Developmental Biology

Mouse germline cysts contain a fusome that mediates oocyte development

1. Madhulika Pathak
2. Allan C Spradling

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript provides evidence that mouse germline cysts develop an asymmetric Golgi, ER, and microtubule-associated structure that resembles the fusome in Drosophila germline cysts. This fundamental study provides new evidence that fusome-like structures exist in germ cell cysts across species. Overall, the data are convincing and represent a significant advance in our understanding of germ cell biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Human spinal cord organoids reveal cell intercalation as a conserved mechanism for secondary neurulation

1. José Blanco-Ameijeiras
2. Yara El Majzoub
3. Mar García-Valero
4. Mariana M Faustino
5. Elena Rebollo
6. Javier Macho-Rendón
7. Jorge Corbacho
8. Juan Ramón Martínez-Morales
9. Elisa Martí

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable human stem cell-derived organoid model that captures key morphological and cellular features of spinal cord development and provides evidence for a YAP-dependent mechanism of lumen formation relevant to secondary neurulation. Overall, the evidence is convincing, using strong and validated approaches consistent with the current state of the art, including systematic protocol optimisation across multiple cell lines and quantitative analysis of tissue architecture. However, some claims regarding precise anterior-posterior and dorsoventral spinal cord identity, as well as several novelty claims, are at times overstated and would benefit from more direct validation and more careful positioning. The work will be of interest to developmental biologists and researchers studying neural tube defects.

Reviewed by eLife

Patient-specific iPSC models of neural tube defects identify underlying deficiencies in neuroepithelial cell shape regulation and differentiation

1. Ioakeim Ampartzidis
2. Elliott M Thompson
3. Yashica Gupta
4. Andrea Krstevski
5. Nicola Elvassore
6. Eirini Maniou
7. Paolo de Coppi
8. Gabriel L Galea

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors used genetic mutations in VANGL2 to study cell morphological changes during differentiation of hPSCs and understand the mechanisms underlying neural tube closure defects. The findings are important as they establish a quantitative, reproducible 2D human iPSC-to-neural-progenitor platform for analyzing cell-shape dynamics during differentiation. The convincing evidence provided, combined with the relative simplicity of the model and its tractability as a patient-specific and reverse genetic platform, make it attractive.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Bruce suppresses autophagy-regulated caspase activity and wing tissue growth in Drosophila

1. Natsuki Shinoda
2. Yutaro Hama
3. Nozomi Hanawa
4. Masayuki Miura

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study reports insights into how the caspase Dcp-1, best known for cell death, can also promote tissue growth in Drosophila, extending the authors' earlier work by identifying regulatory factors that shape this non-lethal activity. The valuable findings identify new Dcp-1-interacting proteins Sirt1, Fkbp59, Debcl, Buffy, Atg2, and Atg8a, and help broaden understanding of how growth and death pathways intersect. The evidence is solid, but some conclusions would be strengthened by additional studies, particularly regarding the nature of the cell death observed and the involvement of autophagy.

Reviewed by eLife

Permissive and instructive Hox codes govern limb positioning

1. Yajun Wang
2. Maik Hintze
3. Jinbao Wang
4. Hengxun Tao
5. Patrick Petzsch
6. Karl Köhrer
7. Longfei Cheng
8. Peng Zhou
9. Jianlin Wang
10. Zhaofu Liao
11. Xufeng Qi
12. Dongqing Cai
13. Thomas Bartolomaeus
14. Karl Schilling
15. Joerg Wilting
16. Stefanie Kuerten
17. Georgy Koentges
18. Ketan Patel
19. Qin Pu
20. Ruijin Huang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study provides the first putative evidence that alteration of the Hox code in neck lateral plate mesoderm is sufficient to induce ectopic development of forelimb buds at neck level. The authors use both gain-of-function (GOF) and loss-of-function (LOF) approaches in chick embryos to test the roles of Hox paralogy group (PG) 4-7 genes in limb development. The GOF data provide strong evidence that overexpression of Hox PG6/7 genes are sufficient to induce forelimb buds at neck level. However, the experiments using dominant negative constructs are lacking some key controls that are needed to demonstrate the specificity of the LOF effect rendering the work as a whole incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived macrophages modify development of human kidney organoids

1. Filipa M. Lopes
2. Ioannis Bantounas
3. Alexandra Sarov
4. Adrian S. Woolf
5. Susan J. Kimber

Reviewed by preLights

Progressive mural cell deficiencies across the lifespan in a foxf2 model of Cerebral Small Vessel Disease

1. Merry Faye E Graff
2. Emma EM Heeg
3. David A Elliott
4. Sarah J Childs

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides important insights into mural cell dynamics and vascular pathology using a zebrafish model of cerebral small vessel disease. The authors present convincing evidence that partial loss of foxf2 function results in progressive, cell-autonomous defects in pericytes accompanied by endothelial abnormalities across the lifespan. By leveraging advanced in vivo imaging and genetic approaches, the work establishes zebrafish as a powerful and relevant model for dissecting the cellular mechanisms underlying cerebral small vessel disease.

Reviewed by eLife

map3k1 is required for spatial restriction of progenitor differentiation in planarians

1. Bryanna Isela-Inez Canales
2. Hunter O King
3. Peter W Reddien

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study examines the role of map3k1, a MAP3K family member that has both kinase and ubiquitin ligase domains, in the differentiation of progenitors in the flatworm Planaria. The convincing analyses demonstrate that map3k1 acts within progenitors to restrict their premature differentiation and to prevent formation of teratomas. This work would be of interest to researchers in the fields of regeneration, developmental biology, and aging.

Reviewed by eLife

In situ mutational screening and CRISPR interference reveal that the apterous Early enhancer is required for developmental boundary positioning

1. Gustavo Aguilar
2. Michèle Sickmann
3. Dimitri Bieli
4. Gordian Born
5. Markus Affolter
6. Martin Müller

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important paper presents the discovery of the molecular basis of differential apterous expression during early Drosophila wing disc development. The evidence supporting these conclusions is compelling, ranging from classical genetic approaches to state-of-the-art genetic engineering techniques. By opening new questions, this paper is expected to be of broad interest to developmental biologists and geneticists working on transcriptional regulation.

Reviewed by eLife

A Novel 3D Visualization Method in Mice Identifies the Periportal Lamellar Complex (PLC) as a Key Regulator of Hepatic Ductal and Neuronal Branching Morphogenesis

1. Tongtong Xu
2. Fujun Cao
3. Ruihan Zhou
4. Qin Chen
5. Jian Zhong
6. Yulin Wang
7. Chaoxin Xiao
8. Banglei Yin
9. Chong Chen
10. Chengjian Zhao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study uses a novel 3D imaging method to identify the Periportal Lamellar Complex (PLC), an important new structure. Although the methodological advancement and morphological descriptions are convincing, the evidence for its proposed function is incomplete, relying on transcriptomic correlation rather than direct experimental validation. The work would therefore be strengthened by focusing its claims on the robust methodological advancement and detailed morphological characterization.

Reviewed by eLife