eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. Role of BRCA2 DNA-binding and C-terminal domain in its mobility and conformation in DNA repair

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Maarten W Paul
   2. Arshdeep Sidhu
   3. Yongxin Liang
   4. Sarah E van Rossum-Fikkert
   5. Hanny Odijk
   6. Alex N Zelensky
   7. Roland Kanaar
   8. Claire Wyman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work is of interest to readers in the field of genome stability, DNA repair and associated human diseases. The manuscript describes systematic analyses of the crucial DNA repair mediator BRCA2 and its variants lacking the DNA binding domain or RAD51 interacting C-terminal domain, and the conclusions present a conceptual advance as to how BRCA2 promotes DNA repair. The work is a technical tour de force that includes evaluation of the DNA damage response, gene targeting and single particle tracking in mouse embryonic stem cells, as well as biophysical analyses of the human counterparts. The key claims of the manuscript 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 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

2. Ectocytosis prevents accumulation of ciliary cargo in C. elegans sensory neurons

   This article has 2 authors:

   1. Adria Razzauti
   2. Patrick Laurent

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     Razzauti and Laurent investigate the formation of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by the cilia of C. elegans sensory neurons and the potential functions of this process. Consistent with previous findings, they show that EVs can be released from two distinct sites of the cilium; further, they show that several different classes of sensory neurons can produce EVs, that these can be taken up by a neighboring glial cell, and that this process may be important for the morphology and function of ciliated sensory neurons. However, it remains unclear whether these phenomena may be a consequence of the experimental system (ciliary protein overexpression); additionally, the link between EV uptake by glia and maintenance of neuronal structure and function is not convincingly established.

     (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. Reversal of the adipostat control of torpor during migration in hummingbirds

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Erich R Eberts
   2. Christopher G Guglielmo
   3. Kenneth C Welch

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study substantially advances our understanding of why, when, and how wild birds use daily torpor as an energetic strategy. A technically challenging combination of carefully controlled experiments on temporarily captive wild birds along with frequent respiratory measurements and whole-body composition measurements was key to making this advance.

     (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. Processing of the ribosomal ubiquitin-like fusion protein FUBI-eS30/FAU is required for 40S maturation and depends on USP36

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Jasmin van den Heuvel
   2. Caroline Ashiono
   3. Ludovic C Gillet
   4. Kerstin Dörner
   5. Emanuel Wyler
   6. Ivo Zemp
   7. Ulrike Kutay

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This study has discovered deubiquitinase USP36 as the enzyme that processes FAU, a ribosomal protein precursor comprised of a fusion between ubiquitin-like protein FUBI and the ribosomal protein eS30. This is an important advance because correct processing is crucial for biogenesis of the 40S ribosomal subunit. Knowing the identity of the processing enzyme now opens this step in ribosome biogenesis to molecular and mechanistic analysis.

     (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

5. Separable neural signatures of confidence during perceptual decisions

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Tarryn Balsdon
   2. Pascal Mamassian
   3. Valentin Wyart

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is of interest to neuroscientists and psychologists working on perceptual decision-making and metacognition. Using a novel task varying the timing of covert decisions, together with sophisticated computational modelling, allowed identifying neural correlates of latent states related to confidence. The conclusions are in line with other papers identifying a dissociation between brain activity supporting performance and confidence, but provide a novel lens through which to understand these differences by focusing on confidence noise. An open issue is how to interpret conclusions about neural correlates of deviations from an ideal-observer model.

     (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. Topography and motion of acid-sensing ion channel intracellular domains

   This article has 6 authors:

   1. Tyler Couch
   2. Kyle D Berger
   3. Dana L Kneisley
   4. Tyler W McCullock
   5. Paul Kammermeier
   6. David M Maclean

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This is a rigorous and clearly written paper that provides quantitative data for the scope of intracellular signalling by ASIC channels. These channels are involved in pain signalling and other processes, and apparently can couple to intracellular pathways independent of ion flow. Here the authors measure the movements of the unstructured intracellular parts of ASIC using fluorescence spectroscopy coupled to functional measurements.

     (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, #2, and #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

7. New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back

   This article has 17 authors:

   1. Scott A Williams
   2. Thomas Cody Prang
   3. Marc R Meyer
   4. Thierra K Nalley
   5. Renier Van Der Merwe
   6. Christopher Yelverton
   7. Daniel García-Martínez
   8. Gabrielle A Russo
   9. Kelly R Ostrofsky
   10. Jeffrey Spear
   11. Jennifer Eyre
   12. Mark Grabowski
   13. Shahed Nalla
   14. Markus Bastir
   15. Peter Schmid
   16. Steven E Churchill
   17. Lee R Berger

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper is a very valuable contribution to paleoanthropology especially to those who study the evolution of human posture and locomotion. Overall, the quality of some of the fossils is unusually high for this chronology, and the data are properly presented and analysed. However, the authors should be more cautious in their interpretation of the data which does not fully support their 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 #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

   Reviewed by eLife

8. TRPC3 and NALCN channels drive pacemaking in substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons

   This article has 7 authors:

   1. Ki Bum Um
   2. Suyun Hahn
   3. So Woon Kim
   4. Yoon Je Lee
   5. Lutz Birnbaumer
   6. Hyun Jin Kim
   7. Myoung Kyu Park

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This work clearly demonstrates an important role for two specific sodium-permeable ion channels for maintaining the pacemaker-like firing of midbrain dopamine neurons. These neurons have a key role in motivation, reinforcement and locomotion, and have been implicated in Parkinson's disease and multiple neuropsychiatric disorders. The authors also find that the regular firing of these cells is robustly maintained even when one of the two channels is knocked out, through upregulation of the level of the other channel.

     (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. Cyclin F drives proliferation through SCF-dependent degradation of the retinoblastoma-like tumor suppressor p130/RBL2

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Taylor P Enrico
   2. Wayne Stallaert
   3. Elizaveta T Wick
   4. Peter Ngoi
   5. Xianxi Wang
   6. Seth M Rubin
   7. Nicholas G Brown
   8. Jeremy E Purvis
   9. Michael J Emanuele

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     The identification of p130 as a substrate of cyclin F adds a new level of understanding about the role of this ubiquitin ligase in cell cycle control. While much of the data are string and of interest, several concerns need to be addressed with the inclusion of new experimental data. This work will be of interest to researchers in the fields of cell cycle and cancer.

     (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. Left hemisphere dominance for bilateral kinematic encoding in the human brain

    This article has 11 authors:

    1. Christina M Merrick
    2. Tanner C Dixon
    3. Assaf Breska
    4. Jack Lin
    5. Edward F Chang
    6. David King-Stephens
    7. Kenneth D Laxer
    8. Peter B Weber
    9. Jose Carmena
    10. Robert Thomas Knight
    11. Richard B Ivry

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      This paper provides further evidence for hemispheric asymmetry in the cortical control of manual actions based on intracranial (ECoG) recordings in human participants. Specifically, based a linear encoding model, the authors argue that movement encoding is more bilateral in the left hemisphere than the right hemisphere. The paper is well-written and the analyses are largely appropriate for addressing the primary hypothesis, though it would be helpful to detail the variability of electrode placement across individuals (which arises for the clinical intervention being undertaken) and incorporate this variability into the statistical analysis. Given the novelty of this type of human data and the well established question being addressed, this paper will be of interest to both basic and clinical researchers in motor neuroscience.

      (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