Evaluated articles

eLife Assessment

This valuable study revealed numerous distinct lineages that evolved within a local human population in Alberta, Canada, leading to persistent cases of E. coli O157:H7 infections for over a decade and highlighting the ongoing involvement of local cattle in disease transmission, as well as the possibility of intermediate hosts and environmental reservoirs. This study also showed a shift towards more virulent stx2a-only strains becoming predominant in the local lineages. The evidence supporting the role played by cattle in the transmission system of human cases of E. coli O157:H7 in Alberta is solid.

eLife Assessment

Periods in which experience regulates early plasticity in sensory circuits are well established, but the mechanisms that control these critical periods are poorly understood. In this important study, the authors examine early-life critical periods that regulate the Drosophila antennal lobe and show that constant odor exposure markedly reduces the volume, synapse number, and function of a specific glomerulus. The authors offer compelling evidence that these changes are mediated by the invasion of ensheathing glia into the glomerulus where they phagocytose connections via a mechanism involving the engulfment receptor Draper.

eLife Assessment

This important study combines microfluidic experiments with mathematical modeling to elucidate the reciprocal interplay between flow dynamics and biofilm growth and detachment. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model organism, the authors identify several key regimes and stages of biofilm development. Overall, the comparison between experimental observations of biofilm behavior under varying flow conditions and corresponding theoretical predictions forms a compelling understanding of the processes involved in biofilm dynamics. The results will be of interest to researchers studying biofilms and their technological and biological applications.

eLife Assessment

This study presents valuable experimental and numerical results on the motility of a magnetotactic bacterium living in sedimentary environments, particularly in environments of varying magnetic field strengths. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is compelling and the study will be of specific relevance to biophysicists interested in bacterial motility.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript presents a potentially important strategy for stimulating mammalian Müller glia to proliferate in vivo by manipulating cell cycle components. The results are convincing that a large number of Müller glia can be induced to re-enter the cell cycle without a damage stimulus. These findings are likely to appeal to retinal biologists and neuroscientists in general.

eLife Assessment

Goswami and colleagues used rod-specific Gls1 (the gene encoding glutaminase 1) knockout mice to investigate the role of GLS1 in photoreceptor health when GLS1 was deleted from developing or adult photoreceptor cells. This study is fundamental as it shows the critical role of glutamine catabolism in photoreceptor cell health using in vivo model systems. The evidence supporting the authors' claims is compelling. The studies add new insight into how specific metabolites support vision.

eLife Assessment

This study presents valuable findings on the role of a well-studied signal transduction pathway, the Slit/Robo system, in the context of the assembly of the hematopoietic niche in the Drosophila embryo. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will interest developmental biologists working on molecular mechanisms of tissue morphogenesis.

eLife Assessment

This study reveals that the malaria parasite protein PfHO, although lacking typical heme oxygenase activity, is essential for the survival of Plasmodium falciparum. Structural and localization analyses demonstrated that PfHO plays a critical role in maintaining the apicoplast, specifically in gene expression and biogenesis, suggesting an adaptive function for this protein in parasite biology. While the findings convincingly support the authors' claims, further investigation into apicoplast gene expression and the specific function of PfHO remains a future challenge. The topic and results are important and will be of interest to researchers studying various aspects of malaria, Plasmodium physiology, host-pathogen interactions, and heme metabolism.

eLife Assessment

The effort is timely and the paper carries valuable insights into the function of UTR mutations. There are still significant concerns about both the quality of the screen data, and its ability to detect significant changes in translation and their direction. Therefore, the ability of the screen to support the extensive downstream statistical analysis is limited and leaves the paper incomplete.

eLife assessment

This important study advances our understanding of the mechanisms underlying chromatin-mediated gene regulation by SET DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 7 (SDG7). The evidence supporting the author's claims – centered on a combination of imaging approaches with molecular and genetic experiments – is convincing, although certain aspects can be improved. The work will be of broad interest to molecular biologists studying epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

eLife Assessment

This fundamental study further validates DNAH12 as a causative gene for asthenoteratozoospermia and male infertility in both humans and mice. Compelling evidence supports the notion that DNAH12 is essential for proper axonemal development. This work will be of interest to reproductive biologists studying spermatogenesis and sperm biology, as well as andrologists focusing on male fertility.

eLife Assessment

This study investigates the conditions under which abstract knowledge transfers to new learning. It presents convincing evidence across a number of behavioral experiments that when explicit awareness of learned statistical structure is present, knowledge can transfer immediately, but that otherwise similar transfer requires sleep-dependent consolidation. The valuable results provide new constraints on theories of transfer learning and consolidation.

eLife Assessment

This study presents valuable findings on the role of dopamine receptor D2R in dopaminergic neurons DAN-c1 and mushroom body neurons (Y201-GAL4 pattern) on aversive and appetitive conditioning. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid in the context of their behavioural paradigm. Controls using a reciprocal training protocol would have broadened the scope of their conclusions. The work will be of interest to researchers studying the role of dopamine during learning and memory.

eLife Assessment

This important study examined the complexity of emergent dynamics of large-scale neural network models after perturbation (perturbational complexity index, PCI) and used it as a measurement of consciousness to account for previous recordings of humans at various anesthetized levels. The evidence supporting the conclusion is convincing and constitutes a unified framework for different observations related to consciousness. There are many fields that would be interested in this study, including cognitive neuroscience, psychology, complex systems, neural networks, and neural dynamics.

eLife Assessment

The authors developed a method to allow a hypothermic agent, neurotensin, to cross the blood-brain barrier so it could potentially protect the brain from seizures and the adverse effects of seizures. The work is important because it is known that cooling the brain can protect it but developing a therapeutic approach based on that knowledge has not been done. The paper is well presented and the data are convincing.

eLife assessment

This study presents a useful finding for the prevention of diarrhea with loperamide in patients with early HER2-positive breast cancer treated with nab-paclitaxel in combination with pyrotinib. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is somewhat incomplete. The enrollment of patients as a control group who have not received prophylactic treatment for diarrhea would have strengthened the study, and the addition of double-blinding for the assessment of treatment may be necessary. The work will be of interest to scientists working in the field of clinical breast cancer treatment.

eLife Assessment

This work provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying spatial memory and learning, suggesting that dopamine plays a pivotal role in linking reward context and novelty to memory consolidation processes. The evidence presented to support the main conclusions is solid, although reviewers felt that the strength of evidence could have been further strengthened by more rigorous histological verification of the experimental conditions and the complexity of the experimental manipulations, increased sample sizes, and a more consistent approach to experimental dosing and timing, which will be crucial for confirming the reproducibility and reliability of the observed effects.

eLife Assessment

This important study offers convincing evidence that fmo-4 plays essential roles in established lifespan interventions and downstream of its paralog fmo-2. The work is of substantial benefit for our understanding of this enzyme family, underscoring their importance in longevity and stress resistance. The study also suggests a connection between fmo-4 and dysregulation of calcium signalling, with conclusions and interpretations based on solid genetic methodology and evidence.

eLife Assessment

This important study uses in vitro and in vivo methods to identify HpARI proteins from H. polygyrus as modulators of the host immune system. The data from comprehensive approaches for investigating differential roles of HpARI proteins are convincing. This paper is relevant to those who investigate host-pathogen interactions at the systems and molecular levels.