eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Expression of a CO2-permeable aquaporin enhances mesophyll conductance in the C4 species Setaria viridis

   This article has 12 authors:

   1. Maria Ermakova
   2. Hannah Osborn
   3. Michael Groszmann
   4. Soumi Bala
   5. Andrew Bowerman
   6. Samantha McGaughey
   7. Caitlin Byrt
   8. Hugo Alonso-cantabrana
   9. Steve Tyerman
   10. Robert T Furbank
   11. Robert E Sharwood
   12. Susanne von Caemmerer

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The conductance of CO2 into the chloroplast from the intercellular airspace is a key limitation to rates of net photosynthesis. Despite its importance, past work has been contradictory in what does and does not affect this mesophyll conductance. This paper takes a unique and multi-pronged approach to resolving the mechanisms of mesophyll conductance and proposing a transgenic approach for increasing it in C4 plants.

     (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 sex-specific evolutionary interaction between ADCY9 and CETP

   This article has 16 authors:

   1. Isabel Gamache
   2. Marc-André Legault
   3. Jean-Christophe Grenier
   4. Rocio Sanchez
   5. Eric Rhéaume
   6. Samira Asgari
   7. Amina Barhdadi
   8. Yassamin Feroz Zada
   9. Holly Trochet
   10. Yang Luo
   11. Leonid Lecca
   12. Megan Murray
   13. Soumya Raychaudhuri
   14. Jean-Claude Tardif
   15. Marie-Pierre Dubé
   16. Julie Hussin

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study presents evidence supporting population and sex-specific selection and an epistatic interaction between variants in the genes ADCY9 and CETP of pharmacogenetic importance. The confluence of evidence from population genetics, gene expression, functional experiments, and phenotypic association lends support to the paper's claims beyond what may be achieved by a single analysis. All three reviewers and I agreed that this work is of high interest in medical and population genetics and addresses a challenging topic in an impactful way.

     (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

3. Endothelial pannexin 1–TRPV4 channel signaling lowers pulmonary arterial pressure in mice

   This article has 11 authors:

   1. Zdravka Daneva
   2. Matteo Ottolini
   3. Yen Lin Chen
   4. Eliska Klimentova
   5. Maniselvan Kuppusamy
   6. Soham A Shah
   7. Richard D Minshall
   8. Cheikh I Seye
   9. Victor E Laubach
   10. Brant E Isakson
   11. Swapnil K Sonkusare

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study, which makes a connection between several proteins known to regulate endothelial function in pulmonary arteries, may be of interest to vascular, pulmonary and ion channel physiologists. The study provides compelling evidence that ATP released from pulmonary artery endothelial cell (EC) pannexin1 channels activates TRPV4 channels via an EC P2Y2R-PLC-DAG-PKC alpha pathway that is facilitated by the scaffolding protein Caveolin-1 and that this pathway helps to maintain low pulmonary vascular resistance and pulmonary artery pressure. Identification of this pathway provides new drug targets to improve pulmonary endothelial function in disease states such characterized by impaired endothelial function. What remains to be established or understood is the physiological stimulus for activation of the pannexin1 channels and ATP release and also the potential dark-side of overactivity of EC TRPV4 channels, which appear to have negative effects on EC function.

     (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

4. Finger somatotopy is preserved after tetraplegia but deteriorates over time

   This article has 5 authors:

   1. Sanne Kikkert
   2. Dario Pfyffer
   3. Michaela Verling
   4. Patrick Freund
   5. Nicole Wenderoth

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper investigates the stability of the somatotopic organization of somatosensory cortex after spinal cord injury that results in tetraplegia. The findings suggest that somatotopic maps are preserved, degrading very slowly over decades, but that the amount of spared function is a poor predictor of somatotopic stability. These findings contribute to a developing story on how sensory representations are formed and maintained and has implications for the development of brain-machine interfaces for individuals with tetraplegia. The study is interesting and the manuscript is well-written. There remain concerns about some choices taken in the analyses.

     (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

5. Analysis of long and short enhancers in melanoma cell states

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. David Mauduit
   2. Ibrahim Ihsan Taskiran
   3. Liesbeth Minnoye
   4. Maxime de Waegeneer
   5. Valerie Christiaens
   6. Gert Hulselmans
   7. Jonas Demeulemeester
   8. Jasper Wouters
   9. Stein Aerts

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is a well-executed study describing multiple new findings related to the association between enhancer activity as measured by massively parallel reporter assay (MPRA), chromatin features, and underlying TF binding profiles in the context of different transcriptional states of cutaneous melanoma. There are several technical and conceptual advances including the refinement of MPRA assays and the understanding of regulatory mechanisms controlling cell state-specific enhancer activity that will be valuable for other investigators to adapt the experimental design and data analysis strategies. This work will be of broad interest to those seeking to understand cell type- or cell identify-specific gene regulation at the level of transcription and epigenetic control using these and related approaches.

     (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. NMDA receptors in visual cortex are necessary for normal visuomotor integration and skill learning

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Felix C Widmer
   2. Sean M O'Toole
   3. Georg B Keller

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study examined the mechanism underlying the development of prediction-error related responses of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) evoked by the mismatch between self-generated locomotor movement and visual feedback. The authors show that unilateral gene knockout of NMDA receptors or CaMKII in the primary visual cortex impaired the mismatch-related responses in V1. The experiments are well thought out and the paper is well presented. The results suggesting a role for local plasticity in V1 will be of great interest to those researchers interested in neural circuit development as well as cortical functions.

     (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. Reporting and misreporting of sex differences in the biological sciences

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Yesenia Garcia-Sifuentes
   2. Donna L Maney

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript presents a descriptive audit on statistically treatment, reporting and interpretation of the effects of sex as a biological variable (SABV) on the studied outcomes in articles published across nine scholarly disciplines. The manuscript highlights and provides data on prevalence of several inconsistencies and inaccuracies in the literature regarding treatment of SABV as an important moderator of the effects of an intervention on a considered outcome and how such inconsistencies could lead to biased conclusions regarding the effects of SABV. As such, the manuscript may inform not only funding agencies and grant reviewers, but also researchers in most scientific disciplines regarding the importance of adhering to rigorous methodological standards when examining the effects of SABV.

     (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 names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. Structural basis for membrane recruitment of ATG16L1 by WIPI2 in autophagy

   This article has 10 authors:

   1. Lisa M Strong
   2. Chunmei Chang
   3. Julia F Riley
   4. C Alexander Boecker
   5. Thomas G Flower
   6. Cosmo Z Buffalo
   7. Xuefeng Ren
   8. Andrea KH Stavoe
   9. Erika LF Holzbaur
   10. James H Hurley

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper describes the crystal structure of two key components of the autophagy system, the PI3P-binding protein WIPI2d in complex with its interaction region in the hATG8 E3 ligase scaffold component ATG16L1. The paper provides interesting new data and demonstrates the requirements for association of WIPI2d with membranes. Functional studies in cells provide evidence that mutation of residues at the interface for ATG16L1 binding affects function, although additional studies would support loss of function versus a dominant negative effect.

     (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. Dorsal premammillary projection to periaqueductal gray controls escape vigor from innate and conditioned threats

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Weisheng Wang
   2. Peter J Schuette
   3. Mimi Q La-Vu
   4. Anita Torossian
   5. Brooke C Tobias
   6. Marta Ceko
   7. Philip A Kragel
   8. Fernando MCV Reis
   9. Shiyu Ji
   10. Megha Sehgal
   11. Sandra Maesta-Pereira
   12. Meghmik Chakerian
   13. Alcino J Silva
   14. Newton S Canteras
   15. Tor Wager
   16. Jonathan C Kao
   17. Avishek Adhikari

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Wang et al. explores the relationship between the vigor of behavioral escape and cholecystokinin-expressing neurons in the premammillary nucleus of the hypothalamus that project to the periaqueductal gray. The experiments presented use a range of complementary approaches and techniques to perform a comprehensive examination of the circuitry underlying a particular aversively motivated behavior. However, a lack of clarity and specificity in how experiments and results are described, as well as a missed opportunity to relate this work to recent publications by many of the same authors, soften the conclusions that can be drawn from the manuscript in its current form.

     (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

10. Modality-specific tracking of attention and sensory statistics in the human electrophysiological spectral exponent

    This article has 7 authors:

    1. Leonhard Waschke
    2. Thomas Donoghue
    3. Lorenz Fiedler
    4. Sydney Smith
    5. Douglas D Garrett
    6. Bradley Voytek
    7. Jonas Obleser

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This manuscript reports on two separate investigations. In the first, the authors provide novel evidence from two anaesthesia challenges that the slope of the 1/f structure of the power spectrum of the EEG fluctuates in a manner that tracks the presumed excitation : inhibition (E:I) balance of the tissue generating the EEG signal. Next they show that fluctuations in this slope also covary in systematic and modality- and stimulus-specific ways with behavioural performance on a multimodal attention task. These observations have potential foundational implications for how this previously unappreciated component of the EEG can be interpreted in terms of brain physiology and function. While the methodology employed is novel and interesting, the data as they stand, do not yet support the strong conclusions proposed by the authors.

      (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