eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. FBXO24 modulates mRNA alternative splicing and MIWI degradation and is required for normal sperm formation and male fertility

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Zhiming Li
   2. Xingping Liu
   3. Yan Zhang
   4. Yuanyuan Li
   5. Liquan Zhou
   6. Shuiqiao Yuan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study provides insights into the role of FBXO24 in controlling spermiogenesis and male fertility in mice. The mouse models used and the data are convincing. This paper will interest biomedical researchers working on reproductive biology and fertility control.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Cell chirality reversal through tilted balance between polymerization of radial fibers and clockwise-swirling of transverse arcs

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Hoi Kwan Kwong
   2. Miu Ling Lam
   3. Siying Wu
   4. Cho Fan Chung
   5. Jianpeng Wu
   6. Lok Ting Chu
   7. King Hoo Lim
   8. Hiu Lam Chow
   9. Hogi Hartanto
   10. Wengang Liu
   11. Kwan Ting Chow
   12. Ting-Hsuan Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The intrinsic chirality of actin filaments (F-actin) is implicated in the chiral arrangement and movement of cellular structures, but it was unknown how opposite chiralities can arise when the chirality of F-actin is invariant. Kwong et al. present evidence that two actin filament-based cytoskeletal structures, transverse actin arcs and radial stress fibers, drive clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation, respectively. This fundamental work, which has broad implications for cell biology, is supported by compelling data.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. MCAK Recognizes the Nucleotide-Dependent Feature at Growing Microtubule Ends

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Wei Chen
   2. Yin-Long Song
   3. Jian-Feng He
   4. Xin Liang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This work presents valuable new information on the microtubule-binding mode of the microtubule kinesin-13, MCAK. The authors use quantitative single-molecule studies to propose that MCAK preferentially binds to a GDP-Pi-tubulin portion of the microtubule end. However, the evidence provided to support this claim remains incomplete and would benefit from a more rigorous methodology. Additionally, the physiological relevance of the proposed binding mode remains speculative.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Surprising features of nuclear receptor interaction networks revealed by live-cell single-molecule imaging

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Liza Dahal
   2. Thomas GW Graham
   3. Gina M Dailey
   4. Alec Heckert
   5. Robert Tjian
   6. Xavier Darzacq

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study provides data that challenges the standard model that binding of Type 2 Nuclear Receptors to chromatin is limited by the available pool of their common heterodimerization partner Retinoid X Receptor. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, utilizing state-of-the-art single-molecule microscopy. This work will be of broad interest to cell biologists who wish to determine limiting factors in gene regulatory networks.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Structural insights into the orthosteric inhibition of P2X receptors by non-ATP analog antagonists

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Danqi Sheng
   2. Chen-Xi Yue
   3. Fei Jin
   4. Yao Wang
   5. Muneyoshi Ichikawa
   6. Ye Yu
   7. Chang-Run Guo
   8. Motoyuki Hattori

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study by Sheng and colleagues provides valuable insights into the mechanism of competitive inhibitors of P2X receptors. The structural and functional evidence supporting the subtype specificity of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate derivatives is compelling and provides information for designing drugs that selectively target different subtypes of P2X receptor channels. The work will be of interest to biochemists, structural biologists, and pharmacologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. The Listeria monocytogenes persistence factor ClpL is a potent stand-alone disaggregase

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Valentin Bohl
   2. Nele Merret Hollmann
   3. Tobias Melzer
   4. Panagiotis Katikaridis
   5. Lena Meins
   6. Bernd Simon
   7. Dirk Flemming
   8. Irmgard Sinning
   9. Janosch Hennig
   10. Axel Mogk

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important manuscript details the characterization of ClpL from L. monocytogenes as an effective and autonomous AAA+ disaggregase that provides enhanced heat resistance to this food-borne pathogen. Supported by compelling evidence, the authors demonstrate that ClpL has DnaK-independent disaggregase activity towards a variety of aggregated model substrates, which is more potent than that observed with the endogenous canonical DnaK/ClpB bi-chaperone system. The work will be of broad interest to microbiologists and biochemists.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. PfMORC protein regulates chromatin accessibility and transcriptional repression in the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Zeinab M Chahine
   2. Mohit Gupta
   3. Todd Lenz
   4. Thomas Hollin
   5. Steven Abel
   6. Charles Banks
   7. Anita Saraf
   8. Jacques Prudhomme
   9. Suhani Bhanvadia
   10. Laurence A Florens
   11. Karine G Le Roch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study examines the role of Microrchidia (MORC) proteins in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Solid experimental results, including genome editing and chromatin profiling methods (ChIP-seq and Hi-C), provide a comprehensive picture of the critical role MORC plays in shaping parasite chromatin. Depletion of MORC results in a lethal collapse of heterochromatin and parasite death, nominating the factor as a new target of antimalarial therapies.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The exocyst complex controls multiple events in the pathway of regulated exocytosis

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Sofía Suárez Freire
   2. Sebastián Perez-Pandolfo
   3. Sabrina Micaela Fresco
   4. Julián Valinoti
   5. Eleonora Sorianello
   6. Pablo Wappner
   7. Mariana Melani

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study makes an important contribution by characterizing the role of the exocyst in secretory granule exocytosis in the Drosophila larval salivary gland. The results are solid and lead to the novel interpretation that the exocyst participates not only in exocytosis, but also in earlier steps of secretory granule biogenesis and maturation. However, the authors are urged to provide additional proof that the exocyst subunit knockdowns were effective and to acknowledge the possibility that inactivation of an essential exocytosis component could indirectly affect other parts of the secretory pathway.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Higher ratio of plasma omega-6/omega-3 fatty acids is associated with greater risk of all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality: A population-based cohort study in UK Biobank

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Yuchen Zhang
   2. Yitang Sun
   3. Qi Yu
   4. Suhang Song
   5. J Thomas Brenna
   6. Ye Shen
   7. Kaixiong Ye

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript provides convincing evidence that both circulating omega-6 and omega-3 PUFAs are associated with lower all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality in the UK BioBank population and that omega-3s have a stronger effect than omega-6s. The findings have important public health implications.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Quantification of sporozoite expelling by Anopheles mosquitoes infected with laboratory and naturally circulating P. falciparum gametocytes

    This article has 17 authors:

    1. Chiara Andolina
    2. Wouter Graumans
    3. Moussa Guelbeogo
    4. Geert-Jan van Gemert
    5. Jordache Ramijth
    6. Soré Harouna
    7. Zongo Soumanaba
    8. Rianne Stoter
    9. Marga Vegte-Bolmer
    10. Martina Pangos
    11. Photini Sinnis
    12. Katharine Collins
    13. Sarah G Staedke
    14. Alfred B Tiono
    15. Chris Drakeley
    16. Kjerstin Lanke
    17. Teun Bousema

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This important study combines experimental infections with laboratory and field Plasmodium falciparum isolates to quantify the force of human malaria parasite transmission. By using compelling methodological approaches, the authors establish clear positive correlations between mosquito infection levels (as determined by oocyst numbers), sporozoite loads in salivary glands, and sporozoites expelled during feeding. The link between heterogenous infection levels in the mosquitoes and malaria transmission would be of interest to vector biologists, parasitologists, immunologists, and mathematical modellers.

    Reviewed by eLife