eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Importance of glutamine in synaptic vesicles revealed by functional studies of SLC6A17 and its mutations pathogenic for intellectual disability

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Xiaobo Jia
   2. Jiemin Zhu
   3. Xiling Bian
   4. Sulin Liu
   5. Sihan Yu
   6. Wenjun Liang
   7. Lifen Jiang
   8. Renbo Mao
   9. Wenxia Zhang
   10. Yi Rao

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study makes a valuable contribution to our functional understanding of the atypical amino-acid transporter SLC6A177 at nerve cell synapses and the role of SLC6A17 variants in certain forms of intellectual disability. The reported evidence that disease-linked SLC6A17 variants cause behavioral abnormalities is convincing. However, corresponding molecular underpinnings, i.e. the molecular role of SLC6A17 in synapses and the functional molecular consequences of disease-related SLC6A17 variations, remain unclear because corresponding informative experimental approaches are missing - most importantly direct measurements of the transport activity of SLC6A17 in the various genetic contexts studied. This limits the robustness and validity of key mechanistic conclusions drawn from the present work.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Targeted memory reactivation in human REM sleep elicits detectable reactivation

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Mahmoud EA Abdellahi
   2. Anne CM Koopman
   3. Matthias S Treder
   4. Penelope A Lewis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This valuable work in human subjects reports that sounds that were associated with specific memories during waking behaviors can trigger the reactivation of these memory representations during REM sleep. However, the evidence supporting the conclusions is currently incomplete. Still, the work has the potential to expand our understanding of memory processing during sleep.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Large depth differences between target and flankers can increase crowding: Evidence from a multi-depth plane display

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Samuel P Smithers
   2. Yulong Shao
   3. James Altham
   4. Peter J Bex

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     Using a novel multi-depth plan display, this study reveals a valuable finding regarding crowding - it decreases with small depth differences between the target and flankers but increases with larger depth differences. The evidence supporting this finding is convincing, although the explanation of the findings is somewhat speculative. This paper will be of interest to visual scientists, neuroscientists, and ophthalmologists, especially those working on visual crowding and depth perception.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Cardio-audio synchronization elicits neural and cardiac surprise responses in human wakefulness and sleep

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Andria Pelentritou
   2. Christian Pfeiffer
   3. Sophie Schwartz
   4. Marzia De Lucia

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study presents useful findings on an important question in cognitive neuroscience - whether the brain can form sensory predictions during sleep. The paradigm used is compelling but evidence supporting the claims of the authors is incomplete. Major issues pertaining to large differences between the pattern of brain responses observed here relative to effects reported in the literature previously, and some evidence that the study might be underpowered to make strong conclusions about certain aspects of the data.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. A brain-wide analysis maps structural evolution to distinct anatomical module

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Robert A Kozol
   2. Andrew J Conith
   3. Anders Yuiska
   4. Alexia Cree-Newman
   5. Bernadeth Tolentino
   6. Kasey Benesh
   7. Alexandra Paz
   8. Evan Lloyd
   9. Johanna E Kowalko
   10. Alex C Keene
   11. Craig Albertson
   12. Erik R Duboue

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors ask if brain regions change based on the functional constraints or developmental constraints. To address this, they introduce an automated method for brain segmentation based on the zebrafish tool to study brain evolution in Astyanax. A caveat is that it is difficult to test the functional constraint hypothesis using this method, though it works well for testing developmental constraints.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. The evolution of colistin resistance increases bacterial resistance to host antimicrobial peptides and virulence

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Pramod K Jangir
   2. Lois Ogunlana
   3. Petra Szili
   4. Marton Czikkely
   5. Liam P Shaw
   6. Emily J Stevens
   7. Yang Yu
   8. Qiue Yang
   9. Yang Wang
   10. Csaba Pál
   11. Timothy R Walsh
   12. Craig R MacLean

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are a class of antibiotics that are inspired by natural components of innate immunity, which raises the specter of bacteria becoming resistant to both. The author this important study test this idea and find compelling evidence that a plasmid that encodes resistance to the AMP colistin also increases resistance to AMPS produced by humans, pigs, and chickens, enables the bacteria to grow better in low levels of AMP, and increases bacterial virulence in an insect model of infection. The study will be of interest to both evolutionary biologists and microbiologists focused on antimicrobial therapy and suggests that the evolution of resistance to these compounds can have collateral effects on immune evasion as well.

   Reviewed by eLife, PREreview

7. Formation and three-dimensional architecture of Leishmania adhesion in the sand fly vector

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Ryuji Yanase
   2. Flávia Moreira-Leite
   3. Edward Rea
   4. Lauren Wilburn
   5. Jovana Sádlová
   6. Barbora Vojtkova
   7. Katerina Pružinová
   8. Atsushi Taniguchi
   9. Shigenori Nonaka
   10. Petr Volf
   11. Jack D Sunter

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study provides compelling observations of the organization and architecture of haptomonads, a distinct and poorly understood developmental form of Leishmania found in sand fly vectors at later stages of infection. The authors used 3D electron microscopy techniques, including serial block face scanning electron microscopy and electron tomography, to visualize the colonization sand fly by haptomonads in impressive detail.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Fluid extraction from the left-right organizer uncovers mechanical properties needed for symmetry breaking

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Pedro Sampaio
   2. Sara Pestana
   3. Catarina Bota
   4. Adán Guerrero
   5. Ivo A Telley
   6. David Smith
   7. Susana Santos Lopes

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment:

     Sampaio and colleagues utilize an elegant approach to manipulate fluid dynamics in zebrafish Kupffer's vesicle to ask if fluid movement or something in the fluid governs the break in symmetry. These valuable results support a role for fluid movement and detection as important in breaking symmetry in a ciliated left-right organizer and help set a time window when fluid flow is critical for this process. However, as the fluid extraction experiments affect both chemical and physical features, the authors need to provide further convincing evidence to support their mechanosensory hypothesis or temper the claims.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. The autophagy receptor NBR1 directs the clearance of photodamaged chloroplasts

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Han Nim Lee
   2. Jenu Varghese Chacko
   3. Ariadna Gonzalez Solís
   4. Kuo-En Chen
   5. Jessica AS Barros
   6. Santiago Signorelli
   7. A Harvey Millar
   8. Richard David Vierstra
   9. Kevin W Eliceiri
   10. Marisa S Otegui

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     In this important study, the role of NBR1 in the degradation of photodamaged chloroplasts is analyzed, advancing our knowledge of chloroplast homeostasis in response to environmental stress. The evidence presented is convincing, in some parts even compelling, and the results are valuable for the plant and the autophagy research community.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Pooled genome-wide CRISPR activation screening for rapamycin resistance genes in Drosophila cells

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Baolong Xia
    2. Raghuvir Viswanatha
    3. Yanhui Hu
    4. Stephanie E Mohr
    5. Norbert Perrimon

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This valuable manuscript presents resources for genome-wide genetic perturbation in the fruitfly, Drosophila. The evidence for the usefulness is solid, with the authors demonstrating that they can identify novel genes that affect an important pathway, the mTOR pathway, which plays key roles in cell proliferation and cell death. The genetic resources are significant for their availability to colleagues in the Drosophila community seeking to to identify genes with important cellular functions.

    Reviewed by eLife