Developmental Biology

The co-repressor Groucho limits progression through the early transcription elongation checkpoint in vivo

1. María Lorena Martínez Quiles
2. Barbara H Jennings

Reviewed by Review Commons

Functional Separation of mRNA Domains Coordinates Pluripotent Cell Behavior

1. Ze Yang
2. Shaoyi Ji
3. Kristina Ivanov
4. Priyanka Kadav
5. Mengmeng Song
6. Leonardi Gozali
7. Sophie Parsa
8. Barry Behr
9. Mary A Hynes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides fundamental insights by demonstrating that the Nanog mRNA coding sequence (CDS) and 3′UTR domains are spatially segregated and functionally distinct in pluripotent stem cells and blastocysts, with 3′UTR-enriched border cells primarily influencing morphogenesis and CDS-enriched inner cells largely regulating transcription and epigenetic programs. The work opens a novel conceptual avenue for understanding how separable mRNA domains can differentially control cell behavior and differentiation. However, the evidence is incomplete, as key aspects of the molecular nature, biogenesis, and precise characterization of the separated 3′UTR and CDS RNA species, as well as causal links between their perturbation and the observed phenotypes (e.g., via rescue and deeper characterization of 3′UTR elements), remain to be fully established.

Reviewed by eLife

ZNHIT1-dependent H2A.Z deposition at meiotic prophase I underlies pachytene gene expression and meiotic progression during male meiosis

1. Shenfei Sun
2. Yamei Jiang
3. Ning Jiang
4. Qiaoli Zhang
5. Hongjie Pan
6. Fujing Huang
7. Xinna Zhang
8. Yuxuan Guo
9. Xiaoyu You
10. Kai Gong
11. Wei Wei
12. Hanmin Liu
13. Zhenju Song
14. Yuanlin Song
15. Xiaofang Tang
16. Miao Yu
17. Runsheng Li
18. Xinhua Lin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study shows that Znhit1, a regulator of chromatin and of the histone variant H2A.Z, is required for progression through meiotic prophase. It is an important observation that describes the role of epigenetics and gene expression during meiosis. The analysis is based on complementary approaches at the cytological, single-cell, and genomic levels that provide solid evidence for the role of Znhit1 in the control of gene expression and in the loading of H2A.Z in mouse spermatocytes.

Reviewed by eLife

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

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides quantitative data and analysis to reveal that variations in Dorsal (Dl ) nuclear dynamics along the Dorso-ventral axis in the early Drosophila embryo are governed by Dl-Cactus nuclear interactions. The solid evidence partially supports a mechanism where nuclear localized Cactus contributes to the fraction of Dl that binds to DNA, but additional work will be necessary to confirm the claims and the biological significance of these findings.

Reviewed by eLife

A single-cell transcriptomic atlas of inner ear morphogenesis in zebrafish

1. Akankshi Munjal
2. Kalki Kukreja
3. Samara Williams
4. Toru Kawanishi
5. Natasha M O’Brown
6. Kana Ishimatsu
7. Allon Klein
8. Sean G Tsung-Megason
9. Ian A Swinburne

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is a valuable study on single-cell transcriptomic analyses, focused on morphogenesis of the zebrafish inner ear in wildtype and lmx1bb mutants. The supporting evidence is mostly convincing, but incomplete in parts.

Reviewed by eLife