eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Chromosome-level genome assembly of hadal snailfish reveals mechanisms of deep-sea adaptation in vertebrates

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Wenjie Xu
   2. Chenglong Zhu
   3. Xueli Gao
   4. Baosheng Wu
   5. Han Xu
   6. Mingliang Hu
   7. Honghui Zeng
   8. Xiaoni Gan
   9. Chenguang Feng
   10. Jiangmin Zheng
   11. Jing Bo
   12. Li-Sheng He
   13. Qiang Qiu
   14. Wen Wang
   15. Shunping He
   16. Kun Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study advances our understanding of the potential mechanisms of deep-sea adaptation and sheds light on the evolutionary history of hadal snailfish. Through comparative genomic analysis, the authors provide convincing evidence and propose hypotheses on the timing of trench colonization, population structure, and adaptations to the hadal snailfish genome in response to their environment.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. G protein subunit Gγ13-mediated signaling pathway is critical to the inflammation resolution and functional recovery of severely injured lungs

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Yi-Hong Li
   2. Yi-Sen Yang
   3. Yan-Bo Xue
   4. Hao Lei
   5. Sai-Sai Zhang
   6. Junbin Qian
   7. Yushi Yao
   8. Ruhong Zhou
   9. Liquan Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This, in principle, useful study suggests that the G-protein subunit Gng13 is required for limiting injury and inflammation following H1N1 influenza infection via anti-inflammatory effects from ectopic tuft cells. While support for Gng13 helping to limit influenza injury in the transgenic mouse models used here is solid, evidence for these effects being mediated by normal tuft cells remains incomplete, giving conflicting data from mice that lack tuft cells entirely.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Systemic pharmacological suppression of neural activity reverses learning impairment in a mouse model of Fragile X syndrome

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Amin MD Shakhawat
   2. Jacqueline G Foltz
   3. Adam B Nance
   4. Jaydev Bhateja
   5. Jennifer L Raymond

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important manuscript follows up on previous findings from the same lab supporting the idea that deficits in learning due to enhanced synaptic plasticity are due to saturation effects. Compelling evidence is presented that behavioral learning deficits associated with enhanced synaptic plasticity in a transgenic mouse model can be rescued by manipulations designed to reverse the saturation of synaptic plasticity. In particular, the finding that a previously FDA-approved therapeutic can rescue learning could provide new insights for biologists, psychologists, and others studying learning and neurodevelopment.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. The zinc-finger transcription factor Sfp1 imprints specific classes of mRNAs and links their synthesis to cytoplasmic decay

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Moran Kelbert
   2. Antonio Jordán-Pla
   3. Lola de Miguel-Jiménez
   4. José García-Martínez
   5. Michael Selitrennik
   6. Adi Guterman
   7. Noa Henig
   8. Sander Granneman
   9. José E Pérez-Ortín
   10. Sebastián Chávez
   11. Mordechai Choder

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study reports that a transcription factor stimulating mRNA synthesis can stabilize its target transcripts. The convincing results demonstrate, with multiple independent approaches, co-transcriptional binding, stabilization of a family of mRNAs, and cytoplasmic activities of the transcription factor Sfp1. The results lead to the conclusion that the co-transcriptional association of Sfp1 with specific transcripts is a critical step in the stabilization of such transcripts in the cytoplasm.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Serotonergic amplification of odor-evoked neural responses maps onto flexible behavioral outcomes

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Yelyzaveta Bessonova
   2. Baranidharan Raman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful work shows that the experimental application of serotonin to locust antennal lobes induces an increased feeding-related response to some odorants (even in food-satiated animals). To explain how the odorant-specific effects are seen despite similar consequences of 5-HT modulation on all projection neuronal types, the authors propose a simple quantitative model built around projection with different downstream connections. While they are consistent with the authors' conclusions, the current panel of experiments is incomplete and additional future work will be required to fully support the conclusions the authors currently draw from their observations.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Haplotype function score improves biological interpretation and cross-ancestry polygenic prediction of human complex traits

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Weichen Song
   2. Yongyong Shi
   3. Guan Ning Lin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable paper presents a new approach for association testing, using the output of neural networks that have been trained to predict functional changes from DNA sequences. As such, the approach is an interesting addition to statistical genetics, and the evidence for the presented method being able to identify trait-associations in regions where GWASs are typically underpowered is solid. A limitation is, however, that it is unclear how the quality of these associations compares to those detected using conventional methods. Additional work assessing this method's power and characterizing false positives / false negative regions would be critical to ensure that the method is broadly adopted by the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Alternative end-joining results in smaller deletions in heterochromatin relative to euchromatin

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Jacob M. Miller
   2. Sydney Prange
   3. Huanding Ji
   4. Alesandra R. Rau
   5. Varandt Y. Khodaverdian
   6. Xiao Li
   7. Avi Patel
   8. Nadejda Butova
   9. Avery Lutter
   10. Helen Chung
   11. Chiara Merigliano
   12. Chetan C. Rawal
   13. Terrence Hanscom
   14. Mitch McVey
   15. Irene Chiolo

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript describes valuable new findings on the impact of chromatin context on the outcomes of microhomology-mediated end joining of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), specifically a preference for DSB-proximal microhomologies in repair within a heterochromatic compared to a euchromatic locus. The authors develop the Drosophila spermatogonia as a model for repair at induced DSBs in a mitotically-active tissue and leverage this system to provide convincing evidence that the local environment impacts the preference for repair mechanism and outcome. The work could be strengthened by the use of additional euchromatin insertion(s) to robustly validate the findings.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Rho GTPase signaling and mDia facilitate endocytosis via presynaptic actin

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Kristine Oevel
   2. Svea Hohensee
   3. Atul Kumar
   4. Irving Rosas-Brugada
   5. Francesca Bartolini
   6. Tolga Soykan
   7. Volker Haucke

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript provides convincing evidence for the involvement of membrane actin, and its regulatory proteins, mDia1/3, RhoA, and Rac1 in the mechanism of synaptic vesicle re-uptake (endocytosis). These important data fill a gap in the understanding of how the regulation of actin dynamics and endocytosis are linked. The manuscript will be of interest to all scientists working on cellular trafficking and membrane remodeling.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. mTORC1/S6K1 signaling promotes sustained oncogenic translation through modulating CRL3IBTK-mediated ubiquitination of eIF4A1 in cancer cells

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Dongyue Jiao
   2. Huiru Sun
   3. Xiaying Zhao
   4. Yingji Chen
   5. Zeheng Lv
   6. Qing Shi
   7. Yao Li
   8. Chenji Wang
   9. Kun Gao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study reports a novel substrate and a mediator of oncogenesis downstream of mTORC1, a fundamental advance in our understanding of the mechanistic basis of mTORC1-regulated cap-dependent translation and protein synthesis. Using an array of biochemical, proteomic and functional assays, the authors provide compelling evidence for a novel mTORC1/S6K1-IBTK-eIF4A1 signaling axis that promotes cancer pathogenic translation. This work is of broad interest and significance, given the importance of aberrant protein synthesis in cancer.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Hypothalamic representation of the imminence of predator threat detected by the vomeronasal organ in mice

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Quynh Anh Thi Nguyen
    2. Andrea Rocha
    3. Ricky Chhor
    4. Yuna Yamashita
    5. Christian Stadler
    6. Crystal Pontrello
    7. Hongdian Yang
    8. Sachiko Haga-Yamanaka

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study addresses one way in which animals identify predator-associated cues and respond in a manner that reflects the imminence of the potential threat. The report shows that, in mice, fresh saliva from a natural predator (cat) elicits a greater defensive response compared to old cat saliva and implicates the vomeronasal organ and ventromedial hypothalamus as part of a circuit that underlies this process. The evidence supporting the main conclusions is solid. This study will be of interest to those interested in aversive behavior, its processes, and mechanisms.

    Reviewed by eLife