eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Targeting oncogenic KRasG13C with nucleotide-based covalent inhibitors

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Lisa Goebel
   2. Tonia Kirschner
   3. Sandra Koska
   4. Amrita Rai
   5. Petra Janning
   6. Stefano Maffini
   7. Helge Vatheuer
   8. Paul Czodrowski
   9. Roger S Goody
   10. Matthias P Müller
   11. Daniel Rauh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors present interesting information regarding the possibility of targeting the oncogenic K-Ras(G13C) mutant with nucleotide competitors. The experiments represent a solid support of the claims and show that this approach can work despite concerns about the high affinity of GTP and its high cellular concentration. These results will be of high interest for all working in the Ras field and in targeting oncogenes with small molecules. A weakness of the manuscript is the lack of direct physiological insights.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Meisosomes, folded membrane microdomains between the apical extracellular matrix and epidermis

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Dina Aggad
   2. Nicolas Brouilly
   3. Shizue Omi
   4. Clara Luise Essmann
   5. Benoit Dehapiot
   6. Cathy Savage-Dunn
   7. Fabrice Richard
   8. Chantal Cazevieille
   9. Kristin A Politi
   10. David H Hall
   11. Remy Pujol
   12. Nathalie Pujol

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study thoroughly characterizes the morphology of an interesting folded membrane structure that links the epidermis to the cuticle in C. elegans. This structure, here named the meiosome, has been noted by several previous researchers. The study would be strengthened by providing additional support to the notion that the VHA-5::GFP transgenic reporter, used by the authors, faithfully labels the meisosome, and by stronger evidence that meiosomes indeed serve as attachment platforms between the cuticle and the epidermis.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Large vesicle extrusions from C. elegans neurons are consumed and stimulated by glial-like phagocytosis activity of the neighboring cell

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Yu Wang
   2. Meghan Lee Arnold
   3. Anna Joelle Smart
   4. Guoqiang Wang
   5. Rebecca J Androwski
   6. Andres Morera
   7. Ken CQ Nguyen
   8. Peter J Schweinsberg
   9. Ge Bai
   10. Jason Cooper
   11. David H Hall
   12. Monica Driscoll
   13. Barth D Grant

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript will be of interest to a wide range of cell biologists interested in understanding cell-cell communication. The discovery that an engulfing cell can control the extrusion and degradation of large vehicles from its target cell is important and intriguing. The authors present compelling data that show that exophers (large neuronal extrusions proposed to discard toxic cargo) are taken up by adjacent hypodermal cells, split into smaller fragments, and eventually degraded by lysosome fusion. The authors identify a number of small GTPases and accessory components, as well as the phagocytic receptor (CED-1) and the likely eat-me signal (phosphatidylserine).

   Reviewed by eLife

4. S-adenosylmethionine synthases specify distinct H3K4me3 populations and gene expression patterns during heat stress

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Adwait A Godbole
   2. Sneha Gopalan
   3. Thien-Kim Nguyen
   4. Alexander L Munden
   5. Dominique S Lui
   6. Matthew J Fanelli
   7. Paula Vo
   8. Caroline A Lewis
   9. Jessica B Spinelli
   10. Thomas G Fazzio
   11. Amy K Walker

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The manuscript proposes a mechanism by which different S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthase enzymes exhibit specificity towards target sequences, thereby proposing a novel layer of control over H3K4 trimethylation (H3K4me3). Such specificity is demonstrated in the context of responses to heat stress for two Caenorhabditis elegans SAM synthase enzymes, supporting the existence and importance of this novel mechanism of epigenetic control.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Comparing the evolutionary dynamics of predominant SARS-CoV-2 virus lineages co-circulating in Mexico

   This article has 27 authors:

   1. Hugo G Castelán-Sánchez
   2. Luis Delaye
   3. Rhys PD Inward
   4. Simon Dellicour
   5. Bernardo Gutierrez
   6. Natalia Martinez de la Vina
   7. Celia Boukadida
   8. Oliver G Pybus
   9. Guillermo de Anda Jáuregui
   10. Plinio Guzmán
   11. Marisol Flores-Garrido
   12. Óscar Fontanelli
   13. Maribel Hernández Rosales
   14. Amilcar Meneses
   15. Gabriela Olmedo-Alvarez
   16. Alfredo Heriberto Herrera-Estrella
   17. Alejandro Sánchez-Flores
   18. José Esteban Muñoz-Medina
   19. Andreu Comas-García
   20. Bruno Gómez-Gil
   21. Selene Zárate
   22. Blanca Taboada
   23. Susana López
   24. Carlos F Arias
   25. Moritz UG Kraemer
   26. Antonio Lazcano
   27. Marina Escalera Zamudio

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors document an in-depth analysis of introduction patterns of 5 variant waves in Mexico. This is an important analysis and dataset since the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Mexico is generally understudied, and this paper contributes important missing information. The phylogenetic analyses are solid and well-presented, but the lack of detail regarding the collection of samples across Mexican states makes it difficult to evaluate conclusions about the relationship between observed viral lineages and local case counts. Additionally, in its current form, the manuscript is mostly descriptive, without clear hypotheses tested or discussion of implications.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Complex plumages spur rapid color diversification in kingfishers (Aves: Alcedinidae)

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Chad M Eliason
   2. Jenna M McCullough
   3. Shannon J Hackett
   4. Michael J Andersen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work advances our understanding of the factors that affect the speed of colour evolution in birds and the resulting diversification patterns. It provides compelling evidence that more complex plumage coloration can lead to rapid colour evolution in kingfishers, and could pave the way for more comprehensive analyses that fully embrace the multidimensional nature of colour variation. Hence, the results will be of broad interest to ornithologists and evolutionary biologists in general, once the authors have streamlined the theoretical framework and explained the novel methodological approaches in more detail.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Rapid, automated, and experimenter-free touchscreen testing reveals reciprocal interactions between cognitive flexibility and activity-based anorexia in female rats

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Kaixin Huang
   2. Laura K Milton
   3. Harry Dempsey
   4. Stephen J Power
   5. Kyna-Anne Conn
   6. Zane B Andrews
   7. Claire J Foldi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable manuscript describes a fully automated touchscreen cognitive testing system for rats that reduces the length of training required to learn a task and eliminates the need for daily handling. These features make it possible to assess cognitive behaviors in conjunction with other neurobehavioral paradigms during adolescence, an important advance in the field. The data convincingly show that cognitive flexibility does not promote susceptibility to severe weight loss in the activity-based anorexia (ABA) paradigm. However, support for the claim that cognitive deficits seen in rats that had been exposed ABA adequately capture an important clinical feature of the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa is incompletely supported.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Imaging through Wind an see electrode arrays reveals a small fraction of local neurons following surface MUA

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Martin Thunemann
   2. Lorraine Hossain
   3. Torbjørn V. Ness
   4. Nicholas Rogers
   5. Keundong Lee
   6. Sang Heon Lee
   7. Kıvılcım Kılıç
   8. Hongseok Oh
   9. Michael N. Economo
   10. Vikash Gilja
   11. Gaute T. Einevoll
   12. Shadi A. Dayeh
   13. Anna Devor

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study provides fundamental insights into the relationship between single neuron activity in superficial layers of the cortex and electrical signals recorded at the cortical surface. Based on solid measurements, the results indicate a weak correlation between individual layer 2/3 neuron activity and multiunit activity recorded at the surface, whose interpretation could be reinforced. In particular, a strong contribution of layer 1 axons to surface signals is suggested but relies on incomplete evidence.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Mitochondrial protein import clogging as a mechanism of disease

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Liam P Coyne
   2. Xiaowen Wang
   3. Jiyao Song
   4. Ebbing de Jong
   5. Karin Schneider
   6. Paul T Massa
   7. Frank A Middleton
   8. Thomas Becker
   9. Xin Jie Chen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This manuscript provides valuable insight into the molecular mechanism by which destabilized mitochondrial proteins 'clog' import channels and contribute to the pathologic mitochondrial and cellular dysfunction implicated in human disease. The evidence supporting this conclusion is solid, utilizing yeast, mammalian cell culture, and mouse models. However, additional characterization of import clogging in the mammalian model systems would strengthen this study. This work will be of broad interest to researchers in the fields of mitochondrial biology, protein quality control and proteostasis.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Distinct functions of cardiac β-adrenergic receptors in the T-tubule vs. outer surface membrane

    This article has 11 authors:

    1. Marion Barthé
    2. Flora Lefebvre
    3. Emilie Langlois
    4. Florence Lefebvre
    5. Patrick Lechêne
    6. Xavier Iturrioz
    7. Catherine Llorens-Cortes
    8. Tâp Ha-Duong
    9. Laurence Moine
    10. Nicolas Tsapis
    11. Rodolphe Fischmeister

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study describes an interesting approach using PEGylated isoprenaline to selectively activate beta-adrenergic receptors in the surface sarcolemma of ventricular myocytes. While the concept is compelling, and the core of an interesting and impactful study is presented, the results are preliminary and incomplete at this stage, and would benefit from more rigorous validation of the approach. The work will be of interest to cardiac cell biologists and pharmacologists.

    Reviewed by eLife