eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Most Beefalo cattle have no detectable bison genetic ancestry

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Beth Shapiro
   2. Jonas Oppenheimer
   3. Michael P Heaton
   4. Kristen L Kuhn
   5. Richard E Green
   6. Harvey D Blackburn
   7. Timothy PL Smith

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study used whole genome data to investigate Beefalo ancestry for the first time. It provides insight into the genetics of Beefalo cattle, definitively challenging the long-held claim of 37.5% buffalo ancestry reported by the American Beefalo Association. This results are convincing, with a comprehensive range of well-established population genomics methods being used to estimate ancestry in these animals. This work will be of significant interest to evolutionary biologists, population geneticists, animal breeders, and those involved in the conservation genetics of bovine species.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Quantifying feral pig interactions to inform disease transmission networks

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Tatiana Proboste
   2. Abigail Turnlund
   3. Andrew Bengsen
   4. Matthew Gentle
   5. Cameron Wilson
   6. Lana Harriott
   7. Richard A Fuller
   8. Darren Marshall
   9. Ricardo J Soares-Magalhaes

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The authors aimed to quantify feral pig interactions in eastern Australia to inform disease transmission networks. They used GPS tracking data from 146 feral pigs across multiple locations to construct proximity-based social networks and analyze contact rates within and between pig social units. This fundamental study shows that targeting adult males in feral pig control programs could help global efforts to contain disease. The methods are compelling and the paper should be of interest to the fields of veterinary medicine, public health, and epidemiology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Variation in albumin glycation rates in birds suggests resistance to relative hyperglycaemia rather than conformity to the pace of life syndrome hypothesis

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Adrián Moreno Borrallo
   2. Sarahi Jaramillo Ortiz
   3. Christine Schaeffer-Reiss
   4. Benoît Quintard
   5. Benjamin Rey
   6. Pierre Bize
   7. Vincent A Viblanc
   8. Thierry Boulinier
   9. Olivier Chastel
   10. Jorge S Gutiérrez
   11. José A Masero
   12. Fabrice Bertile
   13. Francois Criscuolo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study uses extensive comparative analysis to examine the relationship between plasma glucose levels, albumin glycation levels, and diet and life history, within the framework of the "pace of life syndrome" hypothesis. The evidence that glucose is positively correlated with glycation levels and lifespan is convincing and, although there are some limitations related to data collection, they likely make the statistically significant findings more conservative. As the first extensive comparative analysis of glycation rates, life history, and glucose levels in birds, the study has the potential to be of interest to evolutionary ecologists and the aging research community more broadly.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. An H3-K9-me-independent binding of Swi6/HP1 to siRNA-DNA hybrids initiates heterochromatin assembly at cognate dg-dh repeats in Fission Yeast

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Jyotsna Kumar
   2. Swati Haldar
   3. Neelima Gupta
   4. Viney Kumar
   5. Manisha Thakur
   6. Keerthivasan Raanin Chandradoss
   7. Debarghya Ghose
   8. Dipak Dutta
   9. Kuljeet Singh Sandhu
   10. Jagmohan Singh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study aims to investigate the RNA binding activities of a conserved heterochromatin protein (Swi6) and proposes an entirely new model for how heterochromatin formation is initiated in fission yeast. While the concept is interesting, the data provided are inadequate, both for support of the claims regarding the new RNA binding activities and for support of the new model. The paper requires extensive editing as well as the inclusion of numerous experiments with appropriately controlled conditions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Small-molecule activation of TFEB alleviates Niemann–Pick disease type C via promoting lysosomal exocytosis and biogenesis

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Kaili Du
   2. Hongyu Chen
   3. Zhaonan Pan
   4. Mengli Zhao
   5. Shixue Cheng
   6. Yu Luo
   7. Wenhe Zhang
   8. Dan Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reports that activation of TFEB promotes lysosomal exocytosis and clearance of cholesterol from lysosomes, the strength of evidence for which is convincing with appropriate and validated methodology in line with current state-of-the-art. The significance of the findings is important in the context of Niemann-Pick Disease Type C as well as other subfields.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. p53 isoforms have a high aggregation propensity, interact with chaperones and lack binding to p53 interaction partners

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Anamari Brdar
   2. Christian Osterburg
   3. Philipp Münick
   4. Anne Christin Machel
   5. Rajeshwari Rathore
   6. Susanne Osterburg
   7. Büşra Yüksel
   8. Birgit Schäfer
   9. Kristina Desch
   10. Julian D Langer
   11. Ivan Dikic
   12. Volker Dötsch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript provides an important biochemical analysis of p53 isoforms, highlighting their aggregation propensity, interaction with chaperones, and dominant-negative effects on p53 family members. The authors have substantially strengthened the original manuscript by incorporating new mass spectrometry data and clarifying isoform-specific oligomerization behavior. Although the use of high expression levels limits direct physiological interpretation, the work is carefully framed as an investigation of protein misfolding and stability. Overall, this study offers convincing insights into p53 isoform biophysics with broad implications for cancer biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Screening the MMV Pathogen Box reveals the mitochondrial bc1-complex as a drug target in mature Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Deborah Maus
   2. Elyzana Putrianti
   3. Tobias Hoffmann
   4. Michael Laue
   5. Frank Seeber
   6. Martin Blume

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study utilizes a newly developed approach to culture T gondii bradyzoites in myotubes, and then takes advantage of the antiparasitic compound collection known as the Pathogen Box, to find compounds that target both tachyzoite and bradyzoite forms of the parasite. A set of compounds yielding patterns consistent with targeting the mitochondrial bc1 complex was explored further, with convincing evidence for changes in ATP production in bradyzoites to support the conclusions about the importance of this complex. The paper will be interesting for parasitologists studying drug discovery of apicomplexan parasites.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Pan-tissue transcriptome analysis reveals sex-dimorphic human aging

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Siqi Wang
   2. Danyue Dong
   3. Xin Li
   4. Zefeng Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this study Wang et. al. mined publicly available RNA-seq data from The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database spanning multiple tissues to ask the question of how transcriptomes are changed with age and in both sexes. The authors provide solid evidence reporting widespread gene expression changes and alternative splicing events that vary in an age- and sex-dependent manner. An important finding is that many of these changes coincide with the time sex hormones begin to decline; additionally, the rate of aging is faster in males than in females.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Sox9 prevents retinal degeneration and is required for limbal stem cell differentiation in the adult mouse eye

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Alicia Hurtado
   2. Victor López-Soriano
   3. Miguel Lao
   4. M Angeles Celis-Barroso
   5. Pilar Lazúen
   6. Alejandro Chacón-de-Castro
   7. Yolanda Ramírez-Casas
   8. Miguel Alaminos
   9. John Martin Collinson
   10. Miguel Burgos
   11. Rafael Jiménez
   12. F David Carmona
   13. Francisco Javier Barrionuevo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study informs the transcriptional mechanisms that promote stem cell differentiation and prevent degeneration in the adult eye. Through inducible mouse mutagenesis, the authors uncover a dual role for a transcription factor (Sox9) in stem cell differentiation and prevention of retinal degeneration. The data at hand convincingly support to the main conclusions. The study will be of general interest to the fields of neuronal development and neurodegeneration.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Evolutionary unique N-glycan-dependent protein quality control system plays pivotal roles in cellular fitness and extracellular vesicle transport in Cryptococcus neoformans

    This article has 12 authors:

    1. Catia Mota
    2. Kiseung Kim
    3. Ye Ji Son
    4. Eun Jung Thak
    5. Su-Bin Lee
    6. Ju-El Kim
    7. Jeong-Kee Yoon
    8. Min-Ho Kang
    9. Heeyoun Hwang
    10. Yong-Sun Bahn
    11. J Andrew Alspaugh
    12. Hyun Ah Kang

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important study confirms the molecular function of putative components of the N-glycan-dependent endoplasmic reticulum protein quality control (ERQC) system in the pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. The study demonstrates an involvement in fitness, virulence, and the secretion and composition of extracellular vesicles, albeit in ways that are not yet fully understood. The evidence provided is convincing, with rigorous, well-controlled assays and the use of complemented strains.

    Reviewed by eLife