eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A human mitofusin 2 mutation can cause mitophagic cardiomyopathy

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Antonietta Franco
   2. Jiajia Li
   3. Daniel P Kelly
   4. Ray E Hershberger
   5. Ali J Marian
   6. Renate M Lewis
   7. Moshi Song
   8. Xiawei Dang
   9. Alina D Schmidt
   10. Mary E Mathyer
   11. John R Edwards
   12. Cristina de Guzman Strong
   13. Gerald W Dorn

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this paper, the authors demonstrate an interesting link between mitofusin function (MFN2) and PARKIN recruitment and mitophagy, underlying cardiomyopathy. This is a valuable finding with broad implications for understanding the mitochondrial biology as well as mechanisms involved in heart pathologies. However, the analyses are incomplete and the main conclusions are only partially supported and need to be further evidenced.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Circulating small extracellular vesicle RNA profiling for the detection of T1a stage colorectal cancer and precancerous advanced adenoma

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Li Min
   2. Fanqin Bu
   3. Jingxin Meng
   4. Xiang Liu
   5. Qingdong Guo
   6. Libo Zhao
   7. Zhi Li
   8. Xiangji Li
   9. Shengtao Zhu
   10. Shutian Zhang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a useful description of RNA in extracellular vesicles (EV-RNAs) and highlights the potential to develop biomarkers for the early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) and precancerous adenoma (AA). The data were analysed using overall solid methodology and would benefit from further validation of predicted lncRNAs and biomarker validation at each stage of CRC/AA to evaluate the potential application to early detection of CRC and AA.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. The target of rapamycin signaling pathway regulates vegetative development, aflatoxin biosynthesis, and pathogenicity in Aspergillus flavus

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Guoqi Li
   2. Xiaohong Cao
   3. Elisabeth Tumukunde
   4. Qianhua Zeng
   5. Shihua Wang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript provides important information about the influence of TOR signaling pathway on development and aflatoxin production in the plant and human fungal pathogen Aspergillus flavus. Compared to an earlier version, the authors have addressed most of the concerns of the reviewers, including the convincing demonstration of the essential TOR pathway in this fungus by constructing a xylose promoter mutant strain.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (Prmt5) localizes to chromatin loop anchors and modulates expression of genes at TAD boundaries during early adipogenesis

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Sabriya A. Syed
   2. Kristina Shqillo
   3. Ankita Nand
   4. Ye Zhan
   5. Job Dekker
   6. Anthony N. Imbalzano

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     How the genome is folded three dimensionally is thought to control gene regulatory pathways during critical processes such as cellular differentiation. Using multiple assays, the authors of this important study probe topologically associated domains (TADs) and report involvement of a protein arginine methyltransferase 5 in chromatin organization and transcriptional regulation. The data gathered are generally solid and broadly support the role of this protein in organization of the adipocytic lineage, but additional control experiments would make the inferences stronger.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Competence for transcellular infection in the root cortex involves a post-replicative, cell-cycle exit decision in Medicago truncatula

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Morgane Batzenschlager
   2. Beatrice Lace
   3. Ning Zhang
   4. Chao Su
   5. Anna Boiger
   6. Sabrina Egli
   7. Pascal Krohn
   8. Jule Salfeld
   9. Franck Anicet Ditengou
   10. Thomas Laux
   11. Thomas Ott

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This is a fundamental cell biological study of host responses during symbiotic microbial infection of plants. Compelling imaging-based approaches using genetically encoded cell cycle markers show that in Medicago truncatula root cortex cells, early rhizobial infection events are associated with cell-cycle re-entry, but once the infection is established, host cells exit the cell cycle. The work will be of interest to a wide range of readers working in fields from development and cell biology to plant-microbe interactions.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Implications of variable synaptic weights for rate and temporal coding of cerebellar outputs

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Shuting Wu
   2. Asem Wardak
   3. Mehak M Khan
   4. Christopher H Chen
   5. Wade G Regehr

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This useful study emphasizes some previously ignored aspects of synaptic communication between Purkinje neurons and their targets in the cerebellar nuclei. Reviewers felt that some aspects of the evidence were solid but that others were incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Predicting ventricular tachycardia circuits in patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy using genotype-specific heart digital twins

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Yingnan Zhang
   2. Kelly Zhang
   3. Adityo Prakosa
   4. Cynthia James
   5. Stefan L Zimmerman
   6. Richard Carrick
   7. Eric Sung
   8. Alessio Gasperetti
   9. Crystal Tichnell
   10. Brittney Murray
   11. Hugh Calkins
   12. Natalia A Trayanova

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study brings together a clear application of the digital twin approach to make predictions using patient specific models with different genotypes. The data are compelling and go beyond the current state-of-the-art to support proof-of-principle evidence. Given the low subject numbers, further studies will be required going forward to support the veracity of the data and its translational utility.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Cell type-specific contributions to a persistent aggressive internal state in female Drosophila

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Hui Chiu
   2. Alice A Robie
   3. Kristin Branson
   4. Tanvi Vippa
   5. Samantha Epstein
   6. Gerald M Rubin
   7. David J Anderson
   8. Catherine E Schretter

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study by Chiu and colleagues is a valuable contribution to the study of the circuitry of aggressive behaviours and of mechanisms that generate persistent behavioural states. The authors find that activation of two interconnected sets of neurons results in an increase in female aggression. The data ruling out recurrent connectivity between these clusters underlying this persistent state are convincing.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Task-anchored grid cell firing is selectively associated with successful path integration-dependent behaviour

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Harry Clark
   2. Matthew F Nolan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study examines the relationship between positional anchoring of grid cell activity and performance in spatial navigation tasks that requires path integration. The authors demonstrate that grid cells can either fire in relation to the position relative to task-relevant virtual stimuli or independently based on the distance covered. Their findings convincingly reveal that mice exhibited better performance in the path integration task when grid cell activity was anchored to their position on the virtual track rather than the distance traversed, highlighting the contribution of grid firing to spatial navigation behavior. The work will be of interest to experimental and computational neuroscientists interested in spatial navigation.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Evidence for a role of human blood-borne factors in mediating age-associated changes in molecular circadian rhythms

    This article has 9 authors:

    1. Jessica E Schwarz
    2. Antonijo Mrčela
    3. Nicholas F Lahens
    4. Yongjun Li
    5. Cynthia Hsu
    6. Gregory R Grant
    7. Carsten Skarke
    8. Shirley L Zhang
    9. Amita Sehgal

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      The authors tested the hypothesis that age-dependent factors in human sera affect the core circadian clock or its outputs in cultured fibroblasts, and they provide compelling evidence that genes involved in the cell cycle and transcription/translation remain rhythmic in both conditions, genes associated with oxidative phosphorylation and Alzheimer's Disease lose rhythmicity in the aged condition, while the expression of cycling genes associated with cholesterol biosynthesis increase in the cells entrained with old serum. Together, the findings suggest that yet to be identified age-dependent blood-borne factors affect circadian rhythms in the periphery. The paper provides fundamental insights and a possible explanation for previous observations showing that circadian gene expression in peripheral tissues tends to dampen or phase-shift with age.

    Reviewed by eLife