eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Plural molecular and cellular mechanisms of pore domain KCNQ2 encephalopathy

   This article has 25 authors:

   1. Timothy J Abreo
   2. Emma C Thompson
   3. Anuraag Madabushi
   4. Kristen L Park
   5. Heun Soh
   6. Nissi Varghese
   7. Carlos G Vanoye
   8. Kristen Springer
   9. Jim Johnson
   10. Scotty Sims
   11. Zhigang Ji
   12. Ana G Chavez
   13. Miranda J Jankovic
   14. Bereket Habte
   15. Aamir R Zuberi
   16. Cathleen M Lutz
   17. Zhao Wang
   18. Vaishnav Krishnan
   19. Lisa Dudler
   20. Stephanie Einsele-Scholz
   21. Jeffrey L Noebels
   22. Alfred L George
   23. Atul Maheshwari
   24. Anastasios Tzingounis
   25. Edward C Cooper

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The paper investigates a potential cause of a type of severe epilepsy that develops in early life because of a defect in a gene called KCNQ2. The significance is fundamental because it substantially advances our understanding of a major research question. The strength of the evidence is convincing because appropriate methods are used that are in line with the state-of-the art.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Decoding the complexity of delayed wound healing following Enterococcus faecalis infection

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Cenk Celik
   2. Stella Tue Ting Lee
   3. Frederick Reinhart Tanoto
   4. Mark Veleba
   5. Kimberly Kline
   6. Guillaume Thibault

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Wounds are commonly infected, which can lead to delayed or poor wound healing, thereby significantly impacting morbidity and overall quality of life for patients. This manuscript uses single cell RNA sequencing to try to understand the impact of infection on various cell types during wound healing in a mouse model. The methodology is solid and the results provide a valuable 'atlas' of the cellular changes associated with infected and uninfected wounds which will be of interest to the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Decoupling of the onset of anharmonicity between a protein and its surface water around 200 K

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Lirong Zheng
   2. Bingxin Zhou
   3. Banghao Wu
   4. Yang Tan
   5. Juan Huang
   6. Madhusudan Tyagi
   7. Victoria García Sakai
   8. Takeshi Yamada
   9. Hugh O'Neill
   10. Qiu Zhang
   11. Liang Hong

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The study answers the important question of whether the conformational dynamics of proteins are slaved by the motion of solvent water or are intrinsic to the polypeptide. The results from neutron scattering experiments, involving isotopic labelling, carried out on a set of four structurally different proteins are convincing, showing that protein motions are not coupled to the solvent. A strength of this work is the study of a set of proteins using spectroscopy covering a range of resolutions. The work is of broad interest to researchers in the fields of protein biophysics and biochemistry.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri type III effector PthA4 directs the dynamical expression of a putative citrus carbohydrate-binding protein gene for canker formation

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Xinyu Chen
   2. Huasong Zou
   3. Tao Zhuo
   4. Wei Rou
   5. Wei Wu
   6. Xiaojing Fan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study provides new insight into potential subtle dynamics in effector biology. The data presented generally support the claims, but in some cases, significant controls are missing and so the overall work is currently incomplete. If the limitations can be addressed, this work should be of broad relevance for biologists interested in molecular plant-microbe interactions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. ASAR lncRNAs control DNA replication timing through interactions with multiple hnRNP/RNA binding proteins

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Mathew Thayer
   2. Michael B Heskett
   3. Leslie G Smith
   4. Paul T Spellman
   5. Phillip A Yates

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study expands generally upon our understanding of the role of hnRNP proteins in lncRNA function through analysis of ASAR genes that are present on all chromosomes and of profound significance. The findings provide convincing evidence linking ASARs with the phenomenon of RNA retention on chromosomes, including X inactivation, thereby providing an expanded context for studies in these areas. This manuscript will be of interest to researchers studying gene regulation and the interactions and functional roles of hnRNP and lncRNAs.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Apical constriction requires patterned apical surface remodeling to synchronize cellular deformation

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Satoshi Yamashita
   2. Shuji Ishihara
   3. François Graner

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The results from this study, which investigates the mechanisms necessary for initiating tissue invagination using a cellular Potts modelling approach, suggest that apical constriction is not sufficient to drive the process by itself. The study highlights how choices inherent to modelling - such as permitting straight or curved cell edges - may affect the outcome of simulations and, consequently, their biophysical interpretation. Despite incomplete evidence supporting their major claims due to a rather coarse-grained exploration of the model, this work is useful for biophysicists investigating complex tissue deformation through computational frameworks.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Adipokinetic hormone signaling mediates the enhanced fecundity of Diaphorina citri infected by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Jiayun Li
   2. Paul Holford
   3. George Andrew Charles Beattie
   4. Shujie Wu
   5. Jielan He
   6. Shijian Tan
   7. Desen Wang
   8. Yurong He
   9. Yijing Cen
   10. Xiaoge Nian

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study reveals the molecular basis of mutualism between a vector insect and a bacterium responsible for the most devastating disease in citrus agriculture worldwide. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with solid biochemical and gene expression analyses demonstrating the phenomenon. We believe this work will be of great interest to the fields of vector-borne disease control and host-pathogen interaction.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A previously undescribed scene-selective site is the key to encoding ego-motion in naturalistic environments

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Bryan Kennedy
   2. Sarala N Malladi
   3. Roger BH Tootell
   4. Shahin Nasr

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this manuscript, the authors present a wealth of fMRI data at both 3T and 7T to identify a scene-selective region of the intraparietal gyrus ("PIGS") that appears to have some responsivity to characteristics of ego-motion. In a series of experiments, they delineate the anatomical location of PIGS and functionally differentiate it from nearby V6 and OPA. Evidence for these important findings is solid, but further investigations as to the role of this region in processing ego-motion will be needed to confirm this conclusion.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Emergence of ion-channel-mediated electrical oscillations in Escherichia coli biofilms

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Emmanuel Akabuogu
   2. Victor Carneiro da Cunha Martorelli
   3. Rok Krašovec
   4. Ian S Roberts
   5. Thomas A Waigh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This potentially valuable study presents claims of evidence for coordinated membrane potential oscillations in E. coli biofilms that can be linked to a putative K+ channel and that may serve to enhance photo-protection. The finding of waves of membrane potential would be of interest to a wide audience from molecular biology to microbiology and physical biology. Unfortunately, a major issue is that it is unclear whether the dye used can act as a Nernstian membrane potential dye in E. coli. The arguments of the authors, who largely ignore previously published contradictory evidence, are not adequate in that they do not engage with the fact that the dye behaves in their hands differently than in the hands of others. In addition, the lack of proper validation of the experimental method including key control experiments leaves the evidence incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Rabphilin-3A negatively regulates neuropeptide release, through its SNAP25 interaction

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. Adlin Abramian
    2. Rein I Hoogstraaten
    3. Fiona H Murphy
    4. Kathryn F McDaniel
    5. Ruud F Toonen
    6. Matthijs Verhage

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This important study advances our understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal large dense-core vesicle (LDCV) secretion, which mediates neuropeptide and neurotrophin release. It describes a negative regulatory process involving the interaction of the Rab3-effector Rabphilin-3A with the SNARE fusion protein SNAP25, which limits LDCV secretion and neurite growth. The evidence in support of the authors' claims is generally convincing, but some conclusions, e.g regarding the role of Rabphilin-3A-controlled neurotrophin signaling in neurite growth, are incompletely supported. This study will be of interest to the fields of cell biology, cellular neuroscience, and neuroendocrinology.

    Reviewed by eLife