eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Differential translation of mRNA isoforms underlies oncogenic activation of cell cycle kinase Aurora A

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Roberta Cacioppo
   2. Hesna Begum Akman
   3. Taner Tuncer
   4. Ayse Elif Erson-Bensan
   5. Catherine Lindon

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, the authors provide compelling evidence that the interplay between alternative polyadenylation (APA) of mRNA encoding Aurora Kinase A (AURKA) and hsa-let-7a miRNA governs AURKA protein levels. The authors show that short 3'UTR isoform of mRNA encoding AURKA is efficiently translated throughout the cell cycle, while the long 3'UTR isoform is suppressed by hsa-let-7a miRNA in a cell cycle-dependent manner. These findings delineate post-transcriptional mechanisms regulating AURKA expression that may be implicated in increase in AURKA protein that is frequently observed across a variety of cancers.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Steroidogenesis and androgen/estrogen signaling pathways are altered in in vitro matured testicular tissues of prepubertal mice

    This article has 15 authors:

    1. Laura Moutard
    2. Caroline Goudin
    3. Catherine Jaeger
    4. Céline Duparc
    5. Estelle Louiset
    6. Tony Pereira
    7. François Fraissinet
    8. Marion Delessard
    9. Justine Saulnier
    10. Aurélie Rives-Feraille
    11. Christelle Delalande
    12. Hervé Lefebvre
    13. Nathalie Rives
    14. Ludovic Dumont
    15. Christine Rondanino

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study reports useful information on the limits of the organotypic culture of neonatal mouse testes, which has been regarded as an experimental strategy that can be extended to humans in the clinical setting for the conservation and subsequent re-use of testicular tissue. The evidence that the culture of testicular fragments of 6.5-day-old mouse testes does not allow optimal differentiation of steroidogenic cells is compelling and should enable further optimizations in the future.

    Reviewed by eLife