eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Serine hydroxymethyl transferase is a binding target of caprylic acid: Uncovering a novel molecular target for a herbicide and for producing caprylic acid-tolerant crops

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Zuren Li
   2. Mugui Wang
   3. Haodong Bai
   4. Hongzhi Wang
   5. Jincai Han
   6. Likun An
   7. Dingfeng Luo
   8. Yingying Wang
   9. Wei Kuang
   10. Xiaoyi Nie
   11. Lianyang Bai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a valuable contribution towards understanding the protein target and mechanism of action of an herbicide, which could be applied to the development of herbicide-based technologies to improve crop yields. Evidence is gathered using a variety of technical approaches that enrich and support the findings, but the methodology and the presentation of the results are incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Cas12f1 gene drives propagate efficiently in herpesviruses and induce minimal resistance

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Zhuangjie Lin
   2. Qiaorui Yao
   3. Keyuan Lai
   4. Kehua Jiao
   5. Xianying Zeng
   6. Guanxiong Lei
   7. Tongwen Zhang
   8. Hongsheng Dai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable paper by Yao, Dai, and colleagues describes a viral gene drive against herpes simplex virus 1 in cell culture. The authors provided solid evidence that an engineered gene drive sequence, expressing either spCas9 or Un1Cas12f1 nuclease, could spread efficiently in the population of wild-type viruses and induce fewer drive-resistant mutations than spCas9. Limitations include a mechanistically inaccurate title, several methodologic flaws, and a paucity of descriptions of possible therapeutic applications.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Bacillus velezensis HBXN2020 alleviates Salmonella Typhimurium infection in mice by improving intestinal barrier integrity and reducing inflammation

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Linkang Wang
   2. Haiyan Wang
   3. Xinxin Li
   4. Mengyuan Zhu
   5. Dongyang Gao
   6. Dayue Hu
   7. Zhixuan Xiong
   8. Xiangmin Li
   9. Ping Qian

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this useful study, Wang and colleagues investigate the potential probiotic effects of Bacillus velezensis in a murine model. They provide convincing evidence that B. velezensis limits the growth of Salmonella typhimurium in lab culture and in mice, together with beneficial effects on the microbiota. The overall presentation of the manuscript has improved and the work will be of interest to infectious disease researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Atlas of Fshr expression from novel reporter mice

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Hongqian Chen
   2. Hui-Qing Fang
   3. Jin-Tao Liu
   4. Shi-Yu Chang
   5. Li-Ben Cheng
   6. Ming-Xin Sun
   7. Jian-Rui Feng
   8. Ze-Min Liu
   9. Yong-Hong Zhang
   10. Clifford J Rosen
   11. Peng Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     These valuable findings develop a mouse model with trackable fusion Fshr protein, which will be of use to the field. The animal model helps to elucidate the expression and function of the FSH receptor in extra-gonadal tissues. The strength of the evidence is solid in most parts, although additional validation of the localization data would strengthen the study considerably.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Early steps of protein disaggregation by Hsp70 chaperone and class B J-domain proteins are shaped by Hsp110

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Wiktoria Sztangierska
   2. Hubert Wyszkowski
   3. Maria Pokornowska
   4. Klaudia Kochanowicz
   5. Michal Rychłowski
   6. Krzysztof Liberek
   7. Agnieszka Kłosowska

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides an important insight into the mechanisms of cooperation between Hsp70 and its cochaperones during reactivation of aggregated proteins. Based on convincing evidence, the authors demonstrate that the co-chaperone Hsp110 boosts disaggregation activity by enhancing Hsp70 recruitment to protein aggregates. This work is of broad interest to biochemists and cell biologists working in the protein homeostasis field.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A novel bioinformatics pipeline for the identification of immune inhibitory receptors as potential therapeutic targets

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Akashdip Singh
   2. Alberto Miranda Bedate
   3. Helen J von Richthofen
   4. Saskia V Vijver
   5. Michiel van der Vlist
   6. Raphael Kuhn
   7. Alexander Yermanos
   8. Jürgen J Kuball
   9. Can Kesmir
   10. M Ines Pascoal Ramos
   11. Linde Meyaard

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors presented a valuable bioinformatics pipeline for screening and identifying inhibitory receptors for potential drug targets. They provided solid evidence showing a sequential reduction in the search space through various screening tools and algorithms and demonstrated that this pipeline can be used to "rediscover" known targets. Further experimental validation on putative and unknown inhibitory receptors will strengthen the evidence reported in this work. This study will be of interest to bioinformaticians and computational biologists working on immune regulation, sequence screening, and target identification of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Damage-induced basal epithelial cell migration modulates the spatial organization of redox signaling and sensory neuron regeneration

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Alexandra M Fister
   2. Adam Horn
   3. Michael R Lasarev
   4. Anna Huttenlocher

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study identifies a novel link between the early keratinocyte response to wounds and the subsequent regenerative capacity of local sensory neurons. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing, although inclusion of conditional genetics or cell-autonomy tests would have strengthened the mechanistic aspects. The work will be of interest to cell and developmental biologists interested in tissue regeneration and cell interactions in a broader context.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Dependence of nucleosome mechanical stability on DNA mismatches

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Thuy TM Ngo
   2. Bailey Liu
   3. Feng Wang
   4. Aakash Basu
   5. Carl Wu
   6. Taekjip Ha

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript reports important data on the stability of nucleosomes with dsDNA substrates containing defined mismatches at three defined nucleosomal positions. Compelling evidence obtained by single-molecule FRET experiments shows that certain mismatches lead to more stable nucleosomes likely because mismatches kink to enhance DNA flexibility leading to higher nucleosome stability. The biological significance and implications of the findings remain unclear.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. A novel bivalent interaction mode underlies a non-catalytic mechanism for Pin1-mediated protein kinase C regulation

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Xiao-Ru Chen
   2. Karuna Dixit
   3. Yuan Yang
   4. Mark I McDermott
   5. Hasan Tanvir Imam
   6. Vytas A Bankaitis
   7. Tatyana I Igumenova

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Pin1 as an essential prolyl cis/trans isomerase has attracted considerable attention because this enzyme family is implicated in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the requirement for its catalytic function remains a matter of dispute. The authors provide solid evidence that Pin1 modulates the activity of an important cell signaling kinase, Protein Kinase C, by a non-catalytic mechanism, acting as a chaperone to regulate the stability of this kinase.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The Genetic Architecture of Dietary Iron Overload and Associated Pathology in Mice

    This article has 30 authors:

    1. Brie K. Fuqua
    2. Lambda Moses
    3. Stela McLachlan
    4. Calvin Pan
    5. Richard C. Davis
    6. Simon T. Hui
    7. Nam Che
    8. Zhiqiang Zhou
    9. Carmen Ng
    10. Sarada Charugundla
    11. Montgomery Blencowe
    12. Zara Saleem
    13. Aika Miikeda
    14. Beyza Ozdemir
    15. Chester Hui
    16. Thy Li
    17. Clara L. Stolin
    18. Marianne Kozuch
    19. Jie Zhou
    20. Kathryn Page
    21. Hiro Irimagawa
    22. Nam Ku
    23. Kodi Taraszka
    24. Nathan LaPierre
    25. David W. Killilea
    26. David M. Frazer
    27. Xia Yang
    28. Eleazar Eskin
    29. Chris D. Vulpe
    30. Aldons J. Lusis

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This manuscript presents a detailed phenotyping of the role of dietary iron in a large number of genetically distinct mouse strains. There are exciting and convincing data that could be valuable in their impact on the fields of nutrition, iron metabolism and anemia.

    Reviewed by eLife