eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Dynamic molecular evolution of a supergene with suppressed recombination in white-throated sparrows

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Hyeonsoo Jeong
   2. Nicole M Baran
   3. Dan Sun
   4. Paramita Chatterjee
   5. Thomas S Layman
   6. Christopher N Balakrishnan
   7. Donna L Maney
   8. Soojin V Yi

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this paper, the authors generate and analyze new genome and gene expression data to understand better the evolution of the white-throated sparrow supergene region, which contains 1000 genes and determines whether a bird has a tan or a white stripe. The study nicely illustrates how the cessation of recombination that results from a chromosomal inversion can become a source of evolutionary novelty. The lack of recombination can result in the accumulation of deleterious variation leading to degeneration, but it can also (as here) facilitate genomic diversification and adaptation. The results will be of interest to a broad array of researchers studying genome architecture and phenotypic diversity and evolution.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms and brain morphology: Examining confounding bias

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Lorenza Dall'Aglio
   2. Hannah H Kim
   3. Sander Lamballais
   4. Jeremy Labrecque
   5. Ryan L Muetzel
   6. Henning Tiemeier

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study will be of interest to the large class of researchers who perform brain-behavior correlation analysis in the neuroimaging field, especially those related to neurodevelopment. The authors found that controlling for socioeconomic and maternal behavioral confounders, in addition to the usual demographic variables, generally attenuated such associations in ADHD using two independent large cohorts. The findings highlighted the importance of careful confounder selection and control for robust brain-behavior associations.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. A transcriptome atlas of leg muscles from healthy human volunteers reveals molecular and cellular signatures associated with muscle location

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Tooba Abbassi-Daloii
   2. Salma el Abdellaoui
   3. Lenard M Voortman
   4. Thom TJ Veeger
   5. Davy Cats
   6. Hailiang Mei
   7. Duncan E Meuffels
   8. Ewoud van Arkel
   9. Peter AC 't Hoen
   10. Hermien E Kan
   11. Vered Raz

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This extensive study dissects the different gene expression patterns in a large set of different human lower limb muscles. It is an extensive transcriptome study. Its potential importance is that it points out insights into their differing changes in particular muscle diseases associated with specific gene defects.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Distinct regions of H. pylori’s bactofilin CcmA regulate protein–protein interactions to control helical cell shape

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Sophie R Sichel
   2. Benjamin P Bratton
   3. Nina R Salama

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The helical shape of the bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori is important for its ability to colonize the human gut. Building on previous work identifying a complex of proteins required for generating helicity, this study focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which this complex modulates cell shape. Based on results from genetic, cytological, and pull-down experiments, the authors propose that one member of the complex, the bactofilin CcmA, interacts with two other complex members to generate helicity through a combination of cell wall synthesis and degradation. While data is supportive of this idea, the conclusions of the study require additional experimental support to rule out competing models.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Cell detoxification of secondary metabolites by P4-ATPase-mediated vesicle transport

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Yujie Li
   2. Hui Ren
   3. Fanlong Wang
   4. Jianjun Chen
   5. Lian Ma
   6. Yang Chen
   7. Xianbi Li
   8. Yanhua Fan
   9. Dan Jin
   10. Lei Hou
   11. Yonghong Zhou
   12. Nemat O Keyhani
   13. Yan Pei

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this manuscript, the authors focus on the fungus B. bassiana, which is resistant to the toxin cyclosporine A. Through a mutant screen, the authors identify the key gene that mediates the sequestration of the toxin in vacuoles. They further show that this gene can be transferred to a distinct fungus and also to plants to protect against a toxin-producing fungal pathogen. Therefore, this work may lead to novel disease control strategies against fungal pathogens.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. A modelling approach to estimate the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 during periods of high, low, and zero case incidence

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Nick Golding
   2. David J Price
   3. Gerard Ryan
   4. Jodie McVernon
   5. James M McCaw
   6. Freya M Shearer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is interesting, timely and important because it presents a way to understand the transmission potential of a virus even when there are very few local cases. This has a high public health communication and preparedness value. The paper is clearly written, and the results fit with the known epidemiology of the various outbreaks that occurred in Australia in 2020. The paper is likely to be of broad interest within and outside the field of epidemiological modelling.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife, ScreenIT

7. The scaffolding protein flot2 promotes cytoneme-based transport of wnt3 in gastric cancer

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Daniel Routledge
   2. Sally Rogers
   3. Yosuke Ono
   4. Lucy Brunt
   5. Valerie Meniel
   6. Giusy Tornillo
   7. Hassan Ashktorab
   8. Toby J Phesse
   9. Steffen Scholpp

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The manuscript by Routledge et al. describes the role of Reggie-1/Flottilin2 in the formation of filopodia-like membrane protrusions called cytonemes and which were shown to be conserved between gastric cancer cells and Zebrafish. Authors demonstrate that Flot2 is present on the cytoneme along with Wnt3 in gastric cancer and with Wnt8a in Zebrafish. Furthermore, Flot2 is also present with Ror2 on the cytoneme and together they are believed to modulate cytoneme formation. This study extended the previous studies and provides new details about regulatory events controlling a cell biological process that will be of interest to those in the Wnt and cytoneme fields.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Mesoscale cortex-wide neural dynamics predict self-initiated actions in mice several seconds prior to movement

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Catalin Mitelut
   2. Yongxu Zhang
   3. Yuki Sekino
   4. Jamie D Boyd
   5. Federico Bollanos
   6. Nicholas V Swindale
   7. Greg Silasi
   8. Shreya Saxena
   9. Timothy H Murphy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The neural correlates of voluntary action is one of the most intriguing questions in neuroscience, but studying it at laboratory settings is incredibly difficult. Here, the authors have used an impressive range of methods and analyses approaches in mice to investigate the neural activity preceding voluntary action in mice. Using widefield calcium imaging in mice to study volition is novel and welcome but the great strength of this paper is its wide range of analyses approaches. There remains a question to what extent the findings reveal specific properties of 'voluntary action,'.

     This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Mechanism of the cadherin–catenin F-actin catch bond interaction

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Amy Wang
   2. Alexander R Dunn
   3. William I Weis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work investigated the mechanism of the cadherin-catenin F-actin catch bond interaction, a fundamental cell-cell adhesive structure that can be both dynamic and force-activated. Force measurements with purified protein components demonstrate that the catch bond results from a force-dependent switch of the actin-binding domain of αE-catenin between a five-helix bundle and a four-helix bundle bound on F-actin. The findings are interesting and well supported by experimental data, and will be interesting to the broader field of cytoskeleton function and functional structural biology.

     (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Proteogenomic analysis of cancer aneuploidy and normal tissues reveals divergent modes of gene regulation across cellular pathways

    This article has 13 authors:

    1. Pan Cheng
    2. Xin Zhao
    3. Lizabeth Katsnelson
    4. Elaine M Camacho-Hernandez
    5. Angela Mermerian
    6. Joseph C Mays
    7. Scott M Lippman
    8. Reyna Edith Rosales-Alvarez
    9. Raquel Moya
    10. Jasmine Shwetar
    11. Dominic Grun
    12. David Fenyo
    13. Teresa Davoli

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This work by Cheng et al evaluates the contribution of regulation of gene expression at the RNA and protein level by leveraging copy number variations in a large cohort of cancer samples. Importantly they find that there is rarely compensatory regulation at the RNA and protein level together, but depending on the gene, expression is either compensated at one or the other. The paper is very intriguing and the findings are of interest to a broad readership.

      (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife