavedra
2. Eleanor A Degen
3. Isabella V Soluri
4. Corinne Croslyn
5. Shelby A Blythe

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study employed state-of-the-art quantitative imaging and genomics approaches to address a fundamental question regarding the establishment of Polycomb domains during Drosophila embryogenesis. The critical developmental stage was pinpointed to the maternal-to-zygotic transition, rather than earlier stages, providing clarification for the field. The roles of two factors, Zelda and GAGA-factor, were investigated, which reveal that Zelda, but not GAGA-factor, contributes to this process. These compelling findings have implications for chromatin and developmental biology.

Reviewed by eLife