eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Combined lineage tracing and scRNA-seq reveals unexpected first heart field predominance of human iPSC differentiation

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Francisco X Galdos
   2. Carissa Lee
   3. Soah Lee
   4. Sharon Paige
   5. William Goodyer
   6. Sidra Xu
   7. Tahmina Samad
   8. Gabriela V Escobar
   9. Adrija Darsha
   10. Aimee Beck
   11. Rasmus O Bak
   12. Matthew H Porteus
   13. Sean M Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The derivation of cardiomyocytes from the first and second heart fields is a well-studied phenomenon in animal models, however, due to ethical concerns, has not been studied in human heart development. The authors utilize hiPSC technology to demonstrate that it is the FHF and SHF that give rise to cardiomyocytes which is an important step in furthering our understanding of early human heart development.

     (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

2. Balancing selection on genomic deletion polymorphisms in humans

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Alber Aqil
   2. Leo Speidel
   3. Pavlos Pavlidis
   4. Omer Gokcumen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Detecting and quantifying balancing selection is a notoriously difficult challenge. In this study, the authors use both empirical analyses and simulations to characterize the amount of balancing selection in the human genome, focusing specifically on the contribution of polymorphic deletions. These results will be of interest to population and human geneticists. Although the presented evidence supports some degree of balancing selection among shared ancient polymorphisms, these findings primarily rely on the elimination of alternative explanations rather than a direct estimation of the extent of balancing selection. The conclusions are also based on simulations of a single demographic model without testing the robustness to other plausible model parameters.

     (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. Early and lifelong effects of APOE4 on neuronal gene expression networks relevant to Alzheimer’s disease

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Brian P. Grone
   2. Kelly A. Zalocusky
   3. Yanxia Hao
   4. Seo Yeon Yoon
   5. Patrick Arriola
   6. Yadong Huang

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript is of broad interest to readers in the field of Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, and single-cell omics. The identification of shared pathways across different cell types and ages is an important contribution to our understanding of APOE4 gene regulation in a cell type-specific manner. A combination of snRNAseq in APOE mouse models and human iPSC cells supports the key claims in the paper.

     (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. We couldn't get details of this article at this time:
   10.1101/2021.09.28.462183

5. We couldn't get details of this article at this time:
   10.1101/2022.06.12.495837

6. Lineage-specific differences and regulatory networks governing human chondrocyte development

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Daniel Richard
   2. Steven Pregizer
   3. Divya Venkatasubramanian
   4. Rosanne M Raftery
   5. Pushpanathan Muthuirulan
   6. Zun Liu
   7. Terence D Capellini
   8. April M Craft

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The study presented in this manuscript is of interest to cartilage biologists studying the mechanisms of chondrocyte differentiation. The authors investigated transcriptomic profiles of hESC-derived articular and growth plate chondrocytes. To characterize the regulatory landscapes with respective transcriptomes, they mapped chromatin accessibility in hESC derived chondrocyte lineages and mouse embryonic chondrocytes using ATAC-sequencing and revealed lineage-specific gene regulatory networks. They further validated functional interactions of two transcription factors, Runx2 and RELA, with their predicted genomic targets. This study could help us understand chondrocyte differentiation.

     (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. Microglia shape the embryonic development of mammalian respiratory networks

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Marie-Jeanne Cabirol
   2. Laura Cardoit
   3. Gilles Courtand
   4. Marie-Eve Mayeur
   5. John Simmers
   6. Olivier Pascual
   7. Muriel Thoby-Brisson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study presents novel experimental data from a mutant mouse model lacking microglia (Pu.1-/- mouse line), indicating that these cells have an important role in the embryonic establishment of critical neural circuits in the brainstem generating breathing motor behavior in mice. This paper is of interest to scientists within the field of microglia as well as respiratory neurobiology as it provides original key information about a new role of microglia in the embryonic development of respiratory circuits. Overall, the data are clearly presented and rigorous. Some of the conclusions should be toned down as the data in another microglia depletion model do not support some claims of the paper.

     (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. Alternative splicing of apoptosis genes promotes human T cell survival

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Davia Blake
   2. Caleb M Radens
   3. Max B Ferretti
   4. Matthew R Gazzara
   5. Kristen W Lynch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Apoptotic regulators have long been known to often be expressed in pairs of pro- and anti-apoptotic isoforms. This demonstration of how a program of these splicing changes contributes to immune responses adds an important new understanding of both apoptosis and T cell 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. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

9. The wtf meiotic driver gene family has unexpectedly persisted for over 100 million years

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Mickaël De Carvalho
   2. Guo-Song Jia
   3. Ananya Nidamangala Srinivasa
   4. R Blake Billmyre
   5. Yan-Hui Xu
   6. Jeffrey J Lange
   7. Ibrahim M Sabbarini
   8. Li-Lin Du
   9. Sarah E Zanders

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper's central findings - that wtf genes are old, rapidly evolving, and often meiotic drivers - are important and of broad interest to evolutionary biologists and geneticists. The study's main claims are supported by convincing evidence from comparative genomic data, phylogenetic analyses, and functional experiments. However, support for the verbal model of wtf persistence is currently incomplete.

     (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. Targeted genomic sequencing with probe capture for discovery and surveillance of coronaviruses in bats

    This article has 26 authors:

    1. Kevin S Kuchinski
    2. Kara D Loos
    3. Danae M Suchan
    4. Jennifer N Russell
    5. Ashton N Sies
    6. Charles Kumakamba
    7. Francisca Muyembe
    8. Placide Mbala Kingebeni
    9. Ipos Ngay Lukusa
    10. Frida N’Kawa
    11. Joseph Atibu Losoma
    12. Maria Makuwa
    13. Amethyst Gillis
    14. Matthew LeBreton
    15. James A Ayukekbong
    16. Nicole A Lerminiaux
    17. Corina Monagin
    18. Damien O Joly
    19. Karen Saylors
    20. Nathan D Wolfe
    21. Edward M Rubin
    22. Jean J Muyembe Tamfum
    23. Natalie A Prystajecky
    24. David J McIver
    25. Christian E Lange
    26. Andrew DS Cameron

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This work applies hybrid-capture sequencing for coronavirus (CoV) surveillance in bats. Given that bats are a major reservoir for animal-to-human virus spillover events, which have caused several major epidemics/pandemics, this is a very important field of research. The reported hybrid-capture method shows some clear advantages over amplicon-based viral sequencing, which is the established standard in the field. This new approach has clear merits that are well supported by the data presented and is likely to become an important tool in viral surveillance programs that ultimately aim to predict/prevent/prepare for future pandemics. The work will be of interest to microbiologists, particularly those studying viruses or interested in genomics surveillance.

      (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, ScreenIT