eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. The overall and sequence-specific degradation of soil extracellular 16S rRNA genes across China: rates and influential factors

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Ting Li
   2. Song Zhang
   3. Zelin Wang
   4. Wei Huang
   5. Zejin Zhang
   6. Fang Wang
   7. Dong Liu
   8. Xiaoyong Cui
   9. Rongxiao Che

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study introduces an innovative experimental design to address a crucial and timely issue in microbial ecology: the potential bias in soil microbial community analyses caused by extracellular DNA degradation. While the evidence showing variable degradation rates of extracellular DNA is convincing, additional conceptual, methodological, and statistical clarifications could reinforce the claims and the study's contribution to the field. This research will appeal to microbial ecologists and researchers interested in using molecular techniques to evaluate microbial community structure.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Long-range neural pathways for octopus chemotactile processing revealed from periphery-to-brain by centimeter-field microCT

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Andrew Sugarman
   2. Daniel Vanselow
   3. David Northover
   4. Stephen L Senft
   5. Carolyn Zaino
   6. Maksim A Yakovlev
   7. Jessica Christ
   8. Justin D Silverman
   9. Mee S Ngu
   10. Khai C Ang
   11. Steve Wang
   12. Wen-Sung Chung
   13. Patrick La Riviere
   14. Roger T Hanlon
   15. Keith C Cheng

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this study, the authors use microCT to image an intact hatchling octopus and segment major organ systems, including the vascular, respiratory, digestive, and nervous systems. The resulting dataset is of good quality, and its release through a public web interface is a valuable resource for the community to explore cephalopod mesoscale anatomy. However, the authors claim to have elucidated previously uncharacterized chemotactile pathways from the suckers to the brain, for which there is incomplete evidence, as microCT does not reveal structural connectivity. In addition, the language is often overly complex, obscuring the main points and making it difficult to assess the strength of individual claims. This article would benefit from more cautious framing of the anatomical findings and complementary neuronal tracing experiments to support the proposed pathways.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Gene specificity landscapes for comparative transcriptomic analysis across tissues, cell types, and species

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Erik Bot
   2. Jose Davila-Velderrain

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study advances a new computational approach to measure and visualize gene expression specificity across different tissues and cell types. The framework is potentially helpful for improving the way gene expression specificity is defined across biological datasets, especially among single-cell datasets. The evidence supporting the method is generally solid, although further evaluation of the method's robustness and comparison to other approaches would strengthen the conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Five-layer systems analysis of Leishmania stage differentiation reveals an essential role for protein degradation in parasite development

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Pascale Pescher
   2. Thibaut Douché
   3. Quentin Giai-Gianetto
   4. Karen Druart
   5. Julie Kovarova
   6. Blaise Li
   7. Thomas Cokelaer
   8. K Shanmugha Rajan
   9. Laura Piel
   10. Céline Besse
   11. Anne Boland
   12. Jean-François Deleuze
   13. Mariette Matondo
   14. Michael P Barrett
   15. Shulamit Michaeli
   16. Gerald F Späth

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides a comprehensive multi-omics characterization of Leishmania donovani stage differentiation, offering insights into the molecular basis of parasite adaptation across host environments. The authors present convincing evidence that stage transitions are not driven by genomic variation but instead rely on coordinated post-transcriptional regulation, including mRNA turnover, translation, and protein degradation. Although experimental validation of these findings and conclusions remains to be completed, the integration of diverse, high-quality datasets establishes a robust resource that will be of broad utility to researchers investigating Leishmania biology and life-cycle progression.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

5. HIV-1 Envelope glycoprotein modulates CXCR4 clustering and dynamics on the T cell membrane

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Adriana Quijada-Freire
   2. César A Santiago
   3. Eva M García-Cuesta
   4. Blanca Soler-Palacios
   5. Rosa Ayala-Bueno
   6. Sofía R Gardeta
   7. Enara San Sebastian
   8. Eva Armendariz-Burgoa
   9. María C Puertas
   10. Ricardo Villares
   11. Urtzi Garaigorta
   12. Luis Ignacio González-Granado
   13. José Miguel Rodríguez-Frade
   14. Jakub Chojnacki
   15. Javier Martinez-Picado
   16. Mario Mellado

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into how HIV-1 Env modulates the nanoscale organization and dynamics of the CXCR4 co-receptor on T cells, using quantitative imaging and functional approaches, the authors present convincing evidence that gp120 engagement promotes CD4-dependent clustering and altered mobility of CXCR4, distinct from the effects of the natural ligand CXCL12. Some concerns were raised regarding the interpretation of the single-particle tracking analyses, and additional clarification or analysis may help strengthen the conclusions. The physiological relevance of the findings could be further enhanced by validation with infectious virus and by more clearly integrating the CXCR4R334X mutant observations into the central mechanistic narrative. The work will be of interest to researchers studying HIV entry and membrane receptor organization.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

6. Serotonergic modulation of motor subspace dynamics drives a sleep-independent quiescent state

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Kexin Qi
   2. Yuming Chai
   3. Guodong Tan
   4. Daguang Li
   5. Quan Wen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In light of the diverse functions associated with the Dorsal Raphe Nucleus across vertebrate species, this important study presents findings on the role of serotonin in promoting behavioral quiescence through the regulation of neuromotor populations. Combining optogenetics with brain-wide activity analyses, the study provides convincing evidence of interest to researchers in neuromodulation and translational medicine fields.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Dopaminergic Modulation of Mushroom Body Output Neurons Mediates Nociception-Induced Escape in Drosophila

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Chi-Lien Yang
   2. Chia-Wen Chen
   3. Kuan-Lin Feng
   4. Hsiao-Chien Peng
   5. Ming-Chin Wu
   6. Ching-Che Charng
   7. Li-An Chu
   8. Yeong-Ray Wen
   9. Ann-Shyn Chiang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents important findings for the understanding of central brain circuits that underlie nociception-induced escape. Using a laser-based nociception assay, chronic neuronal silencing, trans-Tango anatomical tracing, and reference to connectomic data, the authors propose that nociceptive signals (from painless- and trpA1-expressing neurons) converge on a subset of dopaminergic neurons (subsets of PPL1 and PAM), which in turn engage mushroom body output neurons (MBONs) to shape escape latency. However, methods and controls fall short of fully supporting the findings, rendering the evidence incomplete. This study will be of interest to scientists studying nociception and learning and memory circuits.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Negative-Valence Neurons in the Larval Zebrafish Pallium

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Colton D Smith
   2. Zhuowei Du
   3. William P Dempsey
   4. Scott E Fraser
   5. Thai V Truong
   6. Don B Arnold

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable work identifies a subpopulation of neurons in the larval zebrafish pallium that responds differentially to varying threat levels, potentially mediating the categorization of negative valence. The evidence supporting these claims is solid; however, the study would be strengthened by more sophisticated analyses of functional imaging results, behavioral confirmation of stimulus valence, and further evidence linking the functionally distinct clusters to their molecular identity. This work will be of interest to systems neuroscientists investigating the circuit-level encoding of emotion and defensive behavior.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Speech is defined by theta-gamma coupled acoustic rhythms, mapped onto segregated populations in human early auditory cortex

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Víctor J López-Madrona
   2. Jérémy Giroud
   3. Manuel Mercier
   4. Léonardo Lancia
   5. Bruno L Giordano
   6. Agnès Trébuchon
   7. David Poeppel
   8. Anne-Lise Giraud
   9. Luc H Arnal
   10. Benjamin Morillon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript presents important findings that challenge traditional models of speech processing by demonstrating that theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling in the auditory cortex is primarily a stimulus-driven alignment to external acoustic structures rather than an intrinsic neural oscillatory mechanism. The evidence supporting these claims is convincing, grounded in a robust cross-linguistic acoustic analysis and high-fidelity, time-resolved intracranial recordings.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Infant Brains Tick at 4Hz – Resonance Properties of the Developing Visual System

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Marlena Baldauf
    2. Ole Jensen
    3. Moritz Köster

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This is a potentially important study comparing infants (8 months) and adults with respect to rhythmic EEG response properties during periodic and aperiodic visual stimulation. The results provide solid evidence for a ~4 Hz EEG response in infants that emerges independently of stimulation frequency. At this stage, additional work will be required to conclusively establish that this theta-band effect reflects genuine neural resonance rather than oculomotor processes.

    Reviewed by eLife