Developmental Biology

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

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

Mouse 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

The evolutionary modifications of a GoLoco motif in the AGS protein facilitate micromere formation in the sea urchin embryo

1. Natsuko Emura
2. Florence DM Wavreil
3. Annaliese Fries
4. Mamiko Yajima

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents work on the molecular mechanism driving asymmetric cell division and fate decisions during embryonic development of echinoids. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing. The work will be of interest to developmental biologists and cell biologists working in the field of self-renewal.

Reviewed by eLife

CCDC113 stabilizes sperm axoneme and head-tail coupling apparatus to ensure male fertility

1. Bingbing Wu
2. Chenghong Long
3. Yuzhuo Yang
4. Zhe Zhang
5. Shuang Ma
6. Yanjie Ma
7. Huafang Wei
8. Jinghe Li
9. Hui Jiang
10. Wei Li
11. Chao Liu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important finding on sperm flagellum and HTCA stabilization. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is convincing. The work will be of broad interest to cell and reproductive biologists working on cilium and sperm biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Spinal neural tube formation and tail development in human embryos

1. Chloe Santos
2. Abigail R Marshall
3. Ailish Murray
4. Kate Metcalfe
5. Priyanka Narayan
6. Sandra CP de Castro
7. Eirini Maniou
8. Nicholas DE Greene
9. Gabriel L Galea
10. Andrew J Copp

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a fundamental study into human spinal neurulation, which substantially advances our understanding of human neural tube closure. Crucial unanswered questions in the field currently rely on model systems, not faithful to human development. The evidence provided is compelling, with a large number of specimens and the rigorous use of state-of-the-art methodology providing robustness. The work will be of broad interest to developmental biologists, embryologists, and medical professionals working on neural tube defects, and will act as a precious reference resource for future studies.

Reviewed by eLife