Developmental Biology

Modularity of the segmentation clock and morphogenesis

1. James E Hammond
2. Ruth E Baker
3. Berta Verd

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable manuscript uses mathematical modeling to address the synchrony of the vertebrate segmentation clock with the developmental processes. The authors use convincing arguments to support the idea that this would allow the evolution of flexible body plans and a variable number of segments. This manuscript could be of interest to developmental biologists and systems biologists.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Distinct proliferative and neuronal programmes of chromatin binding and gene activation by ASCL1 are cell cycle stage-specific

1. William F. Beckman
2. Lydia M. Parkinson
3. Lewis Chaytor
4. Anna Philpott

Reviewed by Review Commons

One probe fits all: a highly customizable modular RNA in situ hybridization platform expanding the application of SABER DNA probes

1. Kirill Ustyantsev
2. Mattia Stranges
3. Filippo Giovanni Volpe
4. Stijn Mouton
5. Eugene Berezikov

Reviewed by Review Commons

The autophagy protein ATG14 safeguards against unscheduled pyroptosis activation to enable embryo transport during early pregnancy

1. Pooja Popli
2. Arin K Oestreich
3. Vineet K Maurya
4. Marina N Rowen
5. Yong Zhang
6. Michael J Holtzman
7. Ramya Masand
8. John P Lydon
9. Shizuo Akira
10. Kelle Moley
11. Ramakrishna Kommagani

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports a novel function of ATG14 in preventing pyroptosis and inflammation in oviduct cells, thus allowing smooth transport of the early embryo to the uterus and implantation. The data supporting the main conclusion are convincing. This work will be of interest to reproductive biologists and physicians practicing reproductive medicine.

Reviewed by eLife

Knockout of cyclin-dependent kinases 8 and 19 leads to depletion of cyclin C and suppresses spermatogenesis and male fertility in mice

1. Alexandra V Bruter
2. Ekaterina A Varlamova
3. Nina I Stavskaya
4. Zoia G Antysheva
5. Vasily N Manskikh
6. Anna V Tvorogova
7. Diana S Korshunova
8. Alvina I Khamidullina
9. Marina V Utkina
10. Viktor P Bogdanov
11. Iuliia P Baikova
12. Alyona I Nikiforova
13. Eugene A Albert
14. Denis O Maksimov
15. Jing Li
16. Mengqian Chen
17. Gary P Schools
18. Alexey V Feoktistov
19. Alexander A Shtil
20. Igor B Roninson
21. Vladislav A Mogila
22. Yulia Y Silaeva
23. Victor V Tatarskiy

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study reports the critical role of two cyclin-dependent kinases, CDK8 and CDK19, in spermatogenesis. The data presented are generally supportive of the main conclusion and are considered solid. This work may be of interest to reproductive biologists and physicians working on male fertility.

Reviewed by eLife

Differences in size and number of embryonic type II neuroblast lineages correlate with divergent timing of central complex development between beetle and fly

1. Simon Rethemeier
2. Sonja Fritzsche
3. Dominik Mühlen
4. Gregor Bucher
5. Vera S Hunnekuhl

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study is a valuable contribution to the question of evolutionary shifts in neuronal proliferation patterns and the timing of developmental progressions. The authors present convincing data which confirm the presence of type-II NB lineages in beetle with the same molecular characteristics as the Drosophila counterparts but differing in lineage size and number. The data lay the foundation for future analysis of the role and molecular characteristics of individual lineages and of whether differences in the identity, proliferation pattern and timing of developmental progression can be linked to differences in the development of functionality of the central complex.

Reviewed by eLife

Spatial transcriptomics in the adult Drosophila brain and body

1. Jasper Janssens
2. Pierre Mangeol
3. Nikolai Hecker
4. Gabriele Partel
5. Katina I Spanier
6. Joy N Ismail
7. Gert J Hulselmans
8. Stein Aerts
9. Frank Schnorrer

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents a method to visualize the location of the cell types discovered through single-cell RNA sequencing. The data allowed the authors to build spatial tissue atlases of the fly head and body, and to identify the location of previously unknown cell types. The data are convincing and appropriate, and the authors validate the methodology in line with the current state-of-the-art.

Reviewed by eLife

Apical constriction requires patterned apical surface remodeling to synchronize cellular deformation

1. Satoshi Yamashita
2. Shuji Ishihara
3. François Graner

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The results from this study, which investigates the mechanisms necessary for initiating tissue invagination using a cellular Potts modelling approach, suggest that apical constriction is not sufficient to drive the process by itself. The study highlights how choices inherent to modelling - such as permitting straight or curved cell edges - may affect the outcome of simulations and, consequently, their biophysical interpretation. Despite incomplete evidence supporting their major claims due to a rather coarse-grained exploration of the model, this work is useful for biophysicists investigating complex tissue deformation through computational frameworks.

Reviewed by eLife

A dual ribosomal system in the zebrafish soma and germline

1. Arish N Shah
2. Friederike Leesch
3. Laura Lorenzo-Orts
4. Lorenz Grundmann
5. Maria Novatchkova
6. David Haselbach
7. Eliezer Calo
8. Andrea Pauli

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Shah and colleagues take advantage of the presence of maternal and somatic ribosomes in zebrafish and confirm their differential expression during development. The authors convincingly show that ribosomes previously found expressed during oogenesis are also expressed in primordial germ cells and that hybrid maternal and somatic ribosomes are formed during development. The question of ribosome heterogeneity, the expression and function of maternal versus somatically provided ribosomes are of broad interest and this fundamental work sets new directions for future functional studies of this interesting phenomenon.

Reviewed by eLife

Receptor tyrosine kinases CAD96CA and FGFR1 function as the cell membrane receptors of insect juvenile hormone

1. Yan-Xue Li
2. Xin-Le Kang
3. Yan-Li Li
4. Xiao-Pei Wang
5. Qiao Yan
6. Jin-Xing Wang
7. Xiao-Fan Zhao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important study, Li and others identified cell membrane receptors for juvenile hormone (JH), a terpenoid hormone in insects that regulates their development and reproduction. While intracellular receptors for JH are well characterized, membrane receptors for JH have remained elusive for many years. The authors provide convincing evidence indicating that two receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), CAD96CA and FGFR1, modulate the genomic effects of JH by phosphorylating the intracellular receptors in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera. Although differential functions of the two RTKs and potential effects of the other endogenous ligands of these RTKs on JH signaling remain unclear, this study lays a foundation for future studies.

Reviewed by eLife