eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Baited reconstruction with 2D template matching for high-resolution structure determination in vitro and in vivo without template bias

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Bronwyn A Lucas
   2. Benjamin A Himes
   3. Nikolaus Grigorieff

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is an important demonstration of how the false-positive rate of high-resolution 2D template matching to find particles of a given target structure in 2D cryo-EM images (2DTM) relates to overfitting the data towards the template. The authors present new methods to measure the amount of model bias that gets introduced in high-resolution features of such maps, with compelling evidence that high-resolution features that are not present in the template can still be reconstructed in 3D from images obtained by 2DTM.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Homeostatic synaptic plasticity of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents in mouse cortical cultures requires neuronal Rab3a

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Andrew G Koesters
   2. Mark M Rich
   3. Kathrin Engisch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study presents findings on the role of the small GTPase Rab3A in homeostatic plasticity. While the study provides solid evidence for a requirement of Rab3A in homeostatic up-scaling in cultured mouse neurons, it does not provide a model of how Rab3A is involved in homeostatic plasticity. The work will be of interest to researchers in the field of synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Identification of key yeast species and microbe–microbe interactions impacting larval growth of Drosophila in the wild

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Ayumi Mure
   2. Yuki Sugiura
   3. Rae Maeda
   4. Kohei Honda
   5. Nozomu Sakurai
   6. Yuuki Takahashi
   7. Masayoshi Watada
   8. Toshihiko Katoh
   9. Aina Gotoh
   10. Yasuhiro Gotoh
   11. Itsuki Taniguchi
   12. Keiji Nakamura
   13. Tetsuya Hayashi
   14. Takane Katayama
   15. Tadashi Uemura
   16. Yukako Hattori

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is an important study that addresses a significant question in microbiome research. The authors provide convincing evidence that certain bacterial groups within the fly microbiome have critical functions for host development. Additionally, dietary aspects such as microbial community progression in a natural food source are integrated into their host-microbe interaction analyses.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. RNA-binding deficient TDP-43 drives cognitive decline in a mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathy

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Julie C Necarsulmer
   2. Jeremy M Simon
   3. Baggio A Evangelista
   4. Youjun Chen
   5. Xu Tian
   6. Sara Nafees
   7. Ariana B Marquez
   8. Huijun Jiang
   9. Ping Wang
   10. Deepa Ajit
   11. Viktoriya D Nikolova
   12. Kathryn M Harper
   13. J Ashley Ezzell
   14. Feng-Chang Lin
   15. Adriana S Beltran
   16. Sheryl S Moy
   17. Todd J Cohen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Necarsulmer et al describe an interesting new mouse model of TDP-43 proteinopathy in which gene editing was used to introduce a K145Q acetylation-mimic mutation previously shown to impair RNA-binding capacity and induce downstream misregulation of target genes. Mice homozygous for this mutation are convincingly shown to display cognitive/behavioral impairment, TDP-43 phosphorylation and insolubility, and changes in gene expression and splicing. This novel mouse model replicates some key hallmarks of human frontotemporal lobar degeneration and will be an important contribution to the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Atypical local and global biological motion perception in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Junbin Tian
   2. Fang Yang
   3. Ying Wang
   4. Li Wang
   5. Ning Wang
   6. Yi Jiang
   7. Li Yang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors use point light displays to measure biological motion (BM) perception in children (mean = 9 years) with and without ADHD, and relate it to IQ, social responsiveness scale (SRS) scores and age. They report that children with ADHD were worse at all three BM tasks, but that those tasks loading more heavily on local processing relate to social interaction skills and those loading on global processing relate to age. There are still some elements of the results that need clarification with future work, but nevertheless, the important and solid findings extend our limited knowledge of BM perception in ADHD, as well as biological motion processing mechanisms in general.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Synthetic eco-evolutionary dynamics in simple molecular environment

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Luca Casiraghi
   2. Francesco Mambretti
   3. Anna Tovo
   4. Elvezia Maria Paraboschi
   5. Samir Suweis
   6. Tommaso Bellini

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, the authors develop a promising experimental approach to a central question in ecology: What are the contributions of resource use and interactions in the shaping of an ecosystem? For this, they develop a synthetic ecosystem set-up, a variant of SELEX that allows very detailed control over ecological variables. The evidence is convincing, and the work should be of broad interest to the ecology community, leading to further quantitative studies.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. H1 restricts euchromatin-associated methylation pathways from heterochromatic encroachment

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. C Jake Harris
   2. Zhenhui Zhong
   3. Lucia Ichino
   4. Suhua Feng
   5. Steven E Jacobsen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study indicates a role for linker Histone H1 in protecting heterochromatic regions from certain types of repression. The experiments and data analysis that support the model for the role of linker Histone H1are solid, although additional experiments could provide a deeper mechanistic understanding. The study will be of broad interest to those interested in the role of chromatin in eukaryotic gene expression.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Neurofeedback training can modulate task-relevant memory replay rate in rats

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Anna K Gillespie
   2. Daniela Astudillo Maya
   3. Eric L Denovellis
   4. Sachi Desse
   5. Loren M Frank

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study tests the effects of using neurofeedback, in the form of reward delivery when large sharp wave-ripples (SWRs) are detected, on neurophysiological and behavioral measures. The results are important, and the authors provide convincing evidence that the rate of SWRs increased prior to reward delivery and decreased in the period after reward delivery, with no significant effect on memory performance. The ability to manipulate SWR rate in a naturalistic way is an exciting new tool for studies that seek to understand the function of SWRs.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. A computational model predicts sex-specific responses to calcium channel blockers in mammalian mesenteric vascular smooth muscle

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Gonzalo Hernandez-Hernandez
   2. Samantha C O'Dwyer
   3. Pei-Chi Yang
   4. Collin Matsumoto
   5. Mindy Tieu
   6. Zhihui Fong
   7. Timothy J Lewis
   8. L Fernando Santana
   9. Colleen E Clancy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The study is of importance for the cardiac modeling field by developing a novel mathematical model with sex difference. The data are compelling, and the model is helpful for mechanistic understanding, and thus is also important for experimental physiology. The model is based on experimental data and validated against some experimental data.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Inhibition of the Notch signal transducer CSL by Pkc53E-mediated phosphorylation to fend off parasitic immune challenge in Drosophila

    This article has 9 authors:

    1. Sebastian Deichsel
    2. Lisa Frankenreiter
    3. Johannes Fechner
    4. Bernd M Gahr
    5. Mirjam Zimmermann
    6. Helena Mastel
    7. Irina Preis
    8. Anette Preiss
    9. Anja C Nagel

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This valuable study focuses on the regulation of Notch signaling during the immune response in Drosophila. The authors provide solid evidence in support of roles for Su(H) and Pkc53E-induced phosphorylation in Drosophila immunity. The work will be of interest to colleagues in immunity and receptor signaling.

    Reviewed by eLife