Developmental Biology

scRNA-sequencing in chick suggests a probabilistic model for cell fate allocation at the neural plate border

1. Alexandre P Thiery
2. Ailin Leticia Buzzi
3. Eva Hamrud
4. Chris Cheshire
5. Nicholas M Luscombe
6. James Briscoe
7. Andrea Streit

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The study of Thiery et al. details the heterogeneous expression of a very large number of genes presumably associated with cell fate decisions in the ectoderm at the neural plate border in early avian embryos. The authors mostly succeed in presenting their very complex strategy of data analysis in a clear way but the work is incomplete with some conceptual weaknesses in how the authors describe and interpret their results. By focusing on one of the earliest cell fate decisions in the ectoderm of a vertebrate embryo, this study will be valuable to a broad range of developmental biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Reciprocal discoidin domain receptor signaling strengthens integrin adhesion to connect adjacent tissues

1. Kieop Park
2. Ranjay Jayadev
3. Sara G Payne
4. Isabel W Kenny-Ganzert
5. Qiuyi Chi
6. Daniel S Costa
7. William Ramos-Lewis
8. Siddharthan B Thendral
9. David R Sherwood

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important paper reveals how cells in adjacent tissues use the extracellular matrix to establish mechanical connections. Through a series of crisp genetic manipulations and quantitative image analyses, the authors provide compelling evidence to show how an essential adhesion between the uterus and the seam cells in the nematode C. elegans is formed. The assembly of type IV collagen triggers internalization of a cell surface receptor, which then signals from endocytic vesicles to strengthen the connection.

Reviewed by eLife

The differentiation and integration of the hippocampal dorsoventral axis are controlled by two nuclear receptor genes

1. Xiong Yang
2. Rong Wan
3. Zhiwen Liu
4. Su Feng
5. Jiaxin Yang
6. Naihe Jing
7. Ke Tang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is an important study demonstrating distinct roles for the nuclear receptor genes COUP-TFI and COUP-TFII in hippocampal development. The strength of evidence is compelling, using rigorous state-of-the-art methods to demonstrate functional redundancy of these genes in regulating the Lhx2/Lhx5 axis. The major strengths of the study are the dramatic morphogenic phenotypes, and the resultant altered gene networks. These findings have theoretical or practical implications beyond a single field, and will be of interest to geneticists, developmental neurobiologists and chromatin biologists among others.

Reviewed by eLife

Focal adhesion protein vinculin inhibits Mef2c-driven sclerostin expression in osteocytes to promote bone formation in mice

1. Yishu Wang
2. Jianmei Huang
3. Sixiong Lin
4. Lei Qin
5. Dingyu Hao
6. Peijun Zhang
7. Shaochuan Huo
8. Xuenong Zou
9. Di Chen
10. Guozhi Xiao

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is an interesting and valuable study describing the importance of a focal adhesion protein vinculin in osteocytes in controlling bone formation by regulating the expression of sclerostin, which inhibits bone formation. The data are generally convincing and support the conclusions. Some additional investigation and discussions are required to further strengthen the conclusion and interpretation.

Reviewed by eLife

Npr3 regulates neural crest and cranial placode progenitors formation through its dual function as clearance and signaling receptor

1. Arun Devotta
2. Hugo Juraver-Geslin
3. Casey Griffin
4. Jean-Pierre Saint-Jeannet

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental work reports the unique finding that specific ligands and receptors in the natriuretic peptide signaling pathway act during early embryogenesis to discriminate between neural crest and cranial placode fates using two distinct mechanisms. This work will be of broad interest to both developmental and cell biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Ectopic activation of the polar body extrusion pathway triggers cell fragmentation in preimplantation embryos

1. Diane Pelzer
2. Ludmilla de Plater
3. Peta Bradbury
4. Adrien Eichmuller
5. Anne Bourdais
6. Guillaume Halet
7. Jean-Léon Maître

Reviewed by Review Commons

Antagonistic role of the BTB-zinc finger transcription factors Chinmo and Broad-Complex in the juvenile/pupal transition and in growth control

1. Sílvia Chafino
2. Panagiotis Giannios
3. Jordi Casanova
4. David Martín
5. Xavier Franch-Marro

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study demonstrates that the transcription factor Chinmo is a master regulator that maintains larval growth and development as part of the metamorphic gene network in Drosophila. Chinmo does so in part by regulating Broad expression in imaginal tissues (exemplified in the wing disc) and in a Broad-independent manner in other larval tissues such as the salivary gland. Finally, they demonstrate that the role of Chinmo in promoting larval development is conserved between holometabolous insects and hemimetabolous insects, which lack a pupal stage. The data were collected and analyzed using solid and validated methodology and will be of interest to a broad audience including those interested in development and evolution.

Reviewed by eLife

A Dystroglycan–Laminin–Integrin axis controls cell basal geometry remodeling in the developing Drosophila retina

1. Rhian F. Walther
2. Courtney Lancaster
3. Jemima J. Burden
4. Franck Pichaud

Reviewed by Review Commons

Fluid extraction from the left-right organizer uncovers mechanical properties needed for symmetry breaking

1. Pedro Sampaio
2. Sara Pestana
3. Catarina Bota
4. Adán Guerrero
5. Ivo A Telley
6. David Smith
7. Susana Santos Lopes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment:

  Sampaio and colleagues utilize an elegant approach to manipulate fluid dynamics in zebrafish Kupffer's vesicle to ask if fluid movement or something in the fluid governs the break in symmetry. These valuable results support a role for fluid movement and detection as important in breaking symmetry in a ciliated left-right organizer and help set a time window when fluid flow is critical for this process. However, as the fluid extraction experiments affect both chemical and physical features, the authors need to provide further convincing evidence to support their mechanosensory hypothesis or temper the claims.

Reviewed by eLife

AGS3 antagonizes LGN to balance oriented cell divisions and cell fate choices in mammalian epidermis

1. Carlos P Descovich
2. Kendall J Lough
3. Akankshya Jena
4. Jessica J Wu
5. Jina Yom
6. Danielle C Spitzer
7. Manuela Uppalapati
8. Katarzyna M Kedziora
9. Scott E Williams

• Curated by eLife

  **eLife assessment
  **
  Descovich et al examine the important decision between proliferative (planar) and differentiation (perpendicular) divisions in the basal layers of the skin and find a key promoter of perpendicular divisions is inhibited by its paralog to specify planar divisions. The authors use sophisticated mouse genetics and imaging and discover that LGN and its paralog AGS3 function antagonistically in determining perpendicular vs. planar divisions. Some statements need to be tamed or further backed up, but overall this study provides a significant advance in the field.

Reviewed by eLife