The Story of the Finest Armor: Developmental Aspects of Reptile Skin
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors,
I really enjoyed reading your review on the problem of reptile skin development in ontogeny. The paper certainly deserves publication in such prestigious journal. I was able to identify only a few errors that can be easily eliminated by you (see attached file). I wish you successful publication of your work.
Comments for author File:
Line 31 - remove icon "
37 – Fig. 1 - Give a link to the source in the caption – [5 ]
37, 52, 196, 256, 269, 289, 290, Fig 1 and Fig 3 - Replace Oberhautchen with Oberhäutchen, always capitalized (256, 269).
402 - Gekkojaponicus replaced with Gekko japonicas
453 - insert St. Petersburg University.
List of cited literature - unify: replace with a comma, put a dot after the title of the journal
381 and 384 - reference is made twice. I propose to replace reference 20 with Alibardi L., 2022. Keratinization and Cornification are not equivalent processes but keratinization in fish and amphibians evolved into cornification in terrestrial vertebrates. January 2022 Experimental Dermatology 31(5) DOI: 10.1111/exd.14525
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your time and critics. We have read and study all your comments carefully and try to edit the article accordingly. Please find our responses to your comments both in the following sentences and within the MS word document. We have had help to review the language of the article. Please find the changes throughout the text. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Reviewer1:
Dear authors,
I really enjoyed reading your review on the problem of reptile skin development in ontogeny. The paper certainly deserves publication in such prestigious journal. I was able to identify only a few errors that can be easily eliminated by you (see attached file). I wish you successful publication of your work.
Authors: Thank you for your comments. Please find our responses below.
Line 31 - remove icon "
Authors: It has been removed.
37 – Fig. 1 - Give a link to the source in the caption – [5 ]
Authors: The link has been given.
37, 52, 196, 256, 269, 289, 290, Fig 1 and Fig 3 - Replace Oberhautchen with Oberhäutchen, always capitalized (256, 269).
Authors: The word has been corrected throughout the text.
402 - Gekkojaponicus replaced with Gekko japonicas
Authors: It has been replaced.
453 - insert St. Petersburg University.
Authors: Inserted.
List of cited literature - unify: replace with a comma, put a dot after the title of the journal
Authors: All the references list has been edited according to the journal’s instructions.
381 and 384 - reference is made twice. I propose to replace reference 20 with Alibardi L., 2022. Keratinization and Cornification are not equivalent processes but keratinization in fish and amphibians evolved into cornification in terrestrial vertebrates. January 2022 Experimental Dermatology 31(5) DOI: 10.1111/exd.14525
Authors: The reference has been replaced with the previous duplicate one. Thank you.
Reviewer 2 Report
This review article is very useful. The length of the text is good. Illustrations are largely good. The weakness of the manuscript is the poor use of the English language.
The manuscript contains many mistakes of grammar. Examples/corrections:
Astract:
The epidermis, the hard cover of the body which has an armor-like role, varies among extant reptiles
The outer horny layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum is constituted of keratinocytes
Line 41: it’s should be its
Figure 2: A very similar figure was published in a paper by Professor Alibardi. The similarity is significant enough to justify a statement like “The figure is modified from….” including the reference.
Line 96: This cannot be a beta-cell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_cell
The references should be cited immediately when statements need support. This means: Citations should be given within paragraphs, not only at the end of paragraphs.
Line 142: “Scutes of both Archosaurs and anapsids come from placodes. But the scales of Lepidosaurs, unlike these, developed without placodes.” Please add references and change the wording.
Correct the references. Page numbers are missing in line 351. A correction is necessary in line 453.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for your time and critics. We have read and study all your comments carefully and try to edit the article accordingly. Please find our responses to your comments both in the following sentences and within the MS word document. We have had help to review the language of the article. Please find the changes throughout the text. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Reviewer2:
This review article is very useful. The length of the text is good. Illustrations are largely good. The weakness of the manuscript is the poor use of the English language.
Authors: Thank you for your comments. Please find our responses below.
The manuscript contains many mistakes of grammar.
Authors: All the article has been edited with the help of a English translator.
Examples/corrections:
Astract:
The epidermis, the hard cover of the body which has an armor-like role, varies among extant reptiles
The outer horny layer of the epidermis, the stratum corneum is constituted of keratinocytes
Authors: The sentences have been corrected.
Line 41: it’s should be its
Authors: It has been corrected.
Figure 2: A very similar figure was published in a paper by Professor Alibardi. The similarity is significant enough to justify a statement like “The figure is modified from….” including the reference.
Authors: The reference has been added to the caption.
Line 96: This cannot be a beta-cell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_cell
Authors: You've pointed out the langerhans cells of the pancreas, if I understand you comment correctly. One of the α, β, δ cells. But we meant as a beta-layer cell just like in the articles below by Dr. Alibardi.
The line below is from Alibardi, L. (2016). The process of cornification evolved from the initial keratinization in the epidermis and epidermal derivatives of vertebrates: a new synthesis and the case of sauropsids. International review of cell and molecular biology, 327, 263-319.
"In fact, expression for beta-keratins occurs only in the spindle-shaped beta-cells of reptilian scales, claws, and beak"
The line below is from Alibardi, L. (2021). Development, structure, and protein composition of the corneous beak in turtles. The Anatomical Record, 304(12), 2703-2725.
"The cytoplasm of beta-cells accumulates large amounts of coarse granules or bundles (beta-packets /bundles) of low to higher and variegated electron-density that merge into corneous bundles containing prevalently CBPs in addition to IFKs and other unknown proteins."
Therefore, we did not change the term yet we can change "beta-cell" to "corneocyte" if you think that will rule out the confusion.
The references should be cited immediately when statements need support. This means: Citations should be given within paragraphs, not only at the end of paragraphs.
Authors: We have applied this to some point.
Line 142: “Scutes of both Archosaurs and anapsids come from placodes. But the scales of Lepidosaurs, unlike these, developed without placodes.” Please add references and change the wording.
Authors: References has been added.
Correct the references. Page numbers are missing in line 351. A correction is necessary in line 453.
Authors: All the references list has been edited according to the journal’s instructions.
