eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Glia control experience-dependent plasticity in an olfactory critical period

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Hans C Leier
   2. Alexander J Foden
   3. Darren A Jindal
   4. Abigail J Wilkov
   5. Paola Van der Linden Costello
   6. Pamela J Vanderzalm
   7. Jaeda Coutinho-Budd
   8. Masashi Tabuchi
   9. Heather T Broihier

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Periods in which experience regulates early plasticity in sensory circuits are well established, but the mechanisms that control these critical periods are poorly understood. In this important study, the authors examine early-life critical periods that regulate the Drosophila antennal lobe and show that constant odor exposure markedly reduces the volume, synapse number, and function of a specific glomerulus. The authors offer compelling evidence that these changes are mediated by the invasion of ensheathing glia into the glomerulus where they phagocytose connections via a mechanism involving the engulfment receptor Draper.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Should I stay or should I go? Spatiotemporal dynamics of bacterial biofilms in confined flows

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Massinissa Benbelkacem
   2. Gabriel Ramos
   3. Fatima El Garah
   4. Yara Abidine
   5. Christine Roques
   6. Yohan Davit

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study combines microfluidic experiments with mathematical modeling to elucidate the reciprocal interplay between flow dynamics and biofilm growth and detachment. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, the authors identify several key regimes and stages of biofilm development. Overall, the comparison between experimental observations of biofilm behavior under varying flow conditions and corresponding theoretical predictions forms a compelling understanding of the processes involved in biofilm dynamics. The results will be of interest to researchers studying biofilms and their technological and biological applications.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Physiological magnetic field strengths help magnetotactic bacteria navigate in simulated sediments

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Agnese Codutti
   2. Mohammad A Charsooghi
   3. Konrad Marx
   4. Elisa Cerdá-Doñate
   5. Omar Muñoz
   6. Paul Zaslansky
   7. Vitali Telezki
   8. Tom Robinson
   9. Damien Faivre
   10. Stefan Klumpp

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable experimental and numerical results on the motility of a magnetotactic bacterium living in sedimentary environments, particularly in environments of varying magnetic field strengths. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is compelling and the study will be of specific relevance to biophysicists interested in bacterial motility.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Simultaneous cyclin D1 overexpression and p27kip1 knockdown enable robust Müller glia cell cycle reactivation in uninjured mouse retina

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Zhifei Wu
   2. Baoshan Liao
   3. Julia Ying
   4. Jan Keung
   5. Zongli Zheng
   6. Virpi Ahola
   7. Wenjun Xiong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript presents a potentially important strategy for stimulating mammalian Müller glia to proliferate in vivo by manipulating cell cycle components. The results are convincing that a large number of Müller glia can be induced to re-enter the cell cycle without a damage stimulus. These findings are likely to appeal to retinal biologists and neuroscientists in general.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Glutamine catabolism supports amino acid biosynthesis and suppresses the integrated stress response to promote photoreceptor survival

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Moloy T Goswami
   2. Eric Weh
   3. Shubha Subramanya
   4. Katherine M Weh
   5. Hima Bindu Durumutla
   6. Heather Hager
   7. Nicholas Miller
   8. Sraboni Chaudhury
   9. Anthony Andren
   10. Peter Sajjakulnukit
   11. Li Zhang
   12. Cagri Besirli
   13. Costas A Lyssiotis
   14. Thomas J Wubben

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Goswami and colleagues used rod-specific Gls1 (the gene encoding glutaminase 1) knockout mice to investigate the role of GLS1 in photoreceptor health when GLS1 was deleted from developing or adult photoreceptor cells. This study is fundamental as it shows the critical role of glutamine catabolism in photoreceptor cell health using in vivo model systems. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is compelling. The studies add new insight into how specific metabolites support vision.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. The Drosophila hematopoietic niche assembles through collective cell migration controlled by neighbor tissues and Slit-Robo signaling

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Kara A Nelson
   2. Kari F Lenhart
   3. Lauren Anllo
   4. Stephen DiNardo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on the role of a well-studied signal transduction pathway, the Slit/Robo system, in the context of the assembly of the hematopoietic niche in the Drosophila embryo. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will interest developmental biologists working on molecular mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Malaria parasites require a divergent heme oxygenase for apicoplast gene expression and biogenesis

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Amanda Mixon Blackwell
   2. Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi
   3. Armiyaw S Nasamu
   4. Shota Kudo
   5. Akinobu Senoo
   6. Celine Slam
   7. Kouhei Tsumoto
   8. James A Wohlschlegel
   9. Jose Manuel Martinez Caaveiro
   10. Daniel E Goldberg
   11. Paul A Sigala

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reveals that the malaria parasite protein PfHO, although lacking typical heme oxygenase activity, is essential for the survival of Plasmodium falciparum. Structural and localization analyses demonstrated that PfHO plays a critical role in maintaining the apicoplast, specifically in gene expression and biogenesis, suggesting an adaptive function for this protein in parasite biology. While the findings convincingly support the authors' claims, further investigation into apicoplast gene expression and the specific function of PfHO remains a future challenge. The topic and results are important and will be of interest to researchers studying various aspects of malaria, Plasmodium physiology, host-pathogen interactions, and heme metabolism.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Massively Parallel Polyribosome Profiling Reveals Translation Defects of Human Disease-Relevant UTR Mutations

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Wei-Ping Li
   2. Jia-Ying Su
   3. Yu-Chi Chang
   4. Hung-Lun Chiang
   5. Yun-Lin Wang
   6. Ang-Chu Huang
   7. Yu-Tung Hsieh
   8. Yi-Hsuan Chiang
   9. Yen-Ling Ko
   10. Bing-Jen Chiang
   11. Cheng-Han Yang
   12. Yen-Tsung Huang
   13. Chien-Ling Lin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The effort is timely and the paper carries valuable insights into the function of UTR mutations. There are still significant concerns about both the quality of the screen data, and its ability to detect significant changes in translation and their direction. Therefore, the ability of the screen to support the extensive downstream statistical analysis is limited and leaves the paper incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Arabidopsis SDG proteins mediate Polycomb removal and transcription-coupled H3K36 methylation for gene activation

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Yicong Wang
   2. Masato Abe
   3. Yuka Kadoya
   4. Takeru Saiki
   5. Kanae Imai
   6. Xuejing Wang
   7. Taiko Kim To
   8. Soichi Inagaki
   9. Takamasa Suzuki
   10. Tetsuji Kakutani
   11. Toshiro Ito
   12. Nobutoshi Yamaguchi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying chromatin-mediated gene regulation by SET DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 7 (SDG7). The evidence supporting the author's claims – centered on a combination of imaging approaches with molecular and genetic experiments – is convincing, although certain aspects can be improved. The work will be of broad interest to molecular biologists studying epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Deficiency in DNAH12 causes male infertility by impairing DNAH1 and DNALI1 recruitment in humans and mice

    This article has 21 authors:

    1. Menglei Yang
    2. Hafiz Muhammad Jafar Hussain
    3. Manan Khan
    4. Zubair Muhammad
    5. Jianteng Zhou
    6. Ao Ma
    7. Xiongheng Huang
    8. Jingwei Ye
    9. Min Chen
    10. Aoran Zhi
    11. Tao Liu
    12. Ranjha Khan
    13. Ali Asim
    14. Wasim Shah
    15. Aurang Zeb
    16. Nisar Ahmad
    17. Huan Zhang
    18. Bo Xu
    19. Hui Ma
    20. Qinghua Shi
    21. Baolu Shi

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This fundamental study further validates DNAH12 as a causative gene for asthenoteratozoospermia and male infertility in both humans and mice. Compelling evidence supports the notion that DNAH12 is essential for proper axonemal development. This work will be of interest to reproductive biologists studying spermatogenesis and sperm biology, as well as andrologists focusing on male fertility.

    Reviewed by eLife