eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Neuronal activity in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex during economic choices under variable action costs

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Xinying Cai
   2. Camillo Padoa-Schioppa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript examines how effort is integrated into economic decisions by recording neural activity from the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in monkeys, while requiring animals to choose between different juice types offered in variable amounts and with different action costs. The ACC is a relevant area because some theories have suggested it is important for evaluating or selecting among potential actions during decision-making, although evidence supporting this idea has been inconsistent. The main results provide evidence against the notion that ACC contributes to evaluation of potential actions. Instead, neurons predominantly coded for post-decision variables, such as cost of the chosen target and the juice type of the chosen offer, but not pre-decision variables, such as offer values. This is in contrast to OFC encoding in the same task (and same subjects), in which neurons encoded the effort associated with choice options. The authors conclude that ACC is unique in representing more post-decision variables than OFC, and in its encoding of outcomes in several reference frames (chosen juice, chosen cost, and chosen action). Together, the results are convincing and highlight potentially unique roles of ACC neurons in learning and decision making.

     (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. Neurotoxin-mediated potent activation of the axon degeneration regulator SARM1

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Andrea Loreto
   2. Carlo Angeletti
   3. Weixi Gu
   4. Andrew Osborne
   5. Bart Nieuwenhuis
   6. Jonathan Gilley
   7. Elisa Merlini
   8. Peter Arthur-Farraj
   9. Adolfo Amici
   10. Zhenyao Luo
   11. Lauren Hartley-Tassell
   12. Thomas Ve
   13. Laura M Desrochers
   14. Qi Wang
   15. Bostjan Kobe
   16. Giuseppe Orsomando
   17. Michael P Coleman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper explores the mechanism of vacor toxicity in neurons. The authors provide exciting and definitive data that vacor drives neurodegeneration by direct binding and activation of SARM1, a potent regulator of axon death. The work elucidates the vacor mechanism of action, provides strong in vitro and in vivo data that toxicity is entirely dependent on SARM1, and will advance the field in terms of how we understand vacor-induced toxicity, and provides a new model for testing anti-SARM1 therapeutics.

     (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

3. Aminoglycoside Antibiotics Inhibit Phage Infection by Blocking an Early Step of the Infection Cycle

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Larissa Kever
   2. Aël Hardy
   3. Tom Luthe
   4. Max Hünnefeld
   5. Cornelia Gätgens
   6. Lars Milke
   7. Johanna Wiechert
   8. Johannes Wittmann
   9. Cristina Moraru
   10. Jan Marienhagen
   11. Julia Frunzke

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Earlier work demonstrated the inhibition of phage infection by aminoglycosides in Mycobacteria. Following up on this prior work, the authors demonstrate that the acetylated form of apramycin retains its anti-phage activity while blocking its antibacterial activity. The authors observed that MgCl abrogated the anti-phage effects of aminoglycosides and that MgCl can inhibit aminoglycoside uptake leading to the conclusion that antibiotic uptake was likely important for the anti-phage effects. Consistent with this conclusion, the initial stages of phage infection (adsorption and DNA injection) were not impacted by the antibiotics.

     (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. Developmental stage-specific spontaneous activity contributes to callosal axon projections

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Yuta Tezuka
   2. Kenta M Hagihara
   3. Kenichi Ohki
   4. Tomoo Hirano
   5. Yoshiaki Tagawa

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The manuscript adds to an emerging story about the role of activity in the formation of callosal connections across the brain. Previous research of the authors' and other labs had shown that overexpressing the potassium channel Kir2.1, which reduces activity levels in the developing cortical network, blocks the formation of callosal connections almost entirely. Here, the authors show that they can use a TET system to switch off the activity of an Kir2.1 to probe when activity might be necessary or sufficient for the formation of callosal connections. The authors find that artificial restoration of activity with DREADS is sufficient to rescue the formation of callosal connections, and that there is a critical period (somewhere between P5-P15) where activity must occur in order for the connections to form within the cortex. Finally, the authors show that when the potassium channel is removed during the critical period, the cortex exhibits activity, but few highly synchronous events. These results indicate that it is activity in general and not specifically highly synchronous activity that is necessary for the final innervation of the callosal cortex.

     (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

5. Growth-dependent signals drive an increase in early G1 cyclin concentration to link cell cycle entry with cell growth

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Robert A Sommer
   2. Jerry T DeWitt
   3. Raymond Tan
   4. Douglas R Kellogg

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper examines how cells control their size and will be interesting to scientists studying sizing mechanisms throughout biology. Using yeast cells as a model system, the authors show that an activator of the cell division cycle accumulates as cells grow until a threshold level of activator is achieved. The experiments are performed well, and the high-quality data will be useful for others in the field studying this signaling pathway.

     (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. Lactate is an energy substrate for rodent cortical neurons and enhances their firing activity

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Anastassios Karagiannis
   2. Thierry Gallopin
   3. Alexandre Lacroix
   4. Fabrice Plaisier
   5. Juliette Piquet
   6. Hélène Geoffroy
   7. Régine Hepp
   8. Jérémie Naudé
   9. Benjamin Le Gac
   10. Richard Egger
   11. Bertrand Lambolez
   12. Dongdong Li
   13. Jean Rossier
   14. Jochen F Staiger
   15. Hiromi Imamura
   16. Susumu Seino
   17. Jochen Roeper
   18. Bruno Cauli

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is a rigorous study that confirms the existence of functional KATP and dominant oxidative metabolism in several types of juvenile somatosensory cortical neurons. The authors present multiple lines of experimental results examining the effects of lactate on neocortical neuron types. They also report a mechanism by which lactate is likely to enhance neuronal firing. The data is convincing in supporting the conclusions in the manuscript.

     (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. Transcription initiation at a consensus bacterial promoter proceeds via a ‘bind-unwind-load-and-lock’ mechanism

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Abhishek Mazumder
   2. Richard H Ebright
   3. Achillefs N Kapanidis

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work aims to provide insight into the molecular mechanism by which RNA polymerase separates the two strands of DNA, generating a single-stranded template for RNA synthesis. Using single-molecule analysis, the authors examined two conformational transitions taking place during RNA transcription initiation: DNA unwinding and RNAP clamp movements. Pending addition of some important controls, the paper will help to distinguish between two competing hypotheses within the literature. The work will be of relevance to a wide range of researchers interested in the molecular basis of gene expression and gene regulation.

     (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

8. A coupled mechano-biochemical model for cell polarity guided anisotropic root growth

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Marco Marconi
   2. Marcal Gallemi
   3. Eva Benkova
   4. Krzysztof Wabnik

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The paper describes the development of a mechano-chemical model for plant root development. As such, it presents a significant advance relative to other root models that have focussed predominantly on either the mechanical or auxin patterning aspects of root development, as evidenced by the potential of the model to reproduce a series of hormonal and mechanical perturbation experiments. The current conclusion that a set of minimal principles for self-organized root tip patterning is revealed must be moderated, as patterning inputs are essential to produce the reported observations.

     (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

9. Tightly coupled inhibitory and excitatory functional networks in the developing primary visual cortex

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Haleigh N Mulholland
   2. Bettina Hein
   3. Matthias Kaschube
   4. Gordon B Smith

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Mulholland et al show that there is a very close relationship between the development of excitatory and inhibitory networks in the developing cortex. This paper makes an important contribution to our understanding of the structure of inhibition during an early stage in cortical development. It is therefore of great interest to scientists interested in development, and in computation in cortical circuits. The work has been carefully performed and analysed.

     (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. Virtual mouse brain histology from multi-contrast MRI via deep learning

    This article has 10 authors:

    1. Zifei Liang
    2. Choong H Lee
    3. Tanzil M Arefin
    4. Zijun Dong
    5. Piotr Walczak
    6. Song-Hai Shi
    7. Florian Knoll
    8. Yulin Ge
    9. Leslie Ying
    10. Jiangyang Zhang

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This paper demonstrates how MRI can be used to mimic histological measures. This is something that the field of MRI has dubbed virtual histology (or MR-histology) for a while, but to my knowledge this paper is the first convincing demonstration that it can be achieved. The paper combines open access mouse histology data from the Allen Institute with their own multimodal post-mortem MRI, and using deep convolutional networks, are able to build models that map MRI data onto multiple histological contrasts. Some of the results are impressive, such as predicting the outcome of histology on mutant shiverer mice.

      (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