eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Short senolytic or senostatic interventions rescue progression of radiation-induced frailty and premature ageing in mice

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Edward Fielder
   2. Tengfei Wan
   3. Ghazaleh Alimohammadiha
   4. Abbas Ishaq
   5. Evon Low
   6. B Melanie Weigand
   7. George Kelly
   8. Craig Parker
   9. Brigid Griffin
   10. Diana Jurk
   11. Viktor I Korolchuk
   12. Thomas von Zglinicki
   13. Satomi Miwa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study evaluates the use of senolytics and senostatic agents on post-irradiation-induced frailty. The authors studied the effect of navitoclax, dasatinib/quercitin and metformin on several frailty measures, cognitive function, neuroinflammation, liver function to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of these treatments. This manuscript has strong translational implications and will be of interest to those working in the aging and cancer therapy fields. This study provides potential new therapeutic options for those developing frailty after radiation treatment.

     (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. Windborne migration amplifies insect-mediated pollination services

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Huiru Jia
   2. Yongqiang Liu
   3. Xiaokang Li
   4. Hui Li
   5. Yunfei Pan
   6. Chaoxing Hu
   7. Xianyong Zhou
   8. Kris AG Wyckhuys
   9. Kongming Wu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Hoverflies are a group of insects that provide crucial ecosystem services such as pollination and crop protection. Their migratory behavior in western countries is well characterized, but in eastern Asia, the annual summer monsoon provides a 'highway' of favorable winds for the airborne transport of migratory organisms, and the migration of hoverflies in this large region has not been well studied. This study addresses hoverfly migration in this region and its consequences using a variety of suitable methods. The work will be of great interest to insect migration biologists and pollination ecologists.

     (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, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Measurements and simulations of microtubule growth imply strong longitudinal interactions and reveal a role for GDP on the elongating end

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Joseph M Cleary
   2. Tae Kim
   3. Annan SI Cook
   4. Lauren A McCormick
   5. William O Hancock
   6. Luke M Rice

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors use interference reflection microscopy to image a growing microtubule for long intervals at high frame rates, overcoming a limitation of fluorescence. Using careful quantitative analysis, the authors find that the kinetics of dynamic instability are "slow", in contrast to the "rapid kinetics" previously reported. This work provides new mechanistic insight into the mechanism of microtubule growth and is of interest to biologists and physicists interested in cytoskeletal filament dynamics.

     (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

4. Hydrodynamic model of fish orientation in a channel flow

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Maurizio Porfiri
   2. Peng Zhang
   3. Sean D Peterson

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors address the problem of fish orienting against the mean flow when deprived of visual cues. They study a simple model of swimming dipole and argue that in the absence of flow-sensing feedback, fluid-structure coupling alone is sufficient to generate upstream orienting behavior, above a given flow speed. A comparison with the experimental literature on fish behavior is attempted.

     (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. Differential ion dehydration energetics explains selectivity in the non-canonical lysosomal K+ channel TMEM175

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. SeCheol Oh
   2. Fabrizio Marinelli
   3. Wenchang Zhou
   4. Jooyeon Lee
   5. Ho Jeong Choi
   6. Min Kim
   7. José D Faraldo-Gómez
   8. Richard K Hite

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript explores the mechanisms of permeation and selectivity in the unusual potassium-selective ion channel TMEM175, which lacks a canonical selectivity filter. The study is led by molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations, complemented by a cryoEM analysis and electrophysiological recordings. The authors propose a novel, single ion-based mechanism of permeation, together with a partial dehydration-driven selectivity mechanism. While in principle exciting and informative, most of the conclusions in the manuscript are based on small differences in calculated values for which an estimation of the uncertainty is lacking, and on the usage of a single physics-based model. This study will appeal to readers interested in the structure and function of ion channels and in molecular mechanisms of ion translocation. It would be strengthened by a thorough exploration of alternative hypotheses.

     (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. Contextual effects in sensorimotor adaptation adhere to associative learning rules

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Guy Avraham
   2. Jordan A Taylor
   3. Assaf Breska
   4. Richard B Ivry
   5. Samuel D McDougle

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is of interest to scientists within the field of motor control and learning. The experiments provide novel insight into the potential role of associative learning in sensorimotor adaptation. The results are compelling, although further data are required to support several key conclusions.

     (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. Potential role of KRAB-ZFP binding and transcriptional states on DNA methylation of retroelements in human male germ cells

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Kei Fukuda
   2. Yoshinori Makino
   3. Satoru Kaneko
   4. Chikako Shimura
   5. Yuki Okada
   6. Kenji Ichiyanagi
   7. Yoichi Shinkai

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The majority, but not all retrotransposons undergo massive reprogramming of their methylation states during germ cell development. This manuscript tests the contribution of binding motifs for KRAB-Zinc Finger Proteins (KZFPs) and the position of retrotransposons relative to genes to explain the variable methylation dynamics of different retrotransposon families, namely L1, SVA and LTR12, as well as potential inter-individual variation during male germ cell development in humans, using an integrative analyses of available sequencing datasets. By bringing insights into the complex regulation of retrotransposons, this study could be of particular interest to the epigenetics community. Some additional analyses would strengthen the inferences made.

     (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

8. Doublecortin engages the microtubule lattice through a cooperative binding mode involving its C-terminal domain

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Atefeh Rafiei
   2. Sofía Cruz Tetlalmatzi
   3. Claire H Edrington
   4. Linda Lee
   5. D Alex Crowder
   6. Daniel J Saltzberg
   7. Andrej Sali
   8. Gary Brouhard
   9. David C Schriemer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Rafiei et al. investigate the molecular architecture of an important neuronal microtubule-associated protein, doublecortin, bound to the microtubule by integrating data from chemical cross-linking experiments with available crystallographic and cryo-EM structures. They present an appealing model of microtubule-mediated self-association of doublecortin; however, they do not perform any additional assays to support the functional relevance of this model. In addition, there are limitations to the used method in resolving structural details. The manuscript will be relevant for biologists with an interest in microtubule formation and to researchers who apply different structural biology tools to study the organization of large biomolecular assemblies.

     (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 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Stable antibiotic resistance and rapid human adaptation in livestock-associated MRSA

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Marta Matuszewska
   2. Gemma GR Murray
   3. Xiaoliang Ba
   4. Rhiannon Wood
   5. Mark A Holmes
   6. Lucy A Weinert

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Understanding where new strains of microbes come from and how they change over time is important for infection control and prevention. Staphylococcus aureus CC398 is an important strain that 'spills over' from livestock to humans, carrying with it high levels of resistance to antibiotics commonly used in farming. This paper compares more than 1000 genomes of CC398 and concludes that spillover is likely to carry resistance to tetracyclines and other antibiotics into humans that will persist over time.

     (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. Dynamic spreading of chromatin-mediated gene silencing and reactivation between neighboring genes in single cells

    This article has 8 authors:

    1. Sarah Lensch
    2. Michael H Herschl
    3. Connor H Ludwig
    4. Joydeb Sinha
    5. Michaela M Hinks
    6. Adi Mukund
    7. Taihei Fujimori
    8. Lacramioara Bintu

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This study describes a novel approach to investigate how the transcriptional repressors KRAB and HDAC4 repress gene expression, how repression spreads over differing genomic distances, and what the role of insulator elements is in blocking the spread of repression and in reactivation of repressed genes. The results of this study allow modeling of the coordinated repression or activation of closely linked genes and should be of wide interest to researchers interested in chromatin and gene expression.

      (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 names with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife