eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. An armoured marine reptile from the Early Triassic of South China and its phylogenetic and evolutionary implications

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Andrzej S Wolniewicz
   2. Yuefeng Shen
   3. Qiang Li
   4. Yuanyuan Sun
   5. Yu Qiao
   6. Yajie Chen
   7. Yi-Wei Hu
   8. Jun Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper describes an important new marine reptile specimen. A solid ostelogical description of the saurosphargid Prosaurosphargis yingzishanensis, the earliest known member of this group, combined with a large-scale phylogenetic analysis enhances our understanding of the affinities of a wide range of Triassic reptiles. As such the relevance of this paper goes far beyond the immediate importance of this remarkable fossil - it also sheds light on the position of several important Triassic groups, including Testudinata and Archosauromorpha.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Nested circuits mediate the decision to vocalize

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Shuyun Xiao
   2. Valerie Michael
   3. Richard Mooney

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Vocalizations are controlled by neural circuits connecting the amygdala and periaqueductal gray. This study presents valuable measures of the neurons that suppress vocalization in appropriate contexts using a rich variety of behavioural, imaging, optogenetic, and tracing methodologies. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although their results only hint at the mechanisms that could underlie the hierarchical control of vocalization. The work will be of interest to neurobiologists working on motor control and vocalization.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Osteonecrosis in Gaucher disease in the era of multiple therapies: Biomarker set for risk stratification from a tertiary referral center

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Mohsen Basiri
   2. Mohammad E Ghaffari
   3. Jiapeng Ruan
   4. Vagishwari Murugesan
   5. Nathaniel Kleytman
   6. Glenn Belinsky
   7. Amir Akhavan
   8. Andrew Lischuk
   9. Lilu Guo
   10. Katherine Klinger
   11. Pramod K Mistry

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents valuable findings on the risk factors of avascular osteonecrosis in patients with Gaucher disease. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing. The work will interest clinicians who treat patients with inborn errors of metabolism.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Divergent functions of two clades of flavodoxin in diatoms mitigate oxidative stress and iron limitation

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Shiri Graff van Creveld
   2. Sacha N Coesel
   3. Stephen Blaskowski
   4. Ryan D Groussman
   5. Megan J Schatz
   6. E Virginia Armbrust

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents valuable findings regarding the functional diversification of flavodoxins from diatoms, a protein initially described as an Fe-sparing substitute for ferredoxin in Fe-poor open ocean environments. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although the study could be strengthened by using a wider gradient of oxidative stress in the experiments and using Fe limitation methodology, which allows more certain differentiation between a low Fe and oxidative stress response.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. The genomic footprint of social stratification in admixing American populations

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Alex Mas-Sandoval
   2. Sara Mathieson
   3. Matteo Fumagalli

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study combines population genetic theory and deep learning approaches to estimate the extent of assortative mating and sex bias in modern admixed populations in the Americas. The new approach provides solid evidence for their main conclusions that socially constructed hierarchies have influenced mating behaviors, though certain results would benefit from further consideration. This paper would be of interest to human population geneticists and social scientists, particularly those studying demographic processes.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Annexin A6 mediates calcium-dependent exosome secretion during plasma membrane repair

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Justin Krish Williams
   2. Jordan Matthew Ngo
   3. Isabelle Madeline Lehman
   4. Randy Schekman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This compelling study brings together two earlier observations: that Ca2+ influx can trigger exosome release from multivesicular bodies, and that plasma membrane repair after wounding requires Ca2+ and involves Ca2+-binding annexin proteins. This important work takes these earlier findings in an interesting new direction by showing that exosome release from MVBs is also triggered by Ca2+ influx during plasma membrane wounding and requires the annexin isoform ANX6. The study suggests a few possible mechanisms (such as Ca2+-dependent tethering of MVBs to the plasma membrane by ANX6) and raises the interesting possibility that cell injury and repair may contribute to the release of exosomes into biological fluids.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Mitochondrial defects caused by PARL deficiency lead to arrested spermatogenesis and ferroptosis

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Enrico Radaelli
   2. Charles-Antoine Assenmacher
   3. Jillian Verrelle
   4. Esha Banerjee
   5. Florence Manero
   6. Salim Khiati
   7. Anais Girona
   8. Guillermo Lopez-Lluch
   9. Placido Navas
   10. Marco Spinazzi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript reports an important finding that spermatogenic defects in Parl KO mice, a genetic model for Leigh syndrome, may result from mitochondrial defects leading to ferroptosis. The finding, if confirmed, would be of great significance because male germ cell ferroptosis has not been well characterized. However, the criteria for determining male germ cell ferroptosis were vague, and the supporting data were inadequate.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. How honey bees make fast and accurate decisions

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. HaDi MaBouDi
   2. James AR Marshall
   3. Neville Dearden
   4. Andrew B Barron

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents important findings on the decision-making capacities of honey bees in controlled conditions. The evidence supporting the study is solid, however, the explanation of the methods, importance, and novelty of the study requires further clarification. With a deeper development of the relevance of this study, the reader will have a clear idea of how this study contributes to the field.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. CCR4 and CCR7 differentially regulate thymocyte localization with distinct outcomes for central tolerance

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Yu Li
   2. Pablo Guaman Tipan
   3. Hilary J Selden
   4. Jayashree Srinivasan
   5. Laura P Hale
   6. Lauren IR Ehrlich

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper will be of broad interest to immunologists that study T cell responses and formation of the peripheral T cell compartment. Using elegant live imaging approaches, the authors provide convincing evidence in support of a revised model for how positive-selected thymocytes are called to the thymus medulla to interact with distinct antigen-presenting cells. The work makes an important contribution to the field by identifying previously unappreciated complexities related to cellular movement during T cell generation.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Building resilient cervical cancer prevention through gender-neutral HPV vaccination

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Irene Man
    2. Damien Georges
    3. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan
    4. Partha Basu
    5. Iacopo Baussano

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study presents valuable findings on how gender-neutral vaccination against human papillomavirus can help improve program resilience in the case of vaccination disruptions. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing, although the results are only applicable to India and other countries with a similar HPV context; researchers can adapt the model for their local context and use it as a starting point for future research.

    Reviewed by eLife