eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Sparse innervation and local heterogeneity in the vibrissal corticostriatal projection

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Kenza Amroune
   2. Lorenzo Fontolan
   3. Agnès Baude
   4. David Robbe
   5. Ingrid Bureau

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This revised manuscript provides fundamental findings on how the mouse barrel cortex connects to the dorsolateral striatum, uncovering that inputs from discrete whisker cortical columns are convergent and SPN-specific, but topographically organized at the population level. The evidence supporting this claim is compelling, demonstrating that SPNs uniquely integrate sparse input from variable stretches across the barrel cortex. The study would be of interest to basal ganglia and sensory-motor integration researchers.

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Coupled equilibria of dimerization and lipid binding modulate SARS Cov 2 Orf9b interactions and interferon response

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. CJ San Felipe
   2. Jyoti Batra
   3. Monita Muralidharan
   4. Shivali Malpotra
   5. Durga Anand
   6. Rachel Bauer
   7. Kliment A Verba
   8. Danielle L Swaney
   9. Nevan J Krogan
   10. Michael Grabe
   11. James S Fraser

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This fundamental study demonstrates that lipid binding can regulate the dimerization state of the SARS-CoV2 Orf9b protein. The data from biophysical and cellular experiments along with mathematical modeling are compelling. This paper is broadly relevant to those studying coupled equilibria across all aspects of biology.

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Recurrent mutations drive the rapid evolution of pesticide resistance in the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Li-Jun Cao
   2. Jin-Cui Chen
   3. Joshua A Thia
   4. Thomas L Schmidt
   5. Richard Ffrench-Constant
   6. Lin-Xi Zhang
   7. Yu Yang
   8. Meng-Chu Yuan
   9. Jia-Yue Zhang
   10. Xiao-Yang Zhang
   11. Qiong Yang
   12. Ya-Jun Gong
   13. Hu Li
   14. Xuexin Chen
   15. Ary A Hoffmann
   16. Shu-Jun Wei

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This study provides important insights into the evolution of pesticide resistance, demonstrating that resistance can arise rapidly and repeatedly, which complements prior work on parallel evolution across species. The combination of extensive temporal sampling in the field, experimental evolution, and genomics makes for compelling findings. The authors are to be commended for acknowledging the main limitations of their study in the Discussion. Framing the work in a broader context of resistance beyond arthropod pests would further increase the appeal of the study, which is of relevance for both agronomic practitioners and evolutionary biologists.

   Reviewed by eLife

4. Interleukin 10 controls the balance between tolerance, pathogen elimination, and immunopathology in birds

   This article has 21 authors:

   1. Dominique Meunier
   2. Ricardo Corona-Torres
   3. Kay Boulton
   4. Zhiguang Wu
   5. Maeve Ballantyne
   6. Laura Glendinning
   7. Anum Ali Ahmad
   8. Dominika Borowska
   9. Lorna Taylor
   10. Lonneke Vervelde
   11. Jorge del Pozo
   12. Marili Vasilogianni
   13. José Jaramillo-Ortiz
   14. Gonzalo Sanchez-Arsuaga
   15. Androniki Psifidi
   16. Fiona Tomley
   17. Kellie A Watson
   18. Michael J McGrew
   19. Mark P Stevens
   20. Damer P Blake
   21. David A Hume

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     IL-10 balances protective and deleterious immune functions in mice and humans, but if IL-10 also controls avian intestinal homeostasis remains unclear. Generating genetic knockouts, Meunier et al. established that a complete lack of IL-10 strengthened immunity against enteric bacteria in chickens, while also aggravating infection-inflicted inflammatory tissue damage and dysbiosis upon parasite infection, but unlike mouse models, IL-10 deficiency did not provoke spontaneous colitis in chickens. The findings presented are valuable, and the strength of evidence is convincing. The observation may have implications for the livestock industry and additional studies involving genetic knockouts may further unravel conserved and distinct avian IL-10 controls.

   Reviewed by eLife

5. Heritability of movie-evoked brain activity and connectivity

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. David C Gruskin
   2. Daniel J Vieira
   3. Jessica K Lee
   4. Gaurav H Patel

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This paper addresses a valuable research question on the heritability of the brain's response to movie watching, given various parameters such as regional spatial hyperalignment and BOLD frequency bands. The topic of this paper would be of interest to fMRI methodological experts, and potentially to a broader cognitive neuroscience audience, and those with an interest in understanding the heritable sources of individual differences in brain function. However, the current findings provide incomplete support for the conclusions, since several key methodological concerns need to be addressed to ensure the validity of the analyses and results.

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Ribosomal RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase I is subject to premature termination of transcription

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Chaïma Azouzi
   2. Katrin Schwank
   3. Sophie Queille
   4. Marta Kwapisz
   5. Marion Aguirrebengoa
   6. Anthony Henras
   7. Simon Lebaron
   8. Herbert Tschochner
   9. Annick Lesne
   10. Frédéric Beckouët
   11. Olivier Gadal
   12. Christophe Dez

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This manuscript characterizes a mutated clone of RNA polymerase I in yeast, referred to as SuperPol, to understand the mechanisms of RNA polymerase I elongation and termination. The authors present convincing evidence that demonstrates the existence of premature termination in Pol I transcription. Overall, the characterization of this RNA pol I offers important insights into the regulation of ribosomal RNA transcription and its potential application in cancer pharmacology.

     [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

   Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

7. microRNA-19b regulates proliferation & patterning in the avian forebrain

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Archita Mishra
   2. Suvimal Kumar Sindhu
   3. Niveda Udaykumar
   4. Jonaki Sen

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This valuable study provides insights into a key question in comparative neuroanatomy and development. The authors provide evidence of the role for a particular micro-RNA in regulating the development of key transcription factors that control forebrain development. The study rests on clear but incomplete results.

   Reviewed by eLife

8. A computational pipeline to track chromatophores and analyze their dynamics

   This article has 4 authors:

   1. Johann Ukrow
   2. Mathieu DM Renard
   3. Mahyar Moghimi
   4. Gilles Laurent

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     The open-source software Chromas tracks and analyses cephalopod chromatophore dynamics. The software features a user-friendly interface alongside detailed instructions for its application, with compelling exemplary applications to two widely divergent cephalopod species, a squid and a cuttlefish, over time periods large enough to encompass new chromatophore development among existing ones. It demonstrates accurate tracking of the position and identity of each chromatophore. The software and methods outlined therein will become an important tool for scientists tracking dynamic signaling in animals.

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Human RAP2A homolog of the Drosophila asymmetric cell division regulator Rap2l targets the stemness of glioblastoma stem cells

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Maribel Franco
   2. Ricardo Gargini
   3. Víctor M Barberá
   4. Daniel Becerra
   5. Miguel Saceda
   6. Ana Carmena

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     eLife Assessment

     This useful study explores the role of RAP2A in asymmetric cell division (ACD) regulation in glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), drawing parallels to Drosophila ACD mechanisms and proposing that an imbalance toward symmetric divisions drives tumor progression. While findings on RAP2A's role in GSC expansion are promising, and the reviewers found the study innovative and technically solid, the study relies on neurosphere models without in vivo confirmation and will therefore need to be further validated in the future.

   Reviewed by eLife

10. Single-cell type analysis of wing premotor circuits in the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila melanogaster

    This article has 18 authors:

    1. Erica Ehrhardt
    2. Samuel C Whitehead
    3. Shigehiro Namiki
    4. Ryo Minegishi
    5. Igor Siwanowicz
    6. Kai Feng
    7. Hideo Otsuna
    8. FlyLight Project Team
    9. Geoffrey W Meissner
    10. David Stern
    11. James W Truman
    12. David Shepherd
    13. Michael H Dickinson
    14. Kei Ito
    15. Barry J Dickson
    16. Itai Cohen
    17. Gwyneth M Card
    18. Wyatt Korff

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      eLife Assessment

      This important resource paper presents a library of cell-type-specific genetic driver lines that label wing-related motor and premotor neurons in the ventral nerve cord of the fruit fly, Drosophila. The toolkit is systematically validated with compelling anatomical and behavioral evidence and will provide a resource for future studies of Drosophila flight and courtship.

    Reviewed by eLife