eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Light-inducible protein degradation in E. coli with the LOVdeg tag

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Nathan Tague
   2. Cristian Coriano-Ortiz
   3. Michael B Sheets
   4. Mary J Dunlop

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study reports on a new tool that allows for light-controlled protein degradation in Escherichia coli. With the improved light-responsive protein tag, endogenous protein levels can be reduced severalfold. The methodology is convincing and will be of interest to the fields of gene expression regulation in bacteria and, more generally to synthetic biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Replisome loading reduces chromatin motion independent of DNA synthesis

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Maruthi Kumar Pabba
   2. Christian Ritter
   3. Vadim O Chagin
   4. Janis Meyer
   5. Kerem Celikay
   6. Jeffrey H Stear
   7. Dinah Loerke
   8. Ksenia Kolobynina
   9. Paulina Prorok
   10. Alice Kristin Schmid
   11. Heinrich Leonhardt
   12. Karl Rohr
   13. M Cristina Cardoso

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is a valuable investigation of the chromatin dynamics throughout the cell cycle by using fluorescence signals and patterns of GFP-PCNA and CY3-dUTP, which labels newly synthesized DNA. The authors report reduced chromatin mobility in S relative to G1 phase. The technology and methods used are solid. The data will be of interest to researchers working on chromatin dynamics.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Gene expression plasticity followed by genetic change during colonization in a high-elevation environment

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Huishang She
   2. Yan Hao
   3. Gang Song
   4. Xu Luo
   5. Fumin Lei
   6. Weiwei Zhai
   7. Yanhua Qu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides useful information on the evolution of gene expression levels and plasticity in tissues impacted by hypoxia during colonization of a high-altitude environment. Unfortunately, the evidence for the conclusions is incomplete because of the low sample size available.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Maternal group 2 innate lymphoid cells contribute to fetal growth and protection from endotoxin-induced abortion in mice

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Elisa Balmas
   2. Batika MJ Rana
   3. Russell S Hamilton
   4. Norman Shreeve
   5. Jens Kieckbusch
   6. Irving Aye
   7. Delia A Hawkes
   8. Sophie Trotter
   9. Jorge López-Tello
   10. Hannah EJ Yong
   11. Salvatore Valenti
   12. Amanda N Sferruzi-Perri
   13. Francesca Gaccioli
   14. Andrew NJ McKenzie
   15. Francesco Colucci

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study describes the protective role of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) in tissue physiology and contributes to immunity, inflammatory pathology, and metabolism in maintaining homeostasis during pregnancy. The authors provide convincing evidence that ILC2s have new roles distinct from parasite protection and allergy inducers. Uterine ILC2s are key immune cells during normal and complicated pregnancies.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Loss of the extracellular matrix protein Perlecan disrupts axonal and synaptic stability during Drosophila development

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Ellen J Guss
   2. Yulia Akbergenova
   3. Karen L Cunningham
   4. J Troy Littleton

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents valuable new insights into the role of the extracellular matrix component (ECM) Perlecan in axon integrity, with downstream consequences for the maintenance of synaptic structures. The evidence for Perlecan's role in this process is solid, although negative results for Perlecan's mechanism of action should be strengthened with the addition of appropriate controls centered on the relevant pathways and mechanisms involved as well as more careful analyses and interpretations. The authors provide convincing data identifying and describing the cellular sequence from ECM perturbations to axonal and synaptic degeneration, but additional data pinpointing the requirements of Perlecan for axonal maintenance would further improve the impact of this study.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Spatiotemporal dynamics of sensory neuron and Merkel-cell remodeling are decoupled during epidermal homeostasis

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Rachel C. Clary
   2. Blair A. Jenkins
   3. Ellen A. Lumpkin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The present study offers valuable insights into the remodeling of Merkel cells and their innervating sensory axons in the skin. This remodelling seems to be mostly played out independently between the two synaptic partners revealing significant Merkel cell turnover and axonal plasticity. The authors employed live imaging and quantification tools using genetic models in which parts of the mechanosensory organs of the skin are labelled with distinct fluorescent proteins. While most of the data, and their interpretations are solid, the analyses of Merkel cell number homeostasis remain incomplete.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Proteomic analysis shows decreased type I fibers and ectopic fat accumulation in skeletal muscle from women with PCOS

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Elisabet Stener-Victorin
   2. Gustaw Eriksson
   3. Man Mohan Shrestha
   4. Valentina Rodriguez Paris
   5. Haojiang Lu
   6. Jasmine Banks
   7. Manisha Samad
   8. Charlène Perian
   9. Baptiste Jude
   10. Viktor Engman
   11. Roberto Boi
   12. Emma Nilsson
   13. Charlotte Ling
   14. Jenny Nyström
   15. Ingrid Wernstedt Asterholm
   16. Nigel Turner
   17. Johanna Lanner
   18. Anna Benrick

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work employed global proteomic and phosphorylation site analysis to examine adipose tissue and skeletal muscle samples collected at baseline from a sample of 10 women, including those with and without PCOS, both before and after 5 weeks of electrical stimulation treatment. This work significantly enhances our knowledge by demonstrating that women with PCOS who exhibit protein hyperandrogenicity have elevated extramyocellular lipid levels and a decreased number of oxidative insulin-sensitive type I muscle fibers. The convincing evidence supporting these conclusions makes this research of broad interest not only to scientists but also to clinicians.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Host and viral determinants of airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the Syrian hamster

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Julia R Port
   2. Dylan H Morris
   3. Jade C Riopelle
   4. Claude Kwe Yinda
   5. Victoria A Avanzato
   6. Myndi G Holbrook
   7. Trenton Bushmaker
   8. Jonathan E Schulz
   9. Taylor A Saturday
   10. Kent Barbian
   11. Colin A Russell
   12. Rose Perry-Gottschalk
   13. Carl Shaia
   14. Craig Martens
   15. James O Lloyd-Smith
   16. Robert J Fischer
   17. Vincent J Munster

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript describes rigorous experiments that provide a wealth of virologic, respiratory physiology, and particle aerodynamic data pertaining to aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between infected Syrian hamsters. The significance of the paper is fundamental because infection is compared between alpha and delta variants, and because viral load is assessed via numerous assays (gRNA, sgRNA, TCID) and in tissues as well as the ambient environment of the cage. The strength of evidence is compelling.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Scorpionfish BPI is highly active against multiple drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from people with cystic fibrosis

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Jonas Maurice Holzinger
   2. Martina Toelge
   3. Maren Werner
   4. Katharina Ursula Ederer
   5. Heiko Ingo Siegmund
   6. David Peterhoff
   7. Stefan Helmut Blaas
   8. Nicolas Gisch
   9. Christoph Brochhausen
   10. André Gessner
   11. Sigrid Bülow

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this useful study, Holzinger et al. present compelling evidence that scorpionfish bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (scoBPI) exhibits remarkable antibacterial activity against multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These findings open new avenues of research for identifying novel chemotherapies to treat Pseudomonas infections and have broader implications in developing chemotherapies against other drug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. The work will be of interest to individuals investigating novel cystic fibrosis antimicrobials.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Epigenetically distinct synaptic architecture in clonal compartments in the teleostean dorsal pallium

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Yasuko Isoe
    2. Ryohei Nakamura
    3. Shigenori Nonaka
    4. Yasuhiro Kamei
    5. Teruhiro Okuyama
    6. Naoyuki Yamamoto
    7. Hideaki Takeuchi
    8. Hiroyuki Takeda

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment:

      This important paper highlights the clonal organization of the dorsal telencephalon, a major region of the vertebrate brain, and analyzes the distinctive gene expression and chromatin accessibility present in each clonal using the adult teleost fish medaka. High-quality data were collected using convincing and solid methods and these were used to identify synaptic genes with a distinct chromatin landscape and expression in one of the regions of the dorsal pallium, with the goal of ascribing an evolutionary origin to these neurons.

    Reviewed by eLife