eLife

Latest preprint reviews

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. A connectome of the Drosophila central complex reveals network motifs suitable for flexible navigation and context-dependent action selection

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Brad K Hulse
   2. Hannah Haberkern
   3. Romain Franconville
   4. Daniel Turner-Evans
   5. Shin-ya Takemura
   6. Tanya Wolff
   7. Marcella Noorman
   8. Marisa Dreher
   9. Chuntao Dan
   10. Ruchi Parekh
   11. Ann M Hermundstad
   12. Gerald M Rubin
   13. Vivek Jayaraman

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this paper. The full connectome of the Drosophila central complex is both the beginning and the end of an era. It provides the first comprehensive dataset of arguably the most enigmatic brain region in the insect brain. This endeavor has generated ground truth data for years of functional work on the neural circuits the connectome outlines and constitutes an unparalleled foundation for exploring the structure function relations in nervous systems in general. While significantly going beyond models of central-complex function that existed previously, the authors have to be much credited for incorporating huge amounts of existing knowledge and data into their interpretations, not only work from Drosophila, but also from many other insects. This effort makes this paper not only an invaluable resource on the connectome of the Drosophila central complex, but also a most comprehensive review on the current state of the art in central-complex research. This unifying approach of the paper clearly marks a reset of central-complex research, essentially providing a starting point of hundreds of new lines of enquiry, probably for decades to come.

     (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

6. Environmental drivers of disease depend on host community context

   This article has 3 authors:

   1. Fletcher W. Halliday
   2. Mikko Jalo
   3. Anna-Liisa Laine

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper provides a framework for disentangling the direct vs. indirect effects of environment on disease, which should be of broad interest across domains of ecology, epidemiology and plant biology. The authors validate this framework with a well-designed field study of plant leaf disease across a large elevational gradient. Overall, the data analyses are appropriate, but a few aspects of interpretations could be improved.

     (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

7. The discriminatory power of the T cell receptor

   This article has 9 authors:

   1. Johannes Pettmann
   2. Anna Huhn
   3. Enas Abu Shah
   4. Mikhail A Kutuzov
   5. Daniel B Wilson
   6. Michael L Dustin
   7. Simon J Davis
   8. P Anton van der Merwe
   9. Omer Dushek

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This paper will be of considerable interest to anybody focusing on highly sensitive T cell antigen recognition. It uses an extended experimental protocol and analytical methods to assess very low T cell receptor binding affinities, and to determine how T cells discriminate between self- and non-self antigens. The main conclusions are well supported by the presented analysis and provide a novel view on a previously considered concept.

     (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

8. The interaction between endogenous GABA, functional connectivity, and behavioral flexibility is critically altered with advanced age

   This article has 8 authors:

   1. Kirstin-Friederike Heise
   2. Laura Rueda-Delgado
   3. Sima Chalavi
   4. Bradley R. King
   5. Thiago Santos Monteiro
   6. Richard A. E. Edden
   7. Dante Mantini
   8. Stephan P. Swinnen

   Reviewed by eLife

9. Characterization of cephalic and non-cephalic sensory cell types provides insight into joint photo- and mechanoreceptor evolution

   This article has 13 authors:

   1. Roger Revilla-i-Domingo
   2. Vinoth Babu Veedin Rajan
   3. Monika Waldherr
   4. Günther Prohaczka
   5. Hugo Musset
   6. Lukas Orel
   7. Elliot Gerrard
   8. Moritz Smolka
   9. Alexander Stockinger
   10. Matthias Farlik
   11. Robert J Lucas
   12. Florian Raible
   13. Kristin Tessmar-Raible

   This article has been curated by 1 group:

   • Curated by eLife

     Evaluation Summary:

     This manuscript presents an investigation of receptors in the trunk of Platynereis annelids that express genes involved in both photoreception (e.g. r-Opsin) and mechanosensation. This is particularly interesting in light of other work in model organisms like flies that uncovered broadly similar results. The authors compare gene expression of fly Johnston Organ cells and mouse hearing cells to the worm receptors. Because Platynereis is distantly related to flies and mice, the authors suggest this "hybrid" sensory receptor could be very old and homologous across many animals. The question of what role r-Opsins play outside of photoreceptors is an interesting one that remains poorly understood.

     (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

10. Separable pupillary signatures of perception and action during perceptual multistability

    This article has 5 authors:

    1. Jan W Brascamp
    2. Gilles de Hollander
    3. Michael D Wertheimer
    4. Ashley N DePew
    5. Tomas Knapen

    This article has been curated by 1 group:

    • Curated by eLife

      Evaluation Summary:

      Pupillometry is an increasingly accessible tool for the non-invasive readout of brain activity. However, our understanding of pupil-control circuits and of the relationship between changes in pupil size and perception, cognition or action is incomplete. Therefore, any measurements that further this understanding are of great interest to a wide audience in psychology and neurobiology. This study used pupillometry to explore the neural processing underlying perception and dissociate them from action-related neural processing. Results reveal changes in pupil size that are reliably different depending on the task. Such approaches can be very useful in deciphering which of the myriad factors that can affect pupil size are active under specific, controlled conditions.

      (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