eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Disturbed retinoid metabolism upon loss of rlbp1a impairs cone function and leads to subretinal lipid deposits and photoreceptor degeneration in the zebrafish retina

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Domino K Schlegel
   2. Srinivasagan Ramkumar
   3. Johannes von Lintig
   4. Stephan CF Neuhauss

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In mammals the cellular retinaldehyde binding protein, CRALBP, is expressed in the pigment epithelium (RPE) and in Müller glial cells (MGCs) in the retina. Zebrafish has two copies of the gene, each expressed in one of the cell types. By knocking out each gene with CRISPR/Cas9, the authors could show that it is the copy expressed in the RPE that is essential for turnover of retinal and for cone function. Thus, the zebrafish gene duplication suggests that the RPE role of CRALBP is the important one also in humans, implying the RPE as target for future gene therapy in humans with mutations in CRALBP.

     (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

2. Gene age shapes the transcriptional landscape of sexual morphogenesis in mushroom-forming fungi (Agaricomycetes)

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Zsolt Merényi
   2. Máté Virágh
   3. Emile Gluck-Thaler
   4. Jason C Slot
   5. Brigitta Kiss
   6. Torda Varga
   7. András Geösel
   8. Botond Hegedüs
   9. Balázs Bálint
   10. László G Nagy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript provides a deep characterization of transcriptional regulation and conservation across key stages of complex multicellular development during mushroom formation. The authors present evidence for extensive allele-specific expression that includes many developmentally regulated genes that appear to have evolved recently. These findings help underscore how the tuning of gene expression and gains of new genes, the function of which will need to be unraveled in future, are likely the basis for the evolution of complex morphologies in fungi. This work should be of broad interest to evolutionary biologists, and especially to those studying the evolution of 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 #1 and Reviewer #4 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Cre/lox regulated conditional rescue and inactivation with zebrafish UFlip alleles generated by CRISPR-Cas9 targeted integration

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Fang Liu
   2. Sekhar Kambakam
   3. Maira P Almeida
   4. Zhitao Ming
   5. Jordan M Welker
   6. Wesley A Wierson
   7. Laura E Schultz-Rogers
   8. Stephen C Ekker
   9. Karl J Clark
   10. Jeffrey J Essner
   11. Maura McGrail

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This technical paper describes a novel strategy for conditional mutagenesis in zebrafish. The method employs the authors' previously reported GeneWeld CRISPR/Cas9 targeted integration strategy to allow target genes to be "turned off" or "turned on" in a tissue-specific manner. Once fully validated, the approach would provide a valuable new addition to the "zebrafish genetic toolkit" that is likely to be widely used for assessing cell- and tissue-specific gene function in this model organism.

     (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. Modulation of pulsatile GnRH dynamics across the ovarian cycle via changes in the network excitability and basal activity of the arcuate kisspeptin network

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Margaritis Voliotis
   2. Xiao Feng Li
   3. Ross Alexander De Burgh
   4. Geffen Lass
   5. Deyana Ivanova
   6. Caitlin McIntyre
   7. Kevin O'Byrne
   8. Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript is of considerable interest to neuroendocrinologists and other neuroscientists because it provides important insights into mechanisms controlling the synchronous activity of a specific subpopulation of hypothalamic neurons. Luteinizing hormone is secreted from the pituitary gland in pulses which vary over the estrous cycle. The pulses arise by patterned secretion of a hypothalamic 'releasing factor', the secretion of which is itself governed by a population of hypothalamic neurons that express the neuropeptide kisspeptin. The paper by Voliotis et al. combines novel experimental evidence from transgenic mice with an elegant mathematical model to analyze how the kisspeptin neurons generate the varying pulsatile patterns.

     (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. Common host variation drives malaria parasite fitness in healthy human red cells

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Emily R Ebel
   2. Frans A Kuypers
   3. Carrie Lin
   4. Dmitri A Petrov
   5. Elizabeth S Egan

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper investigates the role of common human genetic variation in explaining the relationship between host genetics, red blood cell physiology, and susceptibility to Plasmodium falciparum (the parasite responsible for malaria). It finds evidence that common variants in a small set of red blood cell proteins predict parasite invasion and growth rates. Contrary to hypotheses about ancestry-associated malaria selection, these variants are not more common in African ancestry populations. The approach used to select host factors that impact parasite fitness is pragmatic especially in the context of a small sample size, but the high predictive accuracy (despite moderate within-subject assay replicability) and the uncertain influence of including closely related family members in the analysis, raises some concerns about generalizability beyond the study sample.

     (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. Plasticity of olfactory bulb inputs mediated by dendritic NMDA-spikes in rodent piriform cortex

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Amit Kumar
   2. Edi Barkai
   3. Jackie Schiller

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript investigates the plastic properties of synapses impinging on pyramidal neurons in the piriform cortex from the lateral olfactory tract (LOT) and intracortical inputs. Their findings uncover some of the location and pathway-dependent plasticity rules and challenge the notion that LOT inputs (carrying direct odor information from the bulb) become "hardwired" after the critical period. The results provide novel information about how activity and experience alter synaptic communication in the olfactory circuit in a synapse-type specific manner.

     (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

7. Synaptic targets of photoreceptors specialized to detect color and skylight polarization in Drosophila

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Emil Kind
   2. Kit D Longden
   3. Aljoscha Nern
   4. Arthur Zhao
   5. Gizem Sancer
   6. Miriam A Flynn
   7. Connor W Laughland
   8. Bruck Gezahegn
   9. Henrique DF Ludwig
   10. Alex G Thomson
   11. Tessa Obrusnik
   12. Paula G Alarcón
   13. Heather Dionne
   14. Davi D Bock
   15. Gerald M Rubin
   16. Michael B Reiser
   17. Mathias F Wernet

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of interest to the large class of neuroscientists who perform network analyses and are interested in the processing of visual information. It sets a new standard in connectomic analysis because is combines EM data of a whole fly brain with fluorescent labeling of specific neurons. The key claims of the manuscript are well supported by the data, and the approaches used are thoughtful and rigorous.

     (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

8. A computational screen for alternative genetic codes in over 250,000 genomes

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Yekaterina Shulgina
   2. Sean R Eddy

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The Codetta method developed by Shulgina and Eddy is a powerful approach for inferring codon reassignment by comparative analysis of bacterial and archaeal genomes. Given the rapid advances of genomic and metagenomic sequencing, this will be an important tool for elucidating the genetic codes employed by prokaryotes.

     (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. Monocyte-derived transcriptome signature indicates antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis as a potential mechanism of vaccine-induced protection against HIV-1

   This article has 22 authors:

   1. Shida Shangguan
   2. Philip K Ehrenberg
   3. Aviva Geretz
   4. Lauren Yum
   5. Gautam Kundu
   6. Kelly May
   7. Slim Fourati
   8. Krystelle Nganou-Makamdop
   9. LaTonya D Williams
   10. Sheetal Sawant
   11. Eric Lewitus
   12. Punnee Pitisuttithum
   13. Sorachai Nitayaphan
   14. Suwat Chariyalertsak
   15. Supachai Rerks-Ngarm
   16. Morgane Rolland
   17. Daniel C Douek
   18. Peter Gilbert
   19. Georgia D Tomaras
   20. Nelson L Michael
   21. Sandhya Vasan
   22. Rasmi Thomas

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Attempts to produce effective vaccines against HIV have not yet been successful, with the lack of understanding correlates of protection being a significant limitation. This paper analyses gene expression in a number of human and non-human primate vaccine trials and identifies a profile that appears to correlate with protection from infection. This profile is linked primarily to monocytes and the ability of these cells to mediate antibody dependent cellular phagocytosis. The work has implications for ongoing attempts to generate effective vaccines against HIV and perhaps other viral diseases.

     (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

10. Neural basis for regulation of vasopressin secretion by anticipated disturbances in osmolality

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Angela Kim
    2. Joseph C Madara
    3. Chen Wu
    4. Mark L Andermann
    5. Bradford B Lowell

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This study investigates the important question of how vasopressin neurons, which are critical for fluid balance, are rapidly activated or inhibited when mice begin to eat or drink. The study presents useful anatomic data on connectivity between these neurons and other structures and tests a broad range of possible inputs that could mediate these effects. The conclusions are largely supported by the data.

      (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 names with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife