Molecular Biology

Protective Immunity of the Primary SARS-CoV-2 Infection Reduces Disease Severity Post Re-Infection with Delta Variants in Syrian Hamsters

1. Sreelekshmy Mohandas
2. Pragya D. Yadav
3. Anita Shete
4. Dimpal Nyayanit
5. Rajlaxmi Jain
6. Gajanan Sapkal
7. Chandrashekhar Mote

Reviewed by ScreenIT

DNA-PK promotes DNA end resection at DNA double strand breaks in G0 cells

1. Faith C Fowler
2. Bo-Ruei Chen
3. Nicholas Zolnerowich
4. Wei Wu
5. Raphael Pavani
6. Jacob Paiano
7. Chelsea Peart
8. Zulong Chen
9. André Nussenzweig
10. Barry P Sleckman
11. Jessica K Tyler

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript will be of interest for scientists interested in cell cycle, DNA repair, and genome stability reporting the unexpected discovery that the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) is required for DSB resection in G0 cells, whereas it is known and confirmed here that it inhibits resection in G1 and G2 cells. This finding has important implications for the clinical application of DNA-PK-targeted inhibitors. The data are of high quality and derive from two independent cell lines, genetic requirements were mostly established by gene knockouts, and the latest genome-wide sequencing techniques were applied to measure resection tracts. The key claims of the manuscript are supported by the data presented by the authors; however, further validations are needed to strengthen the quality and impact of the paper.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A helicase-tethered ORC flip enables bidirectional helicase loading

1. Shalini Gupta
2. Larry J Friedman
3. Jeff Gelles
4. Stephen P Bell

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The paper describes single-molecule experiments that address the assembly of a double hexamer of the Mcm2-7 complex that is required to license all origins of DNA replication in eukaryotic cells by formation of a pre-Replicative Complex (pre-RC). The observations show that one Origin Recognition Complex, an ATP-dependent DNA binding protein, can load both Mcm2-7 hexamers in opposite orientation. The results nicely complement prior data on the mechanism of pre-RC assembly.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Establishment of developmental gene silencing by ordered polycomb complex recruitment in early zebrafish embryos

1. Graham JM Hickey
2. Candice L Wike
3. Xichen Nie
4. Yixuan Guo
5. Mengyao Tan
6. Patrick J Murphy
7. Bradley R Cairns

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript is of broad interest to developmental biologists and those studying transcriptional/epigenetic regulation of cell-specific and housekeeping gene programs. The work demonstrates that Polycomb complexes coordinate the regulation of distinct groups of genes during early embryogenesis, which offers interesting insights into how very early embryos differentially control housekeeping versus specific developmental gene promoters/enhancers. The data are of high quality, and the conclusions are insightful yet measured.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Genome-Wide Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Cytopathogenic Proteins in the Search of Antiviral Targets

1. Jiantao Zhang
2. Qi Li
3. Ruth S. Cruz Cosme
4. Volodymyr Gerzanich
5. Qiyi Tang
6. J. Marc Simard
7. Richard Y. Zhao

Reviewed by ScreenIT

A DCL3 dicing code within Pol IV-RDR2 transcripts diversifies the siRNA pool guiding RNA-directed DNA methylation

1. Andrew Loffer
2. Jasleen Singh
3. Akihito Fukudome
4. Vibhor Mishra
5. Feng Wang
6. Craig S Pikaard

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The paper is of interest to RNA biologists, especially to those who study small RNAs. The findings deepen our understanding of the rules of DCL3 dicing and explain how 23-nt and 24-nt siRNAs in the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway are produced. Overall, the data are of high quality and support the paper's conclusions.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Viral E protein neutralizes BET protein-mediated post-entry antagonism of SARS-CoV-2

1. Irene P. Chen
2. James E. Longbotham
3. Sarah McMahon
4. Rahul K. Suryawanshi
5. Mir M. Khalid
6. Taha Y. Taha
7. Takako Tabata
8. Jennifer M. Hayashi
9. Frank W. Soveg
10. Jared Carlson-Stevermer
11. Meghna Gupta
12. Meng Yao Zhang
13. Victor L. Lam
14. Yang Li
15. Zanlin Yu
16. Erron W. Titus
17. Amy Diallo
18. Jennifer Oki
19. Kevin Holden
20. Nevan Krogan
21. Danica Galonić Fujimori
22. Melanie Ott

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Profiling RT-LAMP tolerance of sequence variation for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection

1. Esta Tamanaha
2. Yinhua Zhang
3. Nathan A. Tanner

Reviewed by ScreenIT

A panel of nanobodies recognizing conserved hidden clefts of all SARS-CoV-2 spike variants including Omicron

1. Ryota Maeda
2. Junso Fujita
3. Yoshinobu Konishi
4. Yasuhiro Kazuma
5. Hiroyuki Yamazaki
6. Itsuki Anzai
7. Tokiko Watanabe
8. Keishi Yamaguchi
9. Kazuki Kasai
10. Kayoko Nagata
11. Yutaro Yamaoka
12. Kei Miyakawa
13. Akihide Ryo
14. Kotaro Shirakawa
15. Kei Sato
16. Fumiaki Makino
17. Yoshiharu Matsuura
18. Tsuyoshi Inoue
19. Akihiro Imura
20. Keiichi Namba
21. Akifumi Takaori-Kondo

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Structure–function analysis of the nsp14 N7–guanine methyltransferase reveals an essential role in Betacoronavirus replication

1. Natacha S. Ogando
2. Priscila El Kazzi
3. Jessika C. Zevenhoven-Dobbe
4. Brenda W. Bontes
5. Alice Decombe
6. Clara C. Posthuma
7. Volker Thiel
8. Bruno Canard
9. François Ferron
10. Etienne Decroly
11. Eric J. Snijder

Reviewed by ScreenIT