Microbiology

The vaccine candidate Liver Stage Antigen 3 is exported during Plasmodium falciparum infection and required for liver-stage development

1. Robyn McConville
2. Ryan WJ Steel
3. Matthew T O’Neill
4. Alan F Cowman
5. Norman Kneteman
6. Justin A Boddey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study provides new insights into the liver stage antigen LSA3, its export to erythrocytes, and its role in liver stage development. While the functional importance of LSA3 is well-demonstrated, the data underlying conclusions about antibody specificity, liver stage localization, and phenotype remain incomplete. A key gain is the use of mosquito and humanized mouse models to access life cycle stages rarely studied in most laboratories.

Reviewed by eLife

Provision of Preferred Nutrients to Macrophages Enables Salmonella to Replicate Intracellularly Without Relying on Type III Secretion Systems

1. Francisco-Javier Garcia-Rodriguez
2. Camila Valenzuela
3. Joaquin Bernal-Bayard
4. Pedro Escoll

Reviewed by Review Commons

Resource landscape shapes the composition and stability of the human vaginal microbiota

1. Tsukushi Kamiya
2. Mircea T. Sofonea
3. Michael France
4. Nicolas Tessandier
5. Ignacio G Bravo
6. Carmen Lia Murall
7. Jacques Ravel
8. Samuel Alizon

Reviewed by Peer Community in Ecology

Applying 3D correlative structured illumination microscopy and X-ray tomography to characterise herpes simplex virus-1 morphogenesis

1. Kamal L Nahas
2. Viv Connor
3. Kaveesha J Wijesinghe
4. Henry G Barrow
5. Ian M Dobbie
6. Maria Harkiolaki
7. Stephen C Graham
8. Colin M Crump

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This landmark manuscript comprehensively examines the roles of nine structural proteins in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) assembly and nuclear egress. By integrating cryo-light microscopy and soft X-ray tomography, the study presents an innovative approach to investigating viral assembly within cells. The research is thoroughly executed, yielding exceptional data that explain previously unknown functions expected to bear widespread influence. This work is of broad interest to virologists, cellular biologists, and structural biologists, offering a robust, contextually rich methodology for studying large protein complex assembly within the cellular environment, serving as an excellent starting point for high-resolution techniques.

Reviewed by eLife

The increase in cell volume and nuclear number of the koji-fungus Aspergillus oryzae contributes to its high enzyme productivity

1. Ayaka Itani
2. Haruto Motomura
3. Ken Oda
4. Hideyuki Yamashita
5. Kanae Sakai
6. Ken-ichi Kusumoto
7. Shinsuke Shigeto
8. Takehiko Ichikawa
9. Hosain Mohammad Mubarak
10. Takeshi Fukuma
11. Takuya Katayama
12. Jun-ichi Maruyama
13. Shunsuke Masuo
14. Naoki Takaya
15. Norio Takeshita

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The ratio of nuclei to cell volume is a well-controlled parameter in eukaryotic cells. This study now reports important findings that expand our understanding of the regulatory relationship between cell size and number of nuclei. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing obtained by applying appropriate and validated methodology in line with current state-of-the-art. The paper will be of broad interest for cell biologists and fungal biotechnologists seeking to understand mechanisms determining cell size and number of nuclei and why this knowledge might also be of importance for the production of enzymes and thus production strains not only of Aspergillus oryzae but also other industrially used fungi.

Reviewed by eLife

Quantitative RNA pseudouridine landscape reveals dynamic modification patterns and evolutionary conservation across bacterial species

1. Letong Xu
2. Shenghai Shen
3. Yizhou Zhang
4. Zhihao Guo
5. Beifang Lu
6. Jiadai Huang
7. Runsheng Li
8. Yitong Shen
9. Li-Sheng Zhang
10. Xin Deng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study illustrates a valuable application of BID-seq to bacterial RNA, allowing transcriptome-wide mapping of pseudouridine modifications across various bacterial species. The evidence presented includes a mix of solid and incomplete data and analyses, and would benefit from more rigorous approaches. The work will interest a specialized audience involved in RNA biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Starvation of the bacteria Vibrio atlanticus promotes lightning group-attacks on the dinoflagellate Alexandrium pacificum

1. Jean Luc Rolland
2. Estelle Masseret
3. Mohamed Laabir
4. Guillaume Tetreau
5. Benjamin Gourbal
6. Anne Thebault
7. Eric Abadie
8. Alice Rodrigues-Stien
9. Carole Veckerlé
10. Elodie Servanne-Meunier
11. Delphine Destoumieux-Garzón
12. Arnaud Lagorce
13. Raphaël Lami

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study convincingly shows that Vibrio bacteria act as predators of ecologically significant algae that contribute to harmful blooms in the lab, as well as in their natural habitat. While the data strongly suggest that starvation may induce predation, further work is needed to fully establish this link. Similarly, the evidence for a social component in the predation process remains incomplete. This study will be very impactful to those interested in the diversity of microbial predator-prey interactions and controlling toxic algal bloom, but the paper could be strengthened by more clearly showing the degree of replication, by better defining the terms used to describe the observed behaviour, and by providing better support for starvation and collective behaviour.

Reviewed by eLife

A pangenomics-enabled platform for the high-throughput discovery of antifungal resistance factors in crop pathogens

1. Guido Puccetti
2. Daniel Flückiger
3. Dominique Edel
4. Camille Delude
5. Sabina Moser Tralamazza
6. Thomas Badet
7. Gabriel Scalliet
8. Daniel Croll

Reviewed by PREreview

Mycobacterial Metallophosphatase MmpE Acts as a Nucleomodulin to Regulate Host Gene Expression and Promote Intracellular Survival

1. Liu Chen
2. Baojie Duan
3. Qiang Jiang
4. Yifan Wang
5. Yingyu Chen
6. Lei Zhang
7. Aizhen Guo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript is useful as it demonstrates that Rv2577, a Fe³⁺/Zn²⁺-dependent metallophosphatase, is secreted by Mycobacterium bovis BCG and localizes to the nucleus of mammalian cells, altering transcriptional and inflammatory responses. However, the study is incomplete as it lacks activity validation in macrophage cells and with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. It is necessary to confirm Rv2577 secretion from a virulent strain and to clarify the direct or indirect role of MmpE in modulating host pathways, together with mechanistic insight into how MmpE influences lysosomal biogenesis and trafficking.

Reviewed by eLife

IFIT1 is rapidly evolving and exhibits disparate antiviral activities across 11 mammalian orders

1. Matthew B McDougal
2. Ian N Boys
3. Anthony M De Maria
4. Emi Nakahara
5. John W Schoggins

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important report describes the changing antiviral activity of IFIT1 across mammals and in response to distinct viruses, likely as a result of past arms races. One of the main strengths of the manuscript is the breadth of mammalian IFIT1 orthologs and viruses that were tested, as well as the thoroughness of the positive selection analysis. Overall the evidence is convincing, and the discussion conveys well the limitations due to physical interactions with other IFITs that are not accounted for.

Reviewed by eLife