Developmental Biology

Early anteroposterior regionalisation of human neural crest is shaped by a pro-mesodermal factor

1. Antigoni Gogolou
2. Celine Souilhol
3. Ilaria Granata
4. Filip J Wymeersch
5. Ichcha Manipur
6. Matthew Wind
7. Thomas JR Frith
8. Maria Guarini
9. Alessandro Bertero
10. Christoph Bock
11. Florian Halbritter
12. Minoru Takasato
13. Mario R Guarracino
14. Anestis Tsakiridis

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript addresses the important question of how cell types acquire regional identity during embryonic development. The authors study the role of TBXT in the establishment of posterior identity and show unexpected temporally restricted and cell-specific modes of acquisition of posterior identities in neural crest and spinal cord cells. They conclude that Wnt signaling influences posterior identity acquisition in neural crest cells whereas FGF is the main driver for spinal cord axial patterning.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Transcriptional heterogeneity and cell cycle regulation as central determinants of Primitive Endoderm priming

1. Marta Perera
2. Silas Boye Nissen
3. Martin Proks
4. Sara Pozzi
5. Rita S Monteiro
6. Ala Trusina
7. Joshua M Brickman

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study uses media-based conversion of stem cell cultures towards to investigate how cell cycle regulation affects the transition of cell populations between pluripotent and differentiated states. Through a detailed analysis of cell cycle properties in different primed subpopulations, under a range of growth conditions, the authors propose that both the maintenance of pluripotency as well as the conversion towards a more differentiated state is influenced by selective shortening of the cell cycle in different primed subpopulations. By using new reporter systems and long-term imaging, this study thus sheds new light on the old question of whether extracellular signals control differentiation in cell populations through selection or induction.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

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A dynamic and expandable digital 3D-atlas maker for monitoring the temporal changes in tissue growth during hindbrain morphogenesis

1. Matthias Blanc
2. Giovanni Dalmasso
3. Frederic Udina
4. Cristina Pujades

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This methodological manuscript is of potential interest to the audience in the fields of neural development, tissue morphogenesis, and image analysis technologies. The authors developed an image registration tool and created a digital atlas to reflect the anatomical distribution of neuronal birthdates in the developing zebrafish hindbrain. The manuscript would further benefit from better documentation of the claimed temporal dynamics, the methods, and the validity of biological inference.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A single-cell atlas of the cycling murine ovary

1. Mary E Morris
2. Marie-Charlotte Meinsohn
3. Maeva Chauvin
4. Hatice D Saatcioglu
5. Aki Kashiwagi
6. Natalie A Sicher
7. Ngoc Nguyen
8. Selena Yuan
9. Rhian Stavely
10. Minsuk Hyun
11. Patricia K Donahoe
12. Bernardo L Sabatini
13. David Pépin

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study is of interest to the readership interested in the different cell types present in the mouse adult ovary and shows how cellular states change during the four phases of the estrous cycle. This is a valuable resource for the community.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A non-transcriptional function of Yap regulates the DNA replication program in Xenopus laevis

1. Rodrigo Meléndez García
2. Olivier Haccard
3. Albert Chesneau
4. Hemalatha Narassimprakash
5. Jérôme Roger
6. Muriel Perron
7. Kathrin Marheineke
8. Odile Bronchain

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript is of interest within the fields of DNA replication, developmental biology and oncology. Focusing on the YAP protein, a major regulator of tissue growth and repair, it identifies an interesting new role in DNA replication dynamics, beyond its known role in gene transcription regulation. A series of experimental manipulations support the key claims of the paper. Additional control experiments, as well as mechanistic insight into how RIF1 and YAP interact, and insight into how that interaction influences replication timing would make the paper stronger.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Stepwise progression of β-selection during T cell development involves histone deacetylation

1. Anchi S Chann
2. Mirren Charnley
3. Lucas M Newton
4. Andrea Newbold
5. Florian Wiede
6. Tony Tiganis
7. Patrick O Humbert
8. Ricky W Johnstone
9. Sarah M Russell

Reviewed by Review Commons

Maternal H3K36 and H3K27 HMTs protect germline development via regulation of the transcription factor LIN-15B

1. Chad Steven Cockrum
2. Susan Strome

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study provides a compelling and significant advance on the understanding of how gene regulation by the histone methyltransferase MES-4 underlies germ cell survival in C. elegans, with the major claims being nicely substantiated. The critical and surprising finding is that the degeneration of mes-4 mutant primordial germ cells is due to inappropriate upregulation of genes on the silenced X chromosome, and not failure to activate germline-expressed genes, though reduced levels of germline gene expression were observed. An X-linked target of mes-4, lin-15b, is necessary for the degeneration phenotype. The work could be improved by clarification of the relationship between X and autosomal gene expression, especially in consideration with the action of the other histone methyltransferase MET-1, but otherwise it is excellent.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

TGF-β signaling and Creb5 cooperatively regulate Fgf18 to control pharyngeal muscle development

1. Jifan Feng
2. Xia Han
3. Yuan Yuan
4. Courtney Kyeong Cho
5. Eva Janečková
6. Tingwei Guo
7. Siddhika Pareek
8. Md Shaifur Rahman
9. Banghong Zheng
10. Jing Bi
11. Junjun Jing
12. Mingyi Zhang
13. Jian Xu
14. Thach-Vu Ho
15. Yang Chai

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The authors bioinformatically analyze previous scRNA-seq datasets of the developing mouse soft palate to identify differential signaling pathway activities in the heterogeneous palatal mesenchyme. Identifying TGF-beta signaling pathway activity with the perimysial cells, they hypothesize and test whether TGF-beta signaling in the perimysial cells might regulate palatal muscle formation. This paper will be of high interest to developmental biologists interested in the molecular regulation of tissue interactions that occur during mammalian palate morphogenesis.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Murine blastocysts generated by in vitro fertilization show increased Warburg metabolism and altered lactate production

1. Seok Hee Lee
2. Xiaowei Liu
3. David Jimenez-Morales
4. Paolo F Rinaudo

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Some children conceived by assisted reproductive technologies (ART) exhibit metabolic differences compared to those conceived naturally, and the causes are unknown. This work reveals possible explanations for the metabolic differences and provides opportunities to improve ART and prevent the differences. This is a valuable contribution and will be of special interest to practitioners of ART, as well as to developmental and reproductive biologists.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Inter-organ Wingless/Ror/Akt signaling regulates nutrient-dependent hyperarborization of somatosensory neurons

1. Yasutetsu Kanaoka
2. Koun Onodera
3. Kaori Watanabe
4. Yusaku Hayashi
5. Tadao Usui
6. Tadashi Uemura
7. Yukako Hattori

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Nutrition profoundly affects neural development. The Uemura lab previously reported that C4da neurons elaborate complex dendrites when larvae grow on low-yeast diets, a phenomenon called neural sparing. In this current study, they define the molecular mechanism underlying the nutrition-mediated phenomenon and identify that the inter-organ Wingless/Ror/Akt pathway between the neuron and its adjacent muscles is necessary and sufficient to mediate dendrite overbranching in the low-yeast condition.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife