eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Within-host diversity improves phylogenetic and transmission reconstruction of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Arturo Torres Ortiz
   2. Michelle Kendall
   3. Nathaniel Storey
   4. James Hatcher
   5. Helen Dunn
   6. Sunando Roy
   7. Rachel Williams
   8. Charlotte Williams
   9. Richard A Goldstein
   10. Xavier Didelot
   11. Kathryn Harris
   12. Judith Breuer
   13. Louis Grandjean

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable study presents a novel and theoretically interesting model to account for viral diversity within hosts in evolutionary and genomic analyses of pathogens. The simulation results presented are solid, although there are some aspects of the methodology that require further investigation in order to establish their validity. The application to SARS-CoV-2 shows promise, but would benefit from further evaluation.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Engineering of the endogenous HBD promoter increases HbA2

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Mandy Y Boontanrart
   2. Elia Mächler
   3. Simone Ponta
   4. Jan C Nelis
   5. Viviana G Preiano
   6. Jacob E Corn

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents the important finding that gene editing could be used to activate delta-globin expression to treat disorders of red blood cell synthesis. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, particularly in the immortalized cell lines, although inclusion of a larger number of donor patient samples may have strengthened the conclusions that were able to be drawn from the primary cell experiments. The data show this approach to have promise and identify avenues of effort that could be pursued to advance it to a clinical strategy for hemoglobinopathy treatment.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Early-life experience reorganizes neuromodulatory regulation of stage-specific behavioral responses and individuality dimensions during development

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Reemy Ali Nasser
   2. Yuval Harel
   3. Shay Stern

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Early life stress can have profound effects on animal behavior, including potential influences on individuality. In this valuable work, the authors use a rich new dataset to solidly demonstrate that the behavioral consequences of early life stress in C. elegans can be buffered by neuromodulators previously implicated in patterns of individuality. While much remains to be learned about the mechanisms by which stress might influence individuality, these studies provide an important entry point that will be of interest to neurobiologists studying interactions between behavior, neuromodulation, stress, and individuality.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Mec1-independent activation of the Rad53 checkpoint kinase revealed by quantitative analysis of protein localization dynamics

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Brandon Ho
   2. Ethan J Sanford
   3. Raphael Loll-Krippleber
   4. Nikko P Torres
   5. Marcus B Smolka
   6. Grant W Brown

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     In addition to identifying several components regulated by checkpoint kinases, the authors identify a novel non-canonical activation mode for the central checkpoint kinase Rad53, a phosphorylation event that does not depend on Mec1 and instead depends on proteins involved in retrograde signaling through Rtg3. The study thus reveals unanticipated complexities in the DNA replication stress response. Overall, the work is well done and the data support the main conclusions.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Response outcome gates the effect of spontaneous cortical state fluctuations on perceptual decisions

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Davide Reato
   2. Raphael Steinfeld
   3. André Tacão-Monteiro
   4. Alfonso Renart

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Reao et al. investigate a question that has long puzzled neuroscientists: what features of ongoing brain activity predict trial-to-trial variability in responding to the same sensory stimuli? The data demonstrate that the outcome of the previous trial, specifically a miss, allows these associations to be seen - while a correct response appears less likely to do so. and this is a valuable advance in our understanding of the relationship between brain state, behavioral state, and performance. Technically, the study is solid, ie, the methods, data and analyses broadly support the claims, with some weaknesses remaining.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A billion years arms-race between viruses, virophages, and eukaryotes

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Jose Gabriel Nino Barreat
   2. Aris Katzourakis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The important study by Barreat and Katzourakis examines the evolutionary history of eukaryotic viruses (and related mobile elements) in the Bamfordvirae kingdom, and evaluates potential alternative scenarios regarding the origin of different lineages in this highly diverse kingdom. Through convincing phylogenetic analyses, the authors propose a new evolutionary model for the origin of this kingdom where their last common ancestor is inferred to have been an exogenous, non-virophage DNA virus with a small genome. This work advances our understanding of the deep evolutionary history of viruses, the interaction between viruses and the first eukaryotes, and the diversification of viral lineages.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. ZMYM2 controls human transposable element transcription through distinct co-regulatory complexes

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Danielle J Owen
   2. Elisa Aguilar-Martinez
   3. Zongling Ji
   4. Yaoyong Li
   5. Andrew D Sharrocks

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Structural and mechanistic insights into ribosomal ITS2 RNA processing by nuclease-kinase machinery

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Jiyun Chen
   2. Hong Chen
   3. Shanshan Li
   4. Xiaofeng Lin
   5. Rong Hu
   6. Kaiming Zhang
   7. Liang Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study represents a valuable mechanistic contribution towards understanding how ribosomal RNA is processed during ribosome biogenesis. The biochemical evidence supporting the major conclusions is convincing. This work will be of interest to cell biologists and biochemists working on ribosome biogenesis.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Structural insight into guanylyl cyclase receptor hijacking of the kinase–Hsp90 regulatory mechanism

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Nathanael A Caveney
   2. Naotaka Tsutsumi
   3. K Christopher Garcia

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, the human membrane receptor guanyl cyclase GC-C was expressed in hamster cells, co-purified in complex with endogenous HSP90 and CDC37 proteins, and the structure of the complex was determined by cryo-EM. The study shows that the pseudo-kinase domain of GC-C associates with CDC37 and HSP90, similarly to how the bona fide protein kinases CDK4, CRAF and BRAF have been shown to interact. The methodology used is state of the art and the evidence presented is compelling.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Tetraose steroidal glycoalkaloids from potato provide resistance against Alternaria solani and Colorado potato beetle

    This article has 9 authors:

    1. Pieter J Wolters
    2. Doret Wouters
    3. Yury M Tikunov
    4. Shimlal Ayilalath
    5. Linda P Kodde
    6. Miriam F Strijker
    7. Lotte Caarls
    8. Richard GF Visser
    9. Vivianne GAA Vleeshouwers

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This valuable study links natural variation in steroidal glycoalkaloid production to disease and insect resistance in potato species. The study design is straightforward and thorough, and the evidence supporting the main conclusions is solid. The work will be of interest to plant biologists and breeders.

    Reviewed by eLife