Biophysics

Dynamic Architecture of Mycobacterial Outer Membranes Revealed by All-Atom Simulations

1. Turner P Brown
2. Matthieu Chavent
3. Wonpil Im

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In their study, Brown et. al. provide an important advance in understanding the architecture of the mycobacterial outer membrane. Using all-atom simulations of model mycomembranes, the work reports compelling structural insights into how α-mycolic acids and outer leaflet lipids (PDIM and PAT) shape membrane organisation. The work revealed membrane heterogeneity with ordered inner leaflets and disordered outer leaflets that provide a molecular explanation for the resilience of the mycobacterial envelope.

Reviewed by eLife

Power-law decay of force on cell membrane tethers reflects long-ranged relaxation of membrane tension

1. Emeline Laborie
2. Andrew Callan-Jones

Reviewed by PREreview

Longitudinal awake imaging of mouse deep brain microvasculature with super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy

1. Yike Wang
2. Matthew R Lowerison
3. Zhe Huang
4. Qi You
5. Bing-Ze Lin
6. Daniel A Llano
7. Pengfei Song

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents important methodologies for repeated brain ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) in awake mice and a set of results indicating that wakefulness reduces vascularity and blood flow velocity. The data supporting these findings are solid. This study is relevant for scientists investigating vascular physiology in the brain.

Reviewed by eLife

Controlling the synchronization and symmetry breaking of coupled bacterial pili on active biofilm carpets

1. Baha Altın
2. Yusuf Ilker Yaman
3. Enes Talha Günay
4. Alp Ünlü
5. Yiğithan Gediz
6. Neslihan Gedik
7. Bora Karadaş
8. Mustafa Başaran
9. Coşkun Kocabaş
10. Şahin Özdemir
11. Aşkın Kocabaş

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study concerns the propagation of waves in bacterial biofilms, bridging active matter physics and bacterial biophysics. While the experimental observations are solid, the theoretical interpretation and model validation are currently incomplete and require further refinement. This work will be of interest to microbiologists, biophysicists, and researchers studying collective behavior in biological systems.

Reviewed by eLife

Scaling down protein language modeling with MSA Pairformer

1. Yo Akiyama
2. Zhidian Zhang
3. Milot Mirdita
4. Martin Steinegger
5. Sergey Ovchinnikov

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Twist is the key to the gating of mechanosensitive ion channel NOMPC

1. Jingze Duan
2. Chen Song

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study uses steered molecular dynamics simulations to interrogate force transmission in the mechanosensitive NOMPC channel, which plays roles including soft-touch perception, auditory function, and locomotion. The valuable finding that the ankyrin spring transmits force through torsional rather than compression forces may help understand the entire TRP channel family. The evidence is considered to be solid, although full opening of the channel is not seen, and it has been noted that experimental validation of reduced mechanosensitivity through mutagenesis of proposed ankyrin/TRP domain coupling interactions would help substantiate the findings.

Reviewed by eLife

Crossover in aromatic amino acid interaction strength between tyrosine and phenylalanine in biomolecular condensates

1. David De Sancho
2. Xabier Lopez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses advanced computational methods to elucidate how environmental dielectric properties influence the interaction strengths of tyrosine and phenylalanine in biomolecular condensates. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing, as the simulations are performed rigorously providing mechanistic insights into the origin of the differences between the two aromatic amino acids considered. This study will be of broad interest to researchers studying biomolecular phase separation.

Reviewed by eLife

Protein language model identifies disordered, conserved motifs implicated in phase separation

1. Yumeng Zhang
2. Jared Zheng
3. Bin Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study presents an analysis of evolutionary conservation in intrinsically disordered regions, identified as key drivers of phase separation, leveraging a protein language model. The strength of evidence presented is convincing overall, though the theoretical grounding could benefit from further development.

Reviewed by eLife

DIRseq as a method for predicting drug-interacting residues of intrinsically disordered proteins from sequences

1. Matt MacAinsh
2. Sanbo Qin
3. Huan-Xiang Zhou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study presents a sequence-based method for predicting drug-interacting residues in intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), addressing a significant challenge in understanding small-molecule:IDP interactions. The findings have solid support through examples underscoring the role of aromatic interactions. While predicted binding sites remain coarse, validation was done on a total of 10 IDPs at varying depths. The method builds on the authors' previous work and, with ad hoc modifications, is poised to benefit this emerging field.

Reviewed by eLife

Transport kinetics across interfaces between coexisting liquid phases

1. Lars Hubatsch
2. Stefano Bo
3. Tyler S Harmon
4. Anthony A Hyman
5. Christoph A Weber
6. Frank Jülicher

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study offers a valuable theoretical framework for quantifying molecular transport across interfaces between coexisting liquid phases, emphasizing interfacial resistance as a central factor governing transport kinetics. The mathematical derivations are solid. To enhance the paper's relevance and broaden its appeal, it would be helpful to clarify how the key equations connect to existing literature and to elucidate the physical mechanisms underlying scenarios that give rise to substantial interfacial resistance.

Reviewed by eLife