eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Visual information is broadcast among cortical areas in discrete channels

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Yiyi Yu
   2. Jeffery N Stirman
   3. Christopher R Dorsett
   4. Spencer LaVere Smith

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study uses state-of-the-art, multi-region two-photon calcium imaging to characterize the statistics of functional connectivity between visual cortical neurons. While the evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, alternative interpretations of the results cannot be ruled out due to the limitations of calcium imaging, the use of noise correlations as a measure of functional connectivity and putative confounds of behavioural state modulations.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Robust single-nucleus RNA sequencing reveals depot-specific cell population dynamics in adipose tissue remodeling during obesity

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Jisun So
   2. Olivia Strobel
   3. Jamie Wann
   4. Kyungchan Kim
   5. Avishek Paul
   6. Dominic J Acri
   7. Luke C Dabin
   8. Jungsu Kim
   9. Gang Peng
   10. Hyun Cheol Roh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     So et al. present an optimized protocol for single-nuclei RNA sequencing of adipose tissue in mice, ensuring better RNA quality and nuclei integrity. The authors use this protocol to explore the cellular landscape in both lean and diet-induced obese mice, identifying a dysfunctional hypertrophic adipocyte subpopulation linked to obesity. The data analyses are solid, and the findings are supported by the evidence presented. This study provides valuable information for the field of adipose tissue biology and will be particularly helpful for researchers using single-nuclei transcriptomics in various tissues.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. 2-oxoglutarate triggers assembly of active dodecameric Methanosarcina mazei glutamine synthetase

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Eva Herdering
   2. Tristan Reif-Trauttmansdorff
   3. Anuj Kumar
   4. Tim Habenicht
   5. Georg Hochberg
   6. Stefan Bohn
   7. Jan Schuller
   8. Ruth Anne Schmitz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study reveals a novel mechanism of glutamine synthetase (GS) regulation in Methanosarcina mazei, demonstrating that 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) directly promotes GS activity by stabilizing its dodecameric assembly. Using mass photometry, activity assays, and cryo-electron microscopy, the authors show that GS transitions from a dimeric, inactive form at low 2-OG concentrations to a fully active dodecameric complex at saturating 2-OG levels, highlighting 2-OG as a key effector in C/N sensing. The findings are valuable, supported by solid data, and provide new insights into archaeal GS regulation, though further clarification of interactions with known partners like Glnk1 and sp26 is needed.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Katanin, kinesin-13, and ataxin-2 inhibit premature interaction between maternal and paternal genomes in C. elegans zygotes

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Elizabeth A Beath
   2. Cynthia Bailey
   3. Meghana Mahantesh Magadam
   4. Shuyan Qiu
   5. Karen L McNally
   6. Francis J McNally

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is a valuable paper that identifies a potential challenge for embryos during fertilization: holding sperm contents in the fertilized embryos away from the oocyte meiotic spindle so that they don't get ejected into the polar body during meiotic chromosome segregation. The authors identify proteins involved in cytoplasmic streaming and maintaining the grouping of paternal organelles as being critical for this process. There remain minor weaknesses in the data presented but the paper provides solid evidence for the majority of its claims, and while the findings may pertain to a narrow audience the tools used and basic characterization shown will likely be relied upon by many in the community and therefore is of high value.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. DNAH3 deficiency causes flagellar inner dynein arm loss and male infertility in humans and mice

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Xiang Wang
   2. Gan Shen
   3. Yihong Yang
   4. Chuan Jiang
   5. Tiechao Ruan
   6. Xue Yang
   7. Liangchai Zhuo
   8. Yingteng Zhang
   9. Yangdi Ou
   10. Xinya Zhao
   11. Shunhua Long
   12. Xiangrong Tang
   13. Tingting Lin
   14. Ying Shen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study identifies biallelic variants of DNAH3 in unrelated infertile men and reports infertility in DNAH3 knockout mice. The authors demonstrate that compromised DNAH3 activity decreases the expression of IDA-associated proteins in the spermatozoa of human patients and knockout mice, providing convincing evidence that DNAH3 is a novel pathogenic gene for asthenoteratozoospermia and male infertility. The study will be of substantial interest to clinicians, reproductive counselors, embryologists, and basic researchers working on infertility and assisted reproductive technology.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Flamingo participates in multiple models of cell competition

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Pablo Sanchez Bosch
   2. Bomsoo Cho
   3. Jeffrey D Axelrod

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study investigates the role of the Cadherin Flamingo (Fmi) in cell competition in developing tissues in Drosophila melanogaster. The findings are valuable in that they show that Fmi is required in winning cells in several competitive contexts. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, as the authors identify Fmi as a potential new regulator of cell competition, however, they don't delve into a mechanistic understanding of how this occurs.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Target-specific requirements for RNA interference can arise through restricted RNA amplification despite the lack of specialized pathways

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Daphne R Knudsen-Palmer
   2. Pravrutha Raman
   3. Farida Ettefa
   4. Laura De Ravin
   5. Antony M Jose

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study shows how an intersecting network of regulators acting on genes with differences in their RNA metabolism explains why the loss of some regulators of RNAi in C. elegans can selectively impair the silencing of some target genes. The evidence presented is convincing, as the authors use a combination of computational modeling and RNAi assays to support their conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A drug repurposing approach reveals targetable epigenetic pathways in Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites

   This article has 48 authors:

   1. Steven P Maher
   2. Malina A Bakowski
   3. Amélie Vantaux
   4. Erika L Flannery
   5. Chiara Andolina
   6. Mohit Gupta
   7. Yevgeniya Antonova-Koch
   8. Magdalena Argomaniz
   9. Monica Cabrera-Mora
   10. Brice Campo
   11. Alexander T Chao
   12. Arnab K Chatterjee
   13. Wayne T Cheng
   14. Vorada Chuenchob
   15. Caitlin A Cooper
   16. Karissa Cottier
   17. Mary R Galinski
   18. Anke Harupa-Chung
   19. Hana Ji
   20. Sean B Joseph
   21. Todd Lenz
   22. Stefano Lonardi
   23. Jessica Matheson
   24. Sebastian A Mikolajczak
   25. Timothy Moeller
   26. Agnes Orban
   27. Vivian Padín-Irizarry
   28. Kastin Pan
   29. Julie Péneau
   30. Jacques Prudhomme
   31. Camille Roesch
   32. Anthony Ruberto
   33. Saniya S Sabnis
   34. Celia L Saney
   35. Jetsumon Sattabongkot
   36. Saleh Sereshki
   37. Sangrawee Suriyakan
   38. Ratawan Ubalee
   39. Yinsheng Wang
   40. Praphan Wasisakun
   41. Jiekai Yin
   42. Jean Popovici
   43. Case W McNamara
   44. Chester Joyner
   45. François H Nosten
   46. Benoît Witkowski
   47. Karine G Le Roch
   48. Dennis E Kyle

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper reports a large drug repurposing screen based on an in vitro culture platform to identify compounds that can kill Plasmodium hypnozoites. This valuable work adds to the current repertoire of anti-hypnozoites agents and uncovers targetable epigenetic pathways to enhance our understanding of this mysterious stage of the Plasmodium life cycle. The data presented here are based on solid methodology and represent a starting point for further investigation of epigenetic inhibitors to treat P. vivax infection. This paper will be of interest to Plasmodium researchers and more broadly to readers in the fields of host-pathogen interactions and drug development.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Dysregulated Ca2+ signaling, fluid secretion, and mitochondrial function in a mouse model of early Sjögren’s disease

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Kai-Ting Huang
   2. Larry E Wagner
   3. Takahiro Takano
   4. Xiao-Xuan Lin
   5. Harini Bagavant
   6. Umesh Deshmukh
   7. David I Yule

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript presents important observations on the early changes that occur in calcium signaling, TMEM16a channel activation, and mitochondrial dysfunction in salivary gland cells in a murine model of autoimmune Sjögren's disease. The study reports that in response to DMXAA treatment which induces a murine model of Sjögren's disease, salivary gland cells show significant changes in saliva release, calcium signaling, TMEM16a activation, mitochondrial function, and sub-cellular morphology of the endoplasmic reticulum. The work is compelling and will be of strong interest to physiologists working on secretion, calcium signaling, and mitochondria.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Distinct neural bases of subcomponents of the attentional blink

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Swagata Halder
    2. Deepak Velgapuni Raya
    3. Devarajan Sridharan

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This study provides an important contribution to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the limited capacity to process rapid sequences of visual stimuli. It reports convincing evidence that the attentional blink affects neurally separable processes of visual detection and discrimination. The study will be of interest to neuroscientists and psychologists investigating perception and attention.

    Reviewed by eLife