eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A pH-dependent cluster of charges in a conserved cryptic pocket on flaviviral envelopes

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Lorena Zuzic
   2. Jan K Marzinek
   3. Ganesh S Anand
   4. Jim Warwicker
   5. Peter J Bond

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The study represents an impressive effort to use atomistic simulations to probe cryptic binding sites in the envelope of six flaviviruses. Moreover, using constant pH simulations, the authors suggest that a cluster of ionizable residues contribute to the pH dependent conformational rearrangements required in the infection process. Therefore, the study provides new mechanistic insights that can be helpful in future efforts to develop drugs that target flaviviruses.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Predictive nonlinear modeling of malignant myelopoiesis and tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Jonathan Rodriguez
   2. Abdon Iniguez
   3. Nilamani Jena
   4. Prasanthi Tata
   5. Zhong-Ying Liu
   6. Arthur D Lander
   7. John Lowengrub
   8. Richard A Van Etten

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This is an important study that investigates the impact of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in chronic myeloid leukemia. Through a combination of pre-clinical in vivo measurements, clinical data, and computational modeling, the authors present solid evidence regarding the heterogeneous effects of TKIs in patients and how the response to treatment may be improved. With the assumptions about differences between normal and leukemic cells addressed, this study would be of interest to those working in the fields of mathematical oncology and cancer biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. GABABR silencing of nerve terminals

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Daniel C Cook
   2. Timothy A Ryan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The authors revisit fundamentals of synaptic transmission using a combination of advanced optical methods capable of visualizing calcium influx and neurotransmitter release at single release sites. By doing so, the authors present evidence for silencing of neurotransmitter release at single release sites as a function of external calcium. The data have relevance to a wide range of phenomena including neural plasticity and inhibitory modulation of synaptic communication.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Rapid geographical source attribution of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis genomes using hierarchical machine learning

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Sion C Bayliss
   2. Rebecca K Locke
   3. Claire Jenkins
   4. Marie Anne Chattaway
   5. Timothy J Dallman
   6. Lauren A Cowley

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important study presents a machine learning-based classifier that can accurately determine the geographic origin of a Salmonella enterica sample from its whole-genome sequencing data in under five minutes leading to actionable public health insights. Applying the method to 2,313 whole genome sequences collected in the United Kingdom and several external validation datasets, the authors provide convincing evidence that Salmonella genomic data can be used to identify the likely geographic source of a food-borne outbreak and, in most cases, correctly identify the country of origin of an infection acquired overseas. The work presents an excellent case for the potential utility of routine genomics coupled with machine learning for public health microbiology and the methods are likely to be applicable to other pathogens besides Salmonella enterica.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Impaired bone strength and bone microstructure in a novel early-onset osteoporotic rat model with a clinically relevant PLS3 mutation

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Jing Hu
   2. Bingna Zhou
   3. Xiaoyun Lin
   4. Qian Zhang
   5. Feifei Guan
   6. Lei Sun
   7. Jiayi Liu
   8. Ou Wang
   9. Yan Jiang
   10. Wei-bo Xia
   11. Xiaoping Xing
   12. Mei Li

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     The findings in this study are important as they establish a rat model of a classic form of early-onset osteoporosis and demonstrate that osteoporosis medications are effective in the model. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is compelling.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Tiered sympathetic control of cardiac function revealed by viral tracing and single cell transcriptome profiling

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Sachin Sharma
   2. Russell Littman
   3. John D Tompkins
   4. Douglas Arneson
   5. Jaime Contreras
   6. Al-Hassan Dajani
   7. Kaitlyn Ang
   8. Amit Tsanhani
   9. Xin Sun
   10. Patrick Y Jay
   11. Herbert Herzog
   12. Xia Yang
   13. Olujimi A Ajijola

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important landmark paper identifies three distinct stellate ganglion nerve cell subtypes stratifiable in terms of their neuropeptide Y expression correlating these with gene expression and electrophysiological properties. Their innovative use of viral tracing techniques compellingly established their conclusions. This major contribution to cardiac sympathetic excitation is relevant to a wide scientific and clinical audience.

   Reviewed by eLife

7. Generative network modeling reveals quantitative definitions of bilateral symmetry exhibited by a whole insect brain connectome

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Benjamin D Pedigo
   2. Mike Powell
   3. Eric W Bridgeford
   4. Michael Winding
   5. Carey E Priebe
   6. Joshua T Vogelstein

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This important work demonstrates a significant asymmetry between the connectivity statistics of the left and right hemispheres of the Drosophila larva brain. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling and represents a first step toward the development of statistical tests for comparing pairs of connectomes more generally. This work will therefore be of interest to the broad neuroscience community.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. linc-mipep and linc-wrb encode micropeptides that regulate chromatin accessibility in vertebrate-specific neural cells

   This article has 15 authors:

   1. Valerie A Tornini
   2. Liyun Miao
   3. Ho-Joon Lee
   4. Timothy Gerson
   5. Sarah E Dube
   6. Valeria Schmidt
   7. François Kroll
   8. Yin Tang
   9. Katherine Du
   10. Manik Kuchroo
   11. Charles E Vejnar
   12. Ariel Alejandro Bazzini
   13. Smita Krishnaswamy
   14. Jason Rihel
   15. Antonio J Giraldez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This paper will be of interest to scientists involved in understanding the function of long non-coding RNAs. The authors found two genes previously reported as lincRNAs in early studies encode micropeptides in zebrafish. Zebrafish mutants lacking these micro-peptides show altered gene regulatory networks that preferentially affect oligodendrocytes and cerebellar cells in the embryonic brain. The data presented in the study are solid and present convincing additional evidence for the versatile functions of micro-peptides.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Statistical modeling based on structured surveys of Australian native possum excreta harboring Mycobacterium ulcerans predicts Buruli ulcer occurrence in humans

   This article has 14 authors:

   1. Koen Vandelannoote
   2. Andrew H Buultjens
   3. Jessica L Porter
   4. Anita Velink
   5. John R Wallace
   6. Kim R Blasdell
   7. Michael Dunn
   8. Victoria Boyd
   9. Janet AM Fyfe
   10. Ee Laine Tay
   11. Paul DR Johnson
   12. Saras M Windecker
   13. Nick Golding
   14. Timothy P Stinear

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife assessment

     This study is an important contribution to the understanding of Buruli ulcer transmission in Australia. The authors provide compelling evidence that the carriage of Mycobacterium ulcerans by possums, within their small home range, can predict cases of Buruli ulcer disease in individuals who visit those areas. While not directly relevant to the transmission of Buruli ulcer in West and Central Africa, the work will be of great interest to those studying the transmission of opportunistic environmental pathogens.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. A ratchet-like apical constriction drives cell ingression during the mouse gastrulation EMT

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Alexandre Francou
    2. Kathryn V Anderson
    3. Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife assessment

      This study employs live imaging to investigate the movement of mesodermal cells in early mouse embryos. By examining the dynamics of cell behavior in normal and mutant embryos, the authors propose that apical constriction of cells results from pulsed contraction guided by crumbs2 signals. The paper presents beautiful images and adds to the molecular understanding of cell migration during early development.

    Reviewed by eLife