Developmental Biology

Nucleation-dependent propagation of Polycomb modifications emerges during the Drosophila maternal to zygotic transition

1. Natalie Gonzaga-Saavedra
2. Eleanor A Degen
3. Isabella V Soluri
4. Corinne Croslyn
5. Shelby A Blythe

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study employed state-of-the-art quantitative imaging and genomics approaches to address a fundamental question regarding the establishment of Polycomb domains during Drosophila embryogenesis. The critical developmental stage was pinpointed to the maternal-to-zygotic transition, rather than earlier stages, providing clarification for the field. The roles of two factors, Zelda and GAGA-factor, were investigated, which reveal that Zelda, but not GAGA-factor, contributes to this process. These compelling findings have implications for chromatin and developmental biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Molecular dynamics of the matrisome across sea anemone life history

1. Bruno Gideon Bergheim
2. Alison G Cole
3. Mandy Rettel
4. Frank Stein
5. Stefan Redl
6. Michael W Hess
7. Aissam Ikmi
8. Suat Özbek

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides a comprehensive description of the Nematostella vectensis matrisome - the genes encoding the proteins of the extracellular matrix. The authors combine new mass spectrometry data with bioinformatic analyses of previously published genomic and single-cell RNAseq data. The analysis is thorough, and the discussion and conclusions are convincing. This work will be of interest to biologists working on the evolution of the matrisome, as well as more broadly those working with non-bilaterian animals.

Reviewed by eLife

Quantitative computerized analysis demonstrates strongly compartmentalized tissue deformation patterns underlying mammalian heart tube formation

1. Morena Raiola
2. Miquel Sendra
3. Jorge Nicolás Dominguez
4. Miguel Torres

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work substantially advances our understanding of tissue deformation and growth patterns during the earliest stages of mammalian heart development. One of the strengths of the work is the compelling quantitative approach to analyzing time-lapse imaging data using an original computational pipeline, which goes beyond the current state of the art and provides new insights into heart tube formation. Overall, this rigorous study will be of broad interest to computational and developmental biologists studying tissue dynamics.

Reviewed by eLife

Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye

1. Alicia Hurtado
2. Victor López-Soriano
3. Miguel Lao
4. M Angeles Celis-Barroso
5. Pilar Lazúen
6. Alejandro Chacón-de-Castro
7. Yolanda Ramírez-Casas
8. Miguel Alaminos
9. John Martin Collinson
10. Miguel Burgos
11. Rafael Jiménez
12. F David Carmona
13. Francisco Javier Barrionuevo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study informs the transcriptional mechanisms that promote stem cell differentiation and prevent degeneration in the adult eye. Through inducible mouse mutagenesis, the authors uncover a dual role for a transcription factor (Sox9) in stem cell differentiation and prevention of retinal degeneration. The data at hand convincingly support to the main conclusions. The study will be of general interest to the fields of neuronal development and neurodegeneration.

Reviewed by eLife

HIF1A-mediated pathways promote euploid cell survival in chromosomally mosaic embryos

1. Estefania Sanchez-Vasquez
2. Marianne E Bronner
3. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Sanchez-Vasquez et al establish an innovative approach to induce aneuploidy in preimplantation embryos. This important study extends the author's previous publications evaluating the consequences of aneuploidy in the mammalian embryo. In this work, the authors investigate the developmental potential of aneuploid embryos and characterize changes in gene expression profiles under normoxic and hypoxic culture conditions. Using a solid methodology they identify sensitivity to Hif1alpha loss in aneuploid embryos, and in further convincing experiments they assess how levels of DNA damage and DNA repair are altered under hypoxic and normoxic conditions.

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

Epicardial Tcf21 facilitates cardiomyocyte dedifferentiation and heart regeneration in zebrafish

1. Miglė Kalvaitytė-Repečkė
2. Sofija Gabrilavičiūtė
3. Kotryna Kvederavičiūtė
4. Leonard Burg
5. Edita Bakūnaitė
6. Kenneth D. Poss
7. Darius Balciunas

Reviewed by preLights

Distinct waves of ovarian follicles contribute to mouse oocyte production

1. Qi Yin
2. Allan C Spradling

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports that two distinct waves of ovarian follicles contribute to oocyte production in mice. The paper provides large amounts of data that will benefit future studies, although the methods and analysis are considered incomplete at present. Justification for the criteria of wave 1 follicles would benefit from further explanation and discussion. This work will be of interest to ovarian biologists and physicians working on female infertility.

Reviewed by eLife

Neural crest induction requires SALL4-mediated BAF recruitment to lineage specific enhancers

1. Martina Demurtas
2. Samantha M. Barnada
3. Emma van Domselaar
4. Zoe H. Mitchell
5. Laura Deelen
6. Marco Trizzino

Reviewed by Review Commons

A cell atlas of the developing human outflow tract of the heart and its adult derivatives

1. Rotem Leshem
2. Syed Murtuza Baker
3. Joshua Mallen
4. Lu Wang
5. John Dark
6. Andrew D Sharrocks
7. Karen Piper Hanley
8. Neil A Hanley
9. Magnus Rattray
10. Simon D Bamforth
11. Nicoletta Bobola

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable insights into human valve development by integrating snRNA-seq and spatial transcriptomics to characterize cell populations and regulatory programs in the embryonic and fetal outflow tract. The methods, data, and analyses are solid overall, but with some weaknesses that can be strengthened. The findings will be of interest to those who work in the field of heart development and congenital heart disease.

Reviewed by eLife

Sp Transcription Factors Establish the Signaling Environment in the Neuromesodermal Progenitor Niche During Axial Elongation

1. Ravindra B Chalamalasetty
2. Haley Tran
3. Ryan Kelly
4. Samuel Kuo
5. Mark W Kennedy
6. Moonsup Lee
7. Sara Thomas
8. Nikolaos Mandalos
9. Vishal Koparde
10. Francisco Pereira Lobo
11. Terry P Yamaguchi

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental work advances our understanding of how SP5 and SP8 promote neuromesodermal competent progenitors in murine embryos. Generally the evidence is compelling, with strong developmental genetics, transcriptomic, and genomic transcription binding surveys contributing to the strength of the data. Some of the language could be softened to avoid overinterpretation of the data, and figures and diagrams could be improved.

Reviewed by eLife