eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. A Cas-BCAR3 co-regulatory circuit controls lamellipodia dynamics

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Elizabeth M Steenkiste
   2. Jason D Berndt
   3. Carissa Pilling
   4. Christopher Simpkins
   5. Jonathan A Cooper

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study focuses on the formation of adaptor protein complexes at adhesion sites and their links to in vitro membrane ruffling and cell movement. Specifically, the authors study the role of the adaptor BCAR3 protein which is regulated by post-translational mechanisms (ubiquitin degradation and tyrosine phosphorylation). The authors propose a "co-regulatory" model whereby the recruitment of BCAR3 to adhesions acts to modulate p130Cas tyrosine phosphorylation and cell migration. This manuscript would be of particular interest to cell and cancer biologists interested in the molecular regulation of cell migration.

     (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. A meta-analysis of the association between male dimorphism and fitness outcomes in humans

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Linda H Lidborg
   2. Catharine Penelope Cross
   3. Lynda G Boothroyd

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work evaluates the strength of the evidence that human sexual dimorphism is the product of sexual selection. As a meta-analysis of studies that connect various measures of masculinity to various measures of reproductive success, this paper represents a synthesis of what this vast literature can show thus far. The work will be of general interest to evolutionary social scientists from a variety of disciplines, and it does a good job of clearly and concisely presenting the current state of sexual selection research on human males. The data are well presented, but the interpretation of the results is currently limited by some gaps in the theoretical framework guiding 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. Reviewers #1-4 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

3. Single-cell RNA-seq analysis reveals penaeid shrimp hemocyte subpopulations and cell differentiation process

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Keiichiro Koiwai
   2. Takashi Koyama
   3. Soichiro Tsuda
   4. Atsushi Toyoda
   5. Kiyoshi Kikuchi
   6. Hiroaki Suzuki
   7. Ryuji Kawano

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study provides identification of different subpopulations of blood cells and gives new insights in putative hemocyte lineage relationships by single cell RNA sequencing. The main conclusions are fairly well supported by the data and this manuscript will be of high interest to crustacean immunologists and readers in the field of aquaculture.

     (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. HIV-1 uncoating by release of viral cDNA from capsid-like structures in the nucleus of infected cells

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Thorsten G Müller
   2. Vojtech Zila
   3. Kyra Peters
   4. Sandra Schifferdecker
   5. Mia Stanic
   6. Bojana Lucic
   7. Vibor Laketa
   8. Marina Lusic
   9. Barbara Müller
   10. Hans-Georg Kräusslich

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The authors use a variety of complementary approaches to visualize and characterize events in the first half of the HIV life cycle, with some overlap between the latter studies and the recent (and cited) Zila et al. bioRxiv paper from some of the same authors. The data are generally of high quality, and many findings are in line with recent field advances indicating that reverse transcription completes in the nucleus, that intact/nearly intact cores are imported into the nucleus, and that nuclear uncoating likely occurs immediately prior to integration. The results provide the best evidence to date that intact capsids can enter the nucleus of target cells during infection, and will generally be of interest to the field, although the impact is diminished somewhat by similar recent publications from a number of other groups (including one case that used nearly identical labeling methods to follow viral complexes during infection). Issues that should be addressed include missing controls in some cases, some examples of over-interpretation and uneven citation, and the need for additional images to help bolster some of the claims. Strengths of the study include the rigorous characterization of infection using sophisticated imaging methods and, most importantly, the use of CLEM-ET to visualize viral capsids in the nucleus.

     (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, PREreview

5. Dual expression of Atoh1 and Ikzf2 promotes transformation of adult cochlear supporting cells into outer hair cells

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Suhong Sun
   2. Shuting Li
   3. Zhengnan Luo
   4. Minhui Ren
   5. Shunji He
   6. Guangqin Wang
   7. Zhiyong Liu

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript demonstrated the effectiveness of combined activation of Atoh1 and Ikzf2 in converting adult supporting cells to outer hair cell (OHC)-like cells in a mouse model, in which the OHCs were selectively ablated with diphtheria toxin. The authors showed that while the number of regenerated hair cells was low and there was no functional recovery based on ABR, these OHC-like cells do express Prestin and exhibit a genetic profile that resembles nascent hair cells. This paper will be of great interest to researchers interested in hearing restoration, as well as regenerative 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. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

6. Signaling amplitude molds the Ras mutation tropism of urethane

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Siqi Li
   2. Christopher M. Counter

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work helps explain some enduring mysteries about why certain activating mutations appear in the KRAS gene more frequently than others. This paper provides experimental support for an emerging concept within the Ras field that there is a sweet-spot of Ras signal strength that promotes tumorigenesis and that this explains why different mutations are observed in different contexts. The experiments are sound and the conclusions are fair. Given that certain KRAS mutations may be more amenable to therapeutic interventions than others, it is important to understand the basis for mutational tropism, and this work provides strong in vivo evidence that addresses this issue.

     (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. A functional genetic toolbox for human tissue-derived organoids

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Dawei Sun
   2. Lewis Evans
   3. Francesca Perrone
   4. Vanesa Sokleva
   5. Kyungtae Lim
   6. Saba Rezakhani
   7. Matthias Lutolf
   8. Matthias Zilbauer
   9. Emma L Rawlins

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     In this paper Sun and colleagues aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of using CRISPR-based gene editing techniques applied to tissue-derived human fetal lung organoids. While previous studies have used CRISPR-Cas9 to perform knock-in or knock-out studies in organoids (such as intestinal, hepatic or tumor organoids), this is the first report to apply these tools to a tissue-derived lung organoid model. A major strength of this report is the additional use of CRISPRi and CRISPRa technologies. The work is well done, clearly presented and makes an important contribution to the literature.

     (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, preLights

8. Repeated introductions and intensive community transmission fueled a mumps virus outbreak in Washington State

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Louise H Moncla
   2. Allison Black
   3. Chas DeBolt
   4. Misty Lang
   5. Nicholas R Graff
   6. Ailyn C Pérez-Osorio
   7. Nicola F Müller
   8. Dirk Haselow
   9. Scott Lindquist
   10. Trevor Bedford

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This interesting phylogenetic analysis of a mumps outbreak in Washington will be of interest to a wide audience, especially those working at the intersection of pathogen genomics and public health. An array of classic and novel phylogenetic approaches supports the conclusions that mumps was introduced several times in Washington during the outbreak, and that the Washington Marshallese community was particularly at risk of mumps infection and transmission despite high vaccination coverage. Inferences regarding the role of age and vaccination status are however less conclusive given the small sample size. Consultation with a community health advocate from the affected communities helps contextualize the results.

     (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. Regional sequencing collaboration reveals persistence of the T12 Vibrio cholerae O1 lineage in West Africa

   This article has 18 authors:

   1. Eme Ekeng
   2. Serges Tchatchouang
   3. Blaise Akenji
   4. Bassira Boubacar Issaka
   5. Ifeoluwa Akintayo
   6. Christopher Chukwu
   7. Ibrahim Dan Dano
   8. Sylvie Melingui
   9. Sani Ousmane
   10. Michael Oladotun Popoola
   11. Ariane Nzouankeu
   12. Yap Boum
   13. Francisco Luquero
   14. Anthony Ahumibe
   15. Dhamari Naidoo
   16. Andrew Azman
   17. Justin Lessler
   18. Shirlee Wohl

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The paper "Regional sequencing collaboration reveals persistence of the T12 Vibrio cholerae O1 lineage in West Africa" presents results from sequencing and analyzing 46 Vibrio cholerae whole genome sequence data. The paper presents findings from a region with little genomic surveillance, and as such these data are valuable. While the analysis doesn't provide much novelty in terms of understanding cholera transmission, the study was conducted in the context of a regional training, and as such adds value as a potential model for regionally coordinated genomic surveillance efforts in areas where surveillance is limited. However even though it seems that the authors aim to present this as a surveillance model, the current focus of the paper is on the somewhat limited inference made about transmission.

     (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

10. Associations of topic-specific peer review outcomes and institute and center award rates with funding disparities at the National Institutes of Health

    This article has 4 authors:

    1. Michael S Lauer
    2. Jamie Doyle
    3. Joy Wang
    4. Deepshikha Roychowdhury

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This paper provides the basis for further discussion about the perceived inequities in NIH funding based on race. The strengths of this manuscript are the detailed breakdown of the available data in order to evaluate for biases, the availability of data for multiple years (2011-2015) and the consideration of alternate explanations (e.g. new applications vs resubmissions; single vs multi PI). With that said, given their conclusion that Institute (IC) assignment was the main determinant of funding rates, the approach for IC assignment should have been discussed. Other issues relate to the complexity of statistical analyses and a lack of clarity on confounding issues towards firm 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. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

    Reviewed by eLife