Developmental Biology

E2F/Dp inactivation in fat body cells triggers systemic metabolic changes

1. Maria Paula Zappia
2. Ana Guarner
3. Nadia Kellie-Smith
4. Alice Rogers
5. Robert Morris
6. Brandon Nicolay
7. Myriam Boukhali
8. Wilhelm Haas
9. Nicholas J Dyson
10. Maxim V Frolov

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Zappia et al investigate the function of E2F transcriptional activity in the development of Drosophila, with the aim of understanding which targets the E2F/Dp transcription factors control to facilitate development. They characterize changes in gene expression by proteomic profiling, and characterize Dp loss phenotypes in muscle, fat body, and the whole body. They document low levels of glycolytic intermediates and circulating trehalose, which is traced to loss of Dp in the fat body. Strikingly, this phenotype and the resulting lethality during the pupal stage (metamorphosis) can be rescued by increasing dietary sugar. Hence the authors provides new insights in the function of E2F/Dp.

  (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

Epi-mutations for spermatogenic defects by maternal exposure to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

1. Yukiko Tando
2. Hitoshi Hiura
3. Asuka Takehara
4. Yumi Ito-Matsuoka
5. Takahiro Arima
6. Yasuhisa Matsui

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Maternal exposure to a certain phthalate (DEHP) has been shown to cause spermatogenesis defects in the male progeny, and in their offspring. In their paper, Tando et al have investigated the molecular consequences of this maternal exposure on fetal and adult male germ cells by studying DNA methylation and gene expression by large-scale approaches. They found three genes previously known to be involved in spermatogenesis that are deregulated following maternal exposure to DEHP and which could contribute to the observed spermatogenesis defects.

  (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

Phosphoproteomics of ATR signaling in mouse testes

1. Jennie R Sims
2. Vitor M Faça
3. Catalina Pereira
4. Carolline Ascenção
5. William Comstock
6. Jumana Badar
7. Gerardo A Arroyo-Martinez
8. Raimundo Freire
9. Paula E Cohen
10. Robert S Weiss
11. Marcus B Smolka

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study describes a phosphoproteomic analysis of the ATR kinase signaling pathway in mouse testis. The study is well designed and performed, the manuscript is properly constructed and written, and the conclusions are supported by the data. The phosphoproteomic data obtained will be very useful resource for the DNA repair, meiosis, and reproductive biology communities studying the roles of the ATR-dependent DNA damage response pathway.

  (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

Coronary blood vessels from distinct origins converge to equivalent states during mouse and human development

1. Ragini Phansalkar
2. Josephine Krieger
3. Mingming Zhao
4. Sai Saroja Kolluru
5. Robert C Jones
6. Stephen R Quake
7. Irving Weissman
8. Daniel Bernstein
9. Virginia D Winn
10. Gaetano D'Amato
11. Kristy Red-Horse

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study investigates the relationships of endothelial cells that comprise the coronary vessels of the heart in mouse and humans. Starting from the knowledge that two sources of progenitor cells contribute to the coronary vessels, the work shows that adult coronary endothelial cells do not retain expression memory of their source, nor do they respond differently to cardiac injury. Finally, human datasets were generated and compared to mouse to show overall strong similarity between the species in coronary endothelial cell subtypes, suggesting that mouse is a relevant model for translation to human treatments and therapies.

  (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 names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

Svep1 stabilises developmental vascular anastomosis in reduced flow conditions

1. Baptiste Coxam
2. Russell T. Collins
3. Melina Hußmann
4. Yvonne Huisman
5. Katja Meier
6. Simone Jung
7. Eireen Bartels-Klein
8. Anna Szymborska
9. Lise Finotto
10. Christian S. M. Helker
11. Didier Y. R. Stainier
12. Stefan Schulte-Merker
13. Holger Gerhardt

Reviewed by Review Commons

Identification of neural progenitor cells and their progeny reveals long distance migration in the developing octopus brain

1. Astrid Deryckere
2. Ruth Styfhals
3. Ali Murat Elagoz
4. Gregory E Maes
5. Eve Seuntjens

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This is a well-presented study on the development of the central nervous system in the octopus O. vulgaris which is of broad interest to scientists in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. The authors provide an excellent in situ gene expression study of neural genes whose expression is conserved in the developing CNS across the animal kingdom. To identify the origin of neural progenitors in the early embryo, the study furthermore includes cell lineage tracing and the analysis of mitotic activity.

  (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

The EMT transcription factor Snai1 maintains myocardial wall integrity by repressing intermediate filament gene expression

1. Alessandra Gentile
2. Anabela Bensimon-Brito
3. Rashmi Priya
4. Hans-Martin Maischein
5. Janett Piesker
6. Stefan Guenther
7. Felix Gunawan
8. Didier YR Stainier

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The authors have highlighted an important aspect of epithelial maintenance in an environment that experiences significant biomechanical stress due to cardiac function. Using novel genetic models, detailed imaging and a thorough transcriptomic assessment, this story has the potential to enlighten both cell biologists and cardiovascular biologists on the underpinnings of myocardial integrity.

  (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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Duox-generated reactive oxygen species activate ATR/Chk1 to induce G2 arrest in Drosophila tracheoblasts

1. Amrutha Kizhedathu
2. Piyush Chhajed
3. Lahari Yeramala
4. Deblina Sain Basu
5. Tina Mukherjee
6. Kutti R Vinothkumar
7. Arjun Guha

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This interesting genetics study shows that two well known tumor suppressor genes, ATR and Chk1, have a new function in sensing oxidative stress agents. The study is good quality and the results generally support the rather novel conclusions. It should be of interest in the fields of cancer genetics and cell biology.

  (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

The cAMP effector PKA mediates Moody GPCR signaling in Drosophila blood–brain barrier formation and maturation

1. Xiaoling Li
2. Richard Fetter
3. Tina Schwabe
4. Christophe Jung
5. Liren Liu
6. Hermann Steller
7. Ulrike Gaul

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study advances our understanding of the Moody G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) pathway in blood-brain barrier development, and describes a new role for protein kinase A (PKA) and two downstream signaling molecules in this process. It is not entirely surprising that PKA is involved, as it is downstream of many/most GPCRs, but the reciprocal localization and signaling relationship that the authors describe within subperineurial glia for Moody/PKA is very interesting. Generally, the data look very good, and the electron microscopy work is particularly nice. With some improved statistical analyses, this manuscript will make an interesting contribution to the field of neurodevelopment.

  (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Deletion of Fibroblast growth factor 9 globally and in skeletal muscle results in enlarged tuberosities at sites of deltoid tendon attachments

1. Connor C. Leek
2. Jaclyn M. Soulas
3. Iman Bhattacharya
4. Elahe Ganji
5. Ryan C. Locke
6. Megan C. Smith
7. Jaysheel D. Bhavsar
8. Shawn W. Polson
9. David M. Ornitz
10. Megan L. Killian

Reviewed by Review Commons