Molecular Biology

The yeast RNA methylation complex consists of conserved yet reconfigured components with m6A-dependent and independent roles

1. Imke Ensinck
2. Alexander Maman
3. Waleed S Albihlal
4. Michelangelo Lassandro
5. Giulia Salzano
6. Theodora Sideri
7. Steven A Howell
8. Enrica Calvani
9. Harshil Patel
10. Guy Bushkin
11. Markus Ralser
12. Ambrosius P Snijders
13. Mark Skehel
14. Ana Casañal
15. Schraga Schwartz
16. Folkert J van Werven

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This fundamental study identifies the components of the N6-methyladenosine methyltransferase complexes in yeasts, with major differences with the same complexes in mammals and flies. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, with rigorous high-throughput sequencing approaches and detailed functional analysis. This work will be of broad interest to colleagues in the RNA modification and meiosis fields.

Reviewed by eLife

Annexin A6 mediates calcium-dependent exosome secretion during plasma membrane repair

1. Justin Krish Williams
2. Jordan Matthew Ngo
3. Isabelle Madeline Lehman
4. Randy Schekman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This compelling study brings together two earlier observations: that Ca2+ influx can trigger exosome release from multivesicular bodies, and that plasma membrane repair after wounding requires Ca2+ and involves Ca2+-binding annexin proteins. This important work takes these earlier findings in an interesting new direction by showing that exosome release from MVBs is also triggered by Ca2+ influx during plasma membrane wounding and requires the annexin isoform ANX6. The study suggests a few possible mechanisms (such as Ca2+-dependent tethering of MVBs to the plasma membrane by ANX6) and raises the interesting possibility that cell injury and repair may contribute to the release of exosomes into biological fluids.

Reviewed by eLife

The nucleolar protein GNL3 prevents resection of stalled replication forks

1. Rana Lebdy
2. Marine Canut
3. Julie Patouillard
4. Jean‐Charles Cadoret
5. Anne Letessier
6. Josiane Ammar
7. Jihane Basbous
8. Serge Urbach
9. Benoit Miotto
10. Angelos Constantinou
11. Raghida Abou Merhi
12. Cyril Ribeyre

Reviewed by Review Commons

Using machine learning to predict protein–protein interactions between a zombie ant fungus and its carpenter ant host

1. Ian Will
2. William C. Beckerson
3. Charissa de Bekker

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

From silence to song: Testosterone triggers extensive transcriptional changes in the female canary HVC

1. Meng-Ching Ko
2. Carolina Frankl-Vilches
3. Antje Bakker
4. Nina Sohnius-Wilhelmi
5. Pepe Alcami
6. Manfred Gahr

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper is of interest to neuroscientists studying the effects of sex hormones on neural and behavioral plasticity, and more specifically to researchers studying the neural mechanisms underlying birdsong plasticity. The experimental design is excellent, and the work provides a comprehensive resource for understanding the intersection between testosterone's influence on gene expression and behavior. However, the work also makes claims concerning cellular effects and gene regulatory mechanisms that extend beyond the data and under the current analyses are not rigorously supported.

Reviewed by eLife

Control of telomere length in yeast by SUMOylated PCNA and the Elg1 PCNA unloader

1. Pragyan Singh
2. Inbal Gazy
3. Martin Kupiec

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study aims to discover the mechanisms governing the switch between conventional DNA replication and the specialized mechanism of telomere end replication. Solid genetic and biochemical assays suggest an interplay between sumoylated PCNA and chromosome terminal capping proteins. The questions addressed have implications for several fields, such as genome stability.

Reviewed by eLife

APE1 recruits ATRIP to ssDNA in an RPA-dependent and -independent manner to promote the ATR DNA damage response

1. Yunfeng Lin
2. Jia Li
3. Haichao Zhao
4. Anne McMahon
5. Kelly McGhee
6. Shan Yan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  In the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway, single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) activate a downstream kinase cascade with ATR/Chk1. Replication protein A (RPA) is believed to be essential for DDR activation by recruiting an ATR-partner protein, ATRIP, to RPA-coated ssDNAs through direct protein-protein interaction. This important paper provides convincing results, showing that an AP endonuclease, APE1 (APEX1), plays a role not only in RPA-dependent but also in RPA-independent recruitment of ATRIP on ssDNAs for DDR activation.

Reviewed by eLife

Bidirectional regulation of postmitotic H3K27me3 distributions underlie cerebellar granule neuron maturation dynamics

1. Vijyendra Ramesh
2. Fang Liu
3. Melyssa S Minto
4. Urann Chan
5. Anne E West

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents a useful inventory of chromatin modifications and genes that are up- and down-regulated during cerebellar development in vivo and in primary culture. The main claims were incomplete and would benefit from further analysis and/or additional experiments. The work will be of interest to biologists working on brain development.

Reviewed by eLife

The role of aneuploidy and polyclonality in the adaptation of the Protozoan parasite Leishmania to high drug pressure

1. Gabriel H. Negreira
2. Robin de Groote
3. Dorien Van Giel
4. Pieter Monsieurs
5. Ilse Maes
6. Geraldine de Muylder
7. Frederik Van den Broeck
8. Jean-Claude Dujardin
9. Malgorzata A. Domagalska

Reviewed by Review Commons

Stimulation of the catalytic activity of the tyrosine kinase Btk by the adaptor protein Grb2

1. Laura M Nocka
2. Timothy J Eisen
3. Anthony T Iavarone
4. Jay T Groves
5. John Kuriyan

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The authors' finding that Btk kinase activation relies on specific interactions with the Grb2 scaffold protein, including for recruitment into signaling clusters on membranes, is an unexpected finding that will potentially be of broad interest. The authors make a case for reinterpretation of the "Saraste dimer" of Btk as a signaling entity and assign roles to the component domains in the Src module in Btk activation, but the data provided are not yet fully convincing for this scenario.

Reviewed by eLife