eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Long-distance electron transport in multicellular freshwater cable bacteria

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Tingting Yang
   2. Marko S Chavez
   3. Christina M Niman
   4. Shuai Xu
   5. Mohamed Y El-Naggar

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This work presents fundamental new insights into the conductivity of freshwater cable bacteria. The evidence supporting the conclusions, which was collected using appropriate techniques, is compelling. The work will be of interest to environmental microbiologists and the microbial electrochemistry community.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Transposable elements regulate thymus development and function

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Jean-David Larouche
   2. Céline M Laumont
   3. Assya Trofimov
   4. Krystel Vincent
   5. Leslie Hesnard
   6. Sylvie Brochu
   7. Caroline Côté
   8. Juliette F Humeau
   9. Éric Bonneil
   10. Joel Lanoix
   11. Chantal Durette
   12. Patrick Gendron
   13. Jean-Philippe Laverdure
   14. Ellen R Richie
   15. Sébastien Lemieux
   16. Pierre Thibault
   17. Claude Perreault

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study shows, based on analyses of single-cell RNA-seq data sets of thymus cells, that transposable elements (TEs) are broadly expressed in thymic stromal cells, especially in medullary thymic epithelial cells and plasamacytoid dendritic cells. The authors also show that at least some TE-derived peptides are presented by MHC-I molecules in the thymus. The study provides solid findings supporting a role of TEs in thymic T-cell selection and immune self-tolerance.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Secreted dengue virus NS1 from infection is predominantly dimeric and in complex with high-density lipoprotein

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Bing Liang Alvin Chew
   2. AN Qi Ngoh
   3. Wint Wint Phoo
   4. Kitti Wing Ki Chan
   5. Zheng Ser
   6. Nikhil K Tulsian
   7. Shiao See Lim
   8. Mei Jie Grace Weng
   9. Satoru Watanabe
   10. Milly M Choy
   11. Jenny Low
   12. Eng Eong Ooi
   13. Christiane Ruedl
   14. Radoslaw M Sobota
   15. Subhash G Vasudevan
   16. Dahai Luo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This potentially useful study aims to advance our understanding of the structure of the native form of a viral toxin secreted from infected cells. While some of the findings confirm previous reports, the new claims in this study are unfortunately only inadequately supported by the methods and analyses used. More rigorous approaches are needed to justify the main conclusion that the structure of the viral toxin derived from infected cells in this study is distinct from previously reported structures of recombinantly expressed versions of the toxin.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Auxin exposure disrupts feeding behavior and fatty acid metabolism in adult Drosophila

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Sophie A Fleck
   2. Puja Biswas
   3. Emily D DeWitt
   4. Rebecca L Knuteson
   5. Robert C Eisman
   6. Travis Nemkov
   7. Angelo D'Alessandro
   8. Jason M Tennessen
   9. Elizabeth Rideout
   10. Lesley N Weaver

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study shows that auxin exposure perturbs feeding behavior, survival rates, lipid metabolism, and gene expression patterns in adult Drosophila flies. The results are solid with proper methods and data analyses, and the evidence broadly supports the conclusions with only minor weaknesses. This work is relevant for fly geneticists who are interested in using the auxin-inducible gene expression system for inducing target protein degradation acutely.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Heritable epigenetic changes are constrained by the dynamics of regulatory architectures

   This article has 1 author:

   1. Antony M Jose

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful manuscript explores conditions for epigenetic inheritance by studying the stability of simple network models to permanent and transient perturbations. A novel aspect of the study is that it unifies non-genetic inheritance phenomena across cell divisions of unicellular organisms and in the germline of multicellular organisms. However, the models studied are more a collection of vignettes of numerical studies than a systematic study, therefore the evidence presented remains incomplete. As a first step towards building a more systematic theoretical framework, this work will be of interest to colleagues in the field of epigenetic inheritance.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Genetic basis of Arabidopsis thaliana responses to infection by naïve and adapted isolates of turnip mosaic virus

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Anamarija Butkovic
   2. Thomas James Ellis
   3. Ruben Gonzalez
   4. Benjamin Jaegle
   5. Magnus Nordborg
   6. Santiago F Elena

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript presents important findings that inform the genetic underpinnings of the model plant Arabidopsis' resistance to turnip mosaic virus (TuMV). The strength of the evidence in the manuscript is exceptional, with very large sample sizes, careful controls, multiple follow-up experiments, and broadening to the evolutionary context. The evidence provides robust support for each of the manuscript's conclusions and could pave the way for functional studies.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Sympathetic motor neuron dysfunction is a missing link in age-associated sympathetic overactivity

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Lizbeth de La Cruz
   2. Derek Bui
   3. Claudia M Moreno
   4. Oscar Vivas

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study describes changes in excitability in motor neurons of the peripheral autonomous nervous system during aging. The manuscript provides convincing evidence indicating that sympathetic neurons from aged mice show higher excitability compared to neurons from young mice which was linked to decreased activity of KCNQ2/3 potassium channels. This research has implications for understanding the age-related changes that occur in the peripheral nervous system.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The title and authors for this article are not available from our external data provider yet:
   10.48550/arxiv.2211.16879v2

9. Illuminating T cell-dendritic cell interactions in vivo by FlAsHing antigens

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Munir Akkaya
   2. Jafar Al Souz
   3. Daniel Williams
   4. Rahul Kamdar
   5. Olena Kamenyeva
   6. Juraj Kabat
   7. Ethan Shevach
   8. Billur Akkaya

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is an important study that develops a method to fluorescently label peptide MHC complexes on live dendritic cells to enable detection of antigen specific T cells in polyclonal populations. Solid evidence that this can be used to effectively identify antigen specific T cells in vitro and in vivo is provided for one model antigen systems (Ova-OTII). The approach has exciting potential as prior single step methods with directly conjugated single peptides have generally failed due to high background. Thus, this approach potentially moves the state of the art forward, but further work is needed to realise and determine the limits and ultimate utility of the approach.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. The molecular basis of Abelson kinase regulation by its αI-helix

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Johannes Paladini
    2. Annalena Maier
    3. Judith Maria Habazettl
    4. Ines Hertel
    5. Rajesh Sonti
    6. Stephan Grzesiek

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This manuscript describes an important NMR investigation of allosteric interactions within Abl kinase. The authors identify helix I as a major element that couples the Abl active site with the myristate-binding pocket. The convincing findings have implications for understanding Abl kinase activation and how to target Abl kinase in diseases.

    Reviewed by eLife