eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Neural signatures of motor memories emerge in neural network models

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Joanna C Chang
   2. Claudia Clopath
   3. Juan A Gallego

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study presents valuable computational findings on the neural basis of learning new motor memories without interfering with previously learned behaviours using recurrent neural networks. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, but it would benefit from stronger and clearer links with experimental findings. This work will be of interest to computational and experimental neuroscientists working in motor learning.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Neisseria gonorrhoeae LIN codes provide a robust, multi-resolution lineage nomenclature

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Anastasia Unitt
   2. Made A Krisna
   3. Kasia M Parfitt
   4. Keith A Jolley
   5. Martin CJ Maiden
   6. Odile B Harrison

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study introduces the Life Identification Number (LIN) coding system as a powerful and versatile approach for classifying Neisseria gonorrhoeae lineages. The authors show that LIN codes capture both previously defined lineages and their relationships in a way that aligns with the species' phylogenetic structure. The compelling evidence presented, together with its integration into the PubMLST platform, underscores its strong potential to enhance epidemiological surveillance and advance our understanding of gonococcal population biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Cortical layer 6b mediates state-dependent changes in brain activity and effects of orexin on waking and sleep

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Elise J Meijer
   2. Marissa Mueller
   3. Lukas B Krone
   4. Tomoko Yamagata
   5. Anna Hoerder-Suabedissen
   6. Sian Wilcox
   7. Hannah Alfonsa
   8. Atreyi Chakrabarty
   9. Luiz Guidi
   10. Peter L Oliver
   11. Vladyslav V Vyazovskiy
   12. Zoltán Molnár

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study offers a valuable contribution to our understanding of the role of layer 6b cortical neurons in sleep-wake regulation, providing new insight into how this understudied neural population may regulate cortical arousal via orexin signaling. The evidence supporting these findings is solid, although somewhat constrained by limitations in the specificity of the genetic targeting strategy. Nonetheless, the work introduces new avenues for uncovering how the classical wake-promoting peptide, orexin, exerts its effects on the cortex.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Post-translational modifications of microtubules are crucial for malaria parasite transmission

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Kodzo Atchou
   2. Magali Roques
   3. Ruth Rehmann
   4. Reto Caldelari
   5. Melanie Schmid
   6. Simone Grossi
   7. Bianca Manuela Berger
   8. Torsten Ochsenreiter
   9. Friedrich Frischknecht
   10. Volker Heussler

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides valuable insights into microtubule remodeling during liver-stage Plasmodium berghei development, demonstrating that deletion of the alpha-tubulin C-terminal tail impairs parasite growth in mosquitoes and abolishes infection in HeLa cells. The work is technically ambitious, employing advanced microscopy, genetic mutants, and pharmacological approaches. However, key claims are only partially supported due to incomplete evidence linking tubulin modifications to microtubule dynamics and uncertain antibody-based PTM detection.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A novel mechanism for bacterial sporulation based on programmed peptidoglycan degradation

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Carlos A Ramírez Carbó
   2. Oihane Irazoki
   3. Srutha Venkatesan
   4. Lauren JS Chen
   5. Haylie A Morales
   6. Assariel J Garcia Avila
   7. Hoi-Ling Cheung
   8. Felipe Cava
   9. Beiyan Nan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study identifies and partially characterises two proteins optimised for coordinated peptidoglycan degradation during two spore morphogenesis programs in the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid, although the description of the data is somewhat overstated. After some editing, the paper will be of interest to those studying peptidoglycan synthesis and reorganisation, which is a central aspect of microbial cell biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Arrayed single-gene perturbations identify drivers of human anterior neural tube closure

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Roya E Huang
   2. Giridhar M Anand
   3. Heitor C Megale
   4. Jason Chen
   5. Chudi Abraham-Igwe
   6. Sharad Ramanathan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study is a fundamental advance in the field of developmental biology and transcriptional regulation that demonstrates the use of hPSC-derived organoids to generate reproducible organoids to study the mechanisms that drive neural tube closure. The work is exceptional in its development of tools to use CRISPR interference to screen for genes that regulate morphogenesis in human PSC organoids. The additional characterization of the role of specific transcription factors in neural tube formation is solid. The work provides both technical advances and new knowledge on human development through embryo models.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Resolving synaptic events using subsynaptically targeted GCaMP8 variants

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Jiawen Chen
   2. Junhao Lin
   3. Kaikai He
   4. Luyi Wang
   5. Yifu Han
   6. Chengjie Qiu
   7. Dion Dickman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     In this important study, the authors engineered and characterised novel genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) and an analytical tool (CaFire) capable of reporting and quantifying various sub-synaptic events, including miniature synaptic events, with a speed and sensitivity approaching that of intracellular electrophysiological recordings. They present compelling data validating this toolset, which will be of interest to neurobiologists studying synaptic calcium dynamics in various model systems.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Widespread cortical representations of innate behaviors in the mouse

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Nicholas J Michelson
   2. Pankaj K Gupta
   3. Timothy H Murphy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable work shows that subcortically-generated behaviors, like grooming, can have widespread representations in cortical activity. While the evidence is solid, additional analyses are necessary to strengthen the claims associated with outsized cortical representations of grooming onsets, as well as to address atypical grooming events. This work will be of interest to neuroscientists interested in how subcortically-generated behaviors are represented across the cortex.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. BuzzWatch: Uncovering Multi-scale Temporal Patterns in Mosquito Behavior Through Continuous Long-term Monitoring

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Théo Maire
   2. Zhong Wan
   3. Louis Lambrechts
   4. Felix JH Hol

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper reports a useful low-cost platform for studying mosquito behaviors such as flight activity, sugar feeding, and host-seeking responses over the course of several weeks, and demonstrates key applications of this platform. While the authors provide a biological proof of principle, the evidence that supports the validation of the tracking algorithm is incomplete; it lacks biological replicates, independent confirmation of the tracking algorithm, and data on mosquito survival.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Sulfation affects apical extracellular matrix organization during development of the Drosophila embryonic salivary gland tube

    This article has 6 authors:

    1. J Luke Woodward
    2. Jeffrey Matthew
    3. Rutuparna Joshi
    4. Vishakha Vishwakarma
    5. Ying Xiao
    6. SeYeon Chung

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This paper is important in demonstrating a requirement for sulfation in organizing apical extracellular matrix (aECM) during tubulogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster. The authors identify and characterize the organization of some of the first known components of the non-chitinous aECM in the Drosophila salivary gland tube, and these findings are supported by convincing data. This study would be of interest to developmental and cell biologists.

      [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

    Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons