eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Identification of epigenetic modulators as determinants of nuclear size and shape

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Andria C Schibler
   2. Predrag Jevtic
   3. Gianluca Pegoraro
   4. Daniel L Levy
   5. Tom Misteli

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     In this manuscript the authors describe targeted, imaging-based RNAi screens to identify novel modulators of nuclear size and shape — two traits that are diagnostic and prognostic for many human diseases including cancers. The work provides novel insights into how and what dictates nuclear morphology, further decoupling key different components of lamins, chromatin, and the nuclear envelope, but there are some notable concerns regarding the scoring approach applied in the screen and hit validation. The authors also provide new evidence that lamin A may directly bind to (modified) histone H3 and how histone H3 disease mutations impact nuclear shape; this aspect of the manuscript would benefit from a more thorough analysis.

     (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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Noncovalent antibody catenation on a target surface greatly increases the antigen-binding avidity

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Jinyeop Song
   2. Bo-Seong Jeong
   3. Seong-Woo Kim
   4. Seong-Bin Im
   5. Seonghoon Kim
   6. Chih-Jen Lai
   7. Wonki Cho
   8. Jae U Jung
   9. Myung-Ju Ahn
   10. Byung-Ha Oh

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     The authors sought to enhance antibody binding to target antigens via reversible catenation, as an alternative to affinity maturation, beginning by computationally establishing parameters under which this type of binding enhancement via avidity effects would occur, and then following up with proof-of-principle experiments. While computational predictions and experiments are in excellent agreement, some controls that would further strengthen data interpretation are lacking. If generally applicable, the approach would accelerate efforts to develop antibodies with enhanced binding potency relative to their progenitors, applicable to any area of research employing antibodies.

     (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

3. Parallel evolution of reduced cancer risk and tumor suppressor duplications in Xenarthra

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Juan Manuel Vazquez
   2. Maria T Pena
   3. Baaqeyah Muhammad
   4. Morgan Kraft
   5. Linda B Adams
   6. Vincent J Lynch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     This study is a useful extension of previous work on the relationship between body size and cancer risk and the mechanisms by which large-bodied mammals reduce their cancer risk. Through solid analyses of the genomes and several aspects of the cell biology of sloths, armadillos and their relatives, the study explores whether the evolution of large body size in their relatives (some extinct) was correlated with genomic changes such as the duplication of tumor suppressor genes, experimentally demonstrating that cells of Xenarthrans (sloths, armadillos, anteaters) are exceptionally sensitive to DNA damage. The study concerns a topic of great interest and contributes to our understanding of how cancer risk has evolved in mammals.

     (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

4. Latent functional diversity may accelerate microbial community responses to temperature fluctuations

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Thomas P Smith
   2. Shorok Mombrikotb
   3. Emma Ransome
   4. Dimitrios - Georgios Kontopoulos
   5. Samraat Pawar
   6. Thomas Bell

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment:

     This manuscript will be of interest to microbial ecologists and biogeochemists working on soil carbon cycling and responses to climate warming. This study uses an elegant experiment to show that standing variation, both phylogenetic and phenotypic, enables microbial community adaptation to higher temperatures. The authors' conclusions are supported by the data, and this work lays a foundation for future experimental and modeling studies.

     (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

5. Antiviral function and viral antagonism of the rapidly evolving dynein activating adaptor NINL

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Donté Alexander Stevens
   2. Christopher Beierschmitt
   3. Swetha Mahesula
   4. Miles R Corley
   5. John Salogiannis
   6. Brian V Tsu
   7. Bryant Cao
   8. Andrew P Ryan
   9. Hiroyuki Hakozawki
   10. Samara L Reck-Peterson
   11. Matthew D Daugherty

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is an interesting discovery of a role for NINL in antiviral defense through modulation of interferon signaling. They found that there is diversifying selection of this factor as well as viral antagonism. This discovery paves the way to a better understanding of how viruses and hosts co-evolve.

     (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

6. Longitudinal analysis of invariant natural killer T cell activation reveals a cMAF-associated transcriptional state of NKT10 cells

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Harry Kane
   2. Nelson M LaMarche
   3. Áine Ní Scannail
   4. Amanda E Garza
   5. Hui-Fern Koay
   6. Adiba I Azad
   7. Britta Kunkemoeller
   8. Brenneth Stevens
   9. Michael B Brenner
   10. Lydia Lynch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The manuscript by Kane et al. described transcriptional profiles of various subsets of activated iNKT cells using longitudinal scRNA-Seq analysis. The finding that IL-10 producing iNKT cells have a cMAF-associated gene signature similar to Tr1 cells is novel. Overall, the data is well presented, however, functional consequences of some findings require further investigation.

     (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

7. Anopheles homing suppression drive candidates exhibit unexpected performance differences in simulations with spatial structure

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Samuel E Champer
   2. Isabel K Kim
   3. Andrew G Clark
   4. Philipp W Messer
   5. Jackson Champer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is one of the most thorough assessments to date of suppression gene drives against mosquitoes. The models specifically consider the spatial dynamics of gene drives and whether a form of group selection may prevent the drive from eradicating the population, with mosquito ecology parameters. This manuscript will be of interest to those working in the technical development of gene drives, those predicting how such genetically modified insects would spread in the wild, and those evaluating the technology from regulatory and funding standpoints.

     (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 #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. NFATc1 marks articular cartilage progenitors and negatively determines articular chondrocyte differentiation

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Fan Zhang
   2. Yuanyuan Wang
   3. Ying Zhao
   4. Manqi Wang
   5. Bin Zhou
   6. Bin Zhou
   7. Xianpeng Ge

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this study, the authors identified that NFATc1 acts as a key regulator of articular chondrocyte differentiation during early mouse development. Using multiple pulse-chase experiments the authors found that NFATc1 expressing cells generated most of the articular chondrocytes, but not growth plate chondrocytes. Interestingly, NFATc1 expression in chondrocytes diminished as mice aged, suggesting that NFATc1 expressing progenitors are no longer expressing NFATc1 after articular cartilage development. This is an important study since it provides valuable evidence to reveal the regulatory mechanism of articular chondrocyte differentiation. The data presented in this manuscript, in general, support their conclusion.

     (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. We couldn't get details of this article at this time:
   10.1101/2022.08.07.503084

10. eDNA-stimulated cell dispersion from Caulobacter crescentus biofilms upon oxygen limitation is dependent on a toxin–antitoxin system

    This article has 3 authors:

    1. Cecile Berne
    2. Sébastien Zappa
    3. Yves V Brun

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This study will be of interest to a broad audience of microbiologists by providing one of the few examples of a clear phenotype for a toxin-antitoxin system. The conclusion that an oxygen-regulated toxin-antitoxin system is required for an important step in biofilm development in the model organism Caulobacter crescentus is well supported by the data and experiments are well designed and controlled. Some possible limitations in interpretations from incompletely controlled phenotype reporters should be resolved by simple experiments.

      (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