eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. The Axin scaffold protects the kinase GSK3β from cross-pathway inhibition

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Maire Gavagan
   2. Noel Jameson
   3. Jesse G Zalatan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents a valuable and elegant kinetic analysis of the GSKbeta activity as a function of phosphorylation and Axin binding - providing insights into critical steps of Wnt pathway signaling. The results will be of big use to the broader signaling community, however, the incomplete dissection of the mechanism by which Axin binding inhibits GSKbeta inhibitory phosphorylation remains a weakness of this study. The work will be of broad interest to cell biologists and biochemists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Impact of inner ear malformation and cochlear nerve deficiency on the development of auditory-language network in children with profound sensorineural hearing loss

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Yaoxuan Wang
   2. Mengda Jiang
   3. Yuting Zhu
   4. Lu Xue
   5. Wenying Shu
   6. Xiang Li
   7. Hongsai Chen
   8. Yun Li
   9. Ying Chen
   10. Yongchuan Chai
   11. Yu Zhang
   12. Yinghua Chu
   13. Yang Song
   14. Xiaofeng Tao
   15. Zhaoyan Wang
   16. Hao Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study used high-resolution brain imaging methods to visualize and index non-invasively auditory and language pathways of young children born with inner ear malformations or cochlear nerve dysfunction resulting in profound hearing loss. Nerve fiber impairments were compellingly demonstrated in subcortical auditory and cortical language pathways relative to typically-hearing controls. The results suggested novel approaches for clinical assessment of central auditory and language pathways that may influence different intervention strategies, pending further evidence linking these structural findings with functional outcomes.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Sex-dependent noradrenergic modulation of premotor cortex during decision-making

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Ellen M Rodberg
   2. Carolina R den Hartog
   3. Emma S Dauster
   4. Elena M Vazey

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Rodberg et al. show systemic β adrenergic antagonism reduces engagement in decision-making, particularly in female rats, and reduces task-related encoding in neural activity. This is a valuable finding that addresses a gap in the field, however, the understanding of the direct contribution of β adrenergic receptors to the observed effects is incomplete. Further, the theoretical grounds, data analyses, and results could be improved in several ways.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Functional imaging of conduction dynamics in cortical and spinal axons

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Milos Radivojevic
   2. Anna Rostedt Punga

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This work provides fundamental new insight into fine axonal morphologies based solely on extracellular action potential recordings. They provide compelling evidence of fine resolution in mapping functional connections between neurons. The work may have broad use in neurobiology, bioengineering, stem cell biology, as well as tissue engineering in functional characterization.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Leveraging inter-individual transcriptional correlation structure to infer discrete signaling mechanisms across metabolic tissues

   This article has 26 authors:

   1. Mingqi Zhou
   2. Ian Tamburini
   3. Cassandra Van
   4. Jeffrey Molendijk
   5. Christy M Nguyen
   6. Ivan Yao-Yi Chang
   7. Casey Johnson
   8. Leandro M Velez
   9. Youngseo Cheon
   10. Reichelle Yeo
   11. Hosung Bae
   12. Johnny Le
   13. Natalie Larson
   14. Ron Pulido
   15. Carlos HV Nascimento-Filho
   16. Cholsoon Jang
   17. Ivan Marazzi
   18. Jamie Justice
   19. Nicholas Pannunzio
   20. Andrea L Hevener
   21. Lauren Sparks
   22. Erin E Kershaw
   23. Dequina Nicholas
   24. Benjamin L Parker
   25. Selma Masri
   26. Marcus M Seldin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important paper provides web based interface for cross-tissue analysis of omics datasets from – so far – two different human populations, with compelling evidence that the tool can be used to make meaningful scientific discoveries. Conceptually, these analyses are relevant for any systems biologist or bioinformatician who is interested in integrating large population datasets. Currently, the resource is already of use for scientists studying the HMDP or using GTEx data, and we hope to see updates in the coming years that incorporate more populations and more datatypes, which could make it a general tool for a wide community.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Mechanism of substrate binding and transport in BASS transporters

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Patrick Becker
   2. Fiona Naughton
   3. Deborah Brotherton
   4. Raul Pacheco-Gomez
   5. Oliver Beckstein
   6. Alexander D Cameron

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript represents an important contribution to an ongoing discussion about the substrate binding site and mechanism of the Bile Acid Sodium Symporter (BASS) family of transporters. Structural and biochemical analysis of a bacterial homolog, ASTBnm, in complex with its native substrate (not bile acids, but a vitamin A precursor, pantoate) show a new binding site that is consistent with classical proposals for elevator-type transport mechanisms. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations highlight the improved stability for the substrate in the active site when ions are present, suggesting a binding order during the transport cycle. The structural studies, binding assays, and MD simulations are convincing.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Molecular mechanism of complement inhibition by the trypanosome receptor ISG65

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Alexander D Cook
   2. Mark Carrington
   3. Matthew K Higgins

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental study significantly advances our understanding of how parasites evade the host complement immune system. The new cryo-EM structure of the trypanosome receptor ISG65 bound to complement component C3b is highly compelling and well-supported by biochemical experiments. This work will be of broad interest to parasitologists, immunologists, and structural biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. The Toxoplasma monocarboxylate transporters are involved in the metabolism within the apicoplast and are linked to parasite survival

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Hui Dong
   2. Jiong Yang
   3. Kai He
   4. Wen-Bin Zheng
   5. De-Hua Lai
   6. Jing Liu
   7. Hui-Yong Ding
   8. Rui-Bin Wu
   9. Kevin M Brown
   10. Geoff Hide
   11. Zhao-Rong Lun
   12. Xing-Quan Zhu
   13. Shaojun Long

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study identifies two new transporters in the apicoplast, a non-photosynthetic organelle of apicomplexan parasites. While this is important work, it only partially reveals how essential these transporters are, as it does not address the metabolic function of the transporters for the parasite. Although the evidence is still incomplete, the results should be of interest to parasitologists and eukaryotic cell biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Epistasis facilitates functional evolution in an ancient transcription factor

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Brian PH Metzger
   2. Yeonwoo Park
   3. Tyler N Starr
   4. Joseph W Thornton

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study includes fundamental findings on protein evolution, namely that changes in function are largely attributable to pairwise rather than higher-order interactions, and that epistasis potentiates rather than constrains evolutionary paths. Compelling evidence supporting the conclusions is provided by applying a new model to a previously generated experimental dataset on deep mutational scanning of the DNA-binding domain (DBD) of steroid hormone receptor. The implications of this work are of considerable interest to protein biochemistry, evolutionary biology, and numerous other fields.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Delayed postglacial colonization of Betula in Iceland and the circum North Atlantic

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. David J Harning
    2. Samuel Sacco
    3. Kesara Anamthawat-Jónsson
    4. Nicolò Ardenghi
    5. Thor Thordarson
    6. Jonathan H Raberg
    7. Julio Sepúlveda
    8. Áslaug Geirsdóttir
    9. Beth Shapiro
    10. Gifford H Miller

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This valuable work on the paleovegetation history of Iceland has implications for the field of paleoecology, and the deglaciation history of Iceland and additional localities in Northern America and Europe via woody shrub colonization. The study uses a sedimentary ancient DNA metabarcoding approach to study this historic process. The strength of evidence is solid, with the methods (analysis of sedimentary DNA) and data analyses broadly supporting the claims.

    Reviewed by eLife