eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Sox9 marks limbal stem cells and is required for asymmetric cell fate switch in the corneal epithelium

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Gabriella Rice
   2. Olivia Farrelly
   3. Sixia Huang
   4. Paola Kuri
   5. Ezra Curtis
   6. Lisa Ohman
   7. Ning Li
   8. Christopher Lengner
   9. Vivian Lee
   10. Panteleimon Rompolas

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This fundamental work advances our understanding of the regulation of corneal stem cell fate and differentiation, identifying Sox9 as a player in this process. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with rigorous genomic experiments and genetic mouse models that are state-of-the-art in the field. The work will be of broad interest to developmental, stem cell, and transcriptional biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Ripply1 and Gsc collectively suppress anterior endoderm differentiation from prechordal plate progenitors

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Tao Cheng
   2. Xiang Liu
   3. Yang Dong
   4. Yi-Meng Tian
   5. Yan-Yi Xing
   6. Chen-Yi Chen
   7. Cong Liu
   8. Yun-Fei Li
   9. Ying Huang
   10. Ding-Hao Zhuo
   11. Xiao Xu
   12. Jing-Yun Luan
   13. Xin-Xin Fu
   14. Zi-Xin Jin
   15. Jing Mo
   16. Xiang Xu
   17. Hong-Qing Liang
   18. Peng-Fei Xu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides a useful analysis of the changes in chromatin organization and gene expression that occur during the differentiation of two cell types (anterior endoderm and prechordal plate) from a common progenitor in zebrafish. Although the findings are consistent with previous work, the evidence presented in the study appears to be incomplete and would benefit from more rigorous interpretation of single-cell data, more in-depth lineage tracing, overexpression experiments with physiological levels of Ripply, and a clearer justification for using an explant system. With these modifications, this paper will be of interest to zebrafish developmental biologists investigating mechanisms underlying differentiation.

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

3. Multi-talker speech comprehension at different temporal scales in listeners with normal and impaired hearing

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Jixing Li
   2. Qixuan Wang
   3. Qian Zhou
   4. Lu Yang
   5. Yutong Shen
   6. Shujian Huang
   7. Shaonan Wang
   8. Liina Pylkkänen
   9. Zhiwu Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study investigates how hearing impairment affects neural encoding of speech, in particular the encoding of hierarchical linguistic information. The current analysis provides incomplete evidence that hearing impairment affects speech processing at multiple levels, since the novel analysis based on HM-LSTM needs further justification. The advantage of this method should also be further explained. The study can also benefit from building a stronger link between neural and behavioral data.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. T3SS translocon induces pyroptosis by direct interaction with NLRC4/NAIP inflammasome

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Yan Zhao
   2. Hanshuo Zhu
   3. Jinqian Li
   4. Li Sun

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study shows that Type 3 secretion translocons in E. tarda and other bacteria activate the NAIP-NLRC4 inflammasome. The data from cellular and biochemical experiments showing that EseB is required for activation of the NLRC4 inflammasome are convincing, and comparing other translocons and additional cellular assays will provide further strength. This paper is broadly relevant to those investigating host-pathogen interactions in diverse organisms.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Biochemical and neurophysiological effects of deficiency of the mitochondrial import protein TIMM50

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Eyal Paz
   2. Sahil Jain
   3. Irit Gottfried
   4. Orna Staretz-Chacham
   5. Muhammad Mahajnah
   6. Pritha Bagchi
   7. Nicholas T Seyfried
   8. Uri Ashery
   9. Abdussalam Azem

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This important study presents interesting results aimed at explaining the effects of a human mutation on the mitochondrial import protein TIMM50 on mitochondrial function and neuronal excitability. While the evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, the mechanisms driving changes in the levels of certain proteins within and outside the mitochondria (such as certain ion channels) remain unexplained. This paper will be of interest to scientists in the mitochondria field.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Persistent cross-species transmission systems dominate Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 epidemiology in a high incidence region: a genomic epidemiology study

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Gillian A.M. Tarr
   2. Linda Chui
   3. Kim Stanford
   4. Emmanuel W. Bumunang
   5. Rahat Zaheer
   6. Vincent Li
   7. Stephen B. Freedman
   8. Chad R. Laing
   9. Tim A. McAllister

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This work revealed numerous distinct lineages that evolved within a local human population in Alberta, Canada, leading to persistent cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections for over a decade and highlighting the ongoing involvement of local cattle in disease transmission, as well as the possibility of intermediate hosts and environmental reservoirs. This is a useful study that also showed a shift towards more virulent stx2a-only strains becoming predominant in the local lineages. The paper's evidence supporting the role played by cattle in the transmission system of E. coli O157:H7 in Alberta is currently incomplete, based on potential sampling issues associated with the selection of isolates as raised by the reviewers.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Glia control experience-dependent plasticity in an olfactory critical period

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Hans C. Leier
   2. Alexander J. Foden
   3. Darren A. Jindal
   4. Abigail J. Wilkov
   5. Paola Van der Linden Costello
   6. Pamela J. Vanderzalm
   7. Jaeda C. Coutinho-Budd
   8. Masashi Tabuchi
   9. Heather T. Broihier

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Periods in which experience regulates early plasticity in sensory circuits are well established, but the mechanisms that control these critical periods are poorly understood. In this important study, the authors examine early-life critical periods that regulate the Drosophila antennal lobe and show that constant odor exposure markedly reduces the volume, synapse number, and function of a specific glomerulus. The authors offer mostly compelling evidence, that these changes are mediated by the invasion of ensheathing glia into the glomerulus where they phagocytose connections via a mechanism involving the engulfment receptor Draper.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Should I stay or should I go? Spatio-temporal dynamics of bacterial biofilms in confined flows

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Massinissa Benbelkacem
   2. Gabriel Ramos
   3. Fatima El Garah
   4. Yara Abidine
   5. Christine Roques
   6. Yohan Davit

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study integrates microfluidic experiments and mathematical modeling to investigate how flow dynamics and biofilm growth and detachment influence each other. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, the study identifies several key effects and stages in biofilm development, albeit with some weaknesses in clearly defining the setup and some of their interpretations. The comparison between experimental results and theoretical models is convincing, providing a robust analysis of the biofilm's behavior under varying flow conditions. The findings will be helpful for researchers working on biofilms and their applications.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Escape problem of magnetotactic bacteria - physiological magnetic field strengths help magnetotactic bacteria navigate in simulated sediments

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Agnese Codutti
   2. Mohammad A. Charsooghi
   3. Konrad Marx
   4. Elisa Cerdá-Doñate
   5. Omar Munoz
   6. Paul Zaslansky
   7. Vitali Telezki
   8. Tom Robinson
   9. Damien Faivre
   10. Stefan Klumpp

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents valuable experimental and numerical results on the motility of a magnetotactic bacterium living in sedimentary environments, particularly in environments of varying magnetic field strengths. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although the statistical significance comparing experiments with the numerical work is weak. The study will be of interest to biophysicists interested in bacterial motility.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Müller glia cell cycle re-activation by simultaneous cyclin D1 overexpression and p27kip1 knockdown promotes retinal regeneration in mice

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Zhifei Wu
    2. Baoshan Liao
    3. Julia Ying
    4. Jan Keung
    5. Zongli Zheng
    6. Virpi Ahola
    7. Wenjun Xiong

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      The manuscript presents a potentially important strategy to stimulate mammalian Müller glia to proliferate in vivo by manipulating cell cycle components. The findings are likely to appeal to retinal specialists and neuroscientists in general. However, the evidence that these cells become neurogenic is lacking/incomplete, suggesting that additional barriers exist to stimulate the regeneration of retinal neurons.

    Reviewed by eLife