Developmental Biology

Contribution of the epididymis beyond fertilization: relevance of CRISP1 and CRISP3 for sperm DNA integrity and early embryo development

1. Valeria Sulzyk
2. Ludmila Curci
3. Lucas N González
4. Abril Rebagliati Cid
5. Mariana Weigel Muñoz
6. Patricia S Cuasnicu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study reports that epididymal proteins are required for embryogenesis after fertilization. The data presented are generally supportive of the conclusion and considered solid. This work will be of interest to reproductive biologists and andrologists.

Reviewed by eLife

A comparative analysis of planarian regeneration specificity reveals tissue polarity contributions of the axial cWnt signalling gradient

1. James P Cleland
2. Hanh T.-K Vu
3. Johanna EM Dickmann
4. Andrei Rozanski
5. Steffen Werner
6. Andrea Schuhmann
7. Anna Shevchenko
8. Jochen C Rink

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study investigates the different mechanisms that provide instructions for a missing body part to regenerate its appropriate identity. The authors use two species of planarians to identify a key role for bodywide canonical Wnt gradients in controlling the outcome of regeneration. The study provides convincing evidence for variable regeneration efficiency among planarian species that will be of interest to developmental biologists interested in regeneration. However, some of the results are over-interpreted and the additional experiments could provide better support for the authors' claims.

Reviewed by eLife

Dual roles of EGO-1 and RRF-1 in regulating germline exo-RNAi efficiency in Caenorhabditis elegans

1. Katsufumi Dejima
2. Keita Yoshida
3. Shohei Mitani

Reviewed by Review Commons

3D reconstruction of neuronal allometry and neuromuscular projections in asexual planarians using expansion tiling light sheet microscopy

1. Jing Lu
2. Hao Xu
3. Dongyue Wang
4. Yanlu Chen
5. Takeshi Inoue
6. Liang Gao
7. Kai Lei

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Lu and colleagues developed an important imaging protocol that combines expansion microscopy, light-sheet microscopy, and image segmentation for use with the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea, a powerful model system for regeneration. This represents a substantial improvement on current standards and enables more rapid data acquisition. The utility of this solid protocol is demonstrated by quantifying several aspects of this flatworm's neural anatomy and musculature during homeostasis and regeneration. This work will be of interest to researchers looking to implement more systematic approaches towards imaging and quantifying intact specimens.

Reviewed by eLife

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

Extracellular adenosine deamination primes tip organizer development in Dictyostelium

1. Pavani Hathi
2. Ramamurthy Baskar

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study identifies a protein called adenosine deaminase-related growth factor (ADGF) as a key regulator of tip formation in the slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. The authors convincingly show that ADGF catalyses the formation of ammonia from adenosine, allowing ammonia to initiate tip formation, and then elucidate pathways upstream and downstream from ADGF. The authors discuss the intriguing possibility that mammalian ADGF may also similarly regulate development.

Reviewed by eLife

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