Evaluated articles

eLife Assessment

This study presents two main findings regarding HIV-1 genomic integration. The first, based on convincing evidence in primary cell models, is that HIV-1 induces R loop formation, though the viral driver of this process remains undefined. The second, based on model cell systems with limited physiological relevance to HIV-1, is that a portion of HIV-1 genomes integrates in the vicinity of where R loops form. This finding has the potential to offer fundamental insight into HIV-1 integration, but the strength of the presented evidence was viewed as incomplete and needing additional validation by more direct experimental methods in order to understand what the mechanistic relationship between the formation of R loops and HIV-1 integration is.

eLife Assessment

This paper addresses a significant question regarding the low overlap between genetic discoveries for human complex diseases and those for gene expression by emphasizing the contribution of cell-type-specific chromatin accessibility QTLs. The analyses supporting the main claims are convincing, and the key conclusions are valuable and of interest to readers in the fields of human genetics and functional genomics.

eLife Assessment

This important study reports that the neurohormone, bursicon, and its receptor, play a role in the seasonal polyphenism of the bug Cacopsylla chinensis. Low temperature activates the bursicon signaling pathway during the transition from the summer to the winter form, affecting cuticle pigment and thickness as well as chitin content. The solid experiments reveal how bursicon signaling, which is modulated by the microRNA miR-6012, regulates features of polyphenism related to the exoskeleton, although it is less clear what the upstream regulatory events are.

eLife Assessment

In this important study the authors develop an elegant lung metastasis mouse model that closely mimics the events in human patients. They provide convincing evidence for the effectiveness of IL-15/12-conditioned NK cells in this design, which was also critical for the authors being able to conclusively reveal the T cell-dependency of NK-cell-mediated long-term control of experimental metastasis. Of note, an investigator-initiated clinical trial demonstrated that similar NK cell infusions in cancer patients after resections were safe and showed signs of efficacy, which is of promising clinical application value.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study employed a multi-omics approach to elucidate the regulatory mechanism underlying parturition and myometrial quiescence. The data presented to support the main conclusion are solid. This work will be of interest to both basic researchers who work on reproductive biology and clinicians who practice reproductive medicine.

eLife assessment

In this valuable study, the authors sought to investigate the associations of age at breast cancer onset with the incidence of myocardial infarction and heart failure. Based on results from a series of compelling statistical analyses, the authors conclude that a younger onset age of breast cancer is associated with myocardial infarction and heart failure, highlighting the need to carefully monitor the cardiovascular status of women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.

eLife Assessment

This study presents important findings on the function of enteric glia expressing proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1+ glia). The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid, although the inclusion of additional data showing the mechanisms by which PLP1+ enteric glia acts on Paneth cells would have strengthened the study. The work will be of interest to colleagues studying intestinal biology.

eLife Assessment

This study focuses on the regulation of GLP-1 in enteroendocrine L cells and how this may be stimulated by the mechanogated ion channel Piezo1 and the CaMKKbeta-CaMKIV-mTORC1 signaling pathway. The work is innovative and is considered valuable, as the hypothesis that is being tested may have significant mechanistic and translational implications. Data to support the proposed mechanism were considered incomplete, yet data to support the overall physiological characterization were considered solid.

eLife Assessment

Using experiments in the white fly, this manuscript provides evidence that the bacterial symbiont Wolbachia can be transmitted from parasitoid wasps to their insect hosts. Characterizing the transfer of Wolbachia between insect species is a valuable attempt to explain the widespread of this intracellular bacterium. This paper is incomplete as it does not furnish sufficient data to support several of its claims for which additional methods and data are necessary.

eLife Assessment

This study combines genetic, cell biological, and interaction data to propose a model of meiotic double-strand break regulation in C. elegans. Solid evidence supports the main conclusions, while by nature of a screening-type study, more may be needed to solidify speculations in future studies. Yet, comprehensive cataloging of the physical and genetic interactions of factors required for meiotic double-strand break is useful information for the field.

eLife assessment

This paper describes an important software framework for the curation, retrieval, and analysis of ancient human genomic data and their associated metadata, overcoming long-standing coordination and harmonization issues in ancient human genomics. The resource is built on compelling and sometimes exceptional principles of software engineering and reproducibility, and the authors make an excellent case that their resource will be of practical use to many researchers studying human history using DNA. The main issues include natural uncertainties regarding future funding and maintenance of this resource, as well as deviation from established standards in other areas of genomics.

eLife Assessment

This important study addresses how wing morphology and kinematics change across hoverflies of different body sizes. The authors provide convincing evidence that there is no significant correlation between body size and wing kinematics across 28 species and instead argue that non-trivial changes in wing size and shape evolved to support flight across the size range. Overall, this paper illustrates the power and beauty of an integrative approach to animal biomechanics and will be of broad interest to biologists, physicists and engineers.

eLife Assessment

This important study provides insights into the physiological role of RIPK1 in liver physiology, particularly during short-term fasting. The discovery that RIPK1 deficiency sensitizes the liver to acute injury and hepatocyte apoptosis is based on convincing evidence, highlighting the importance of RIPK1 in maintaining liver homeostasis under metabolic stress. The work will be of relevance to anyone studying liver pathologies.

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates the contribution of cytosolic S100A/8 to neutrophil migration to inflamed tissues. The authors provide convincing evidence for how the loss of cytosolic S100A/8 specifically affects the ability of neutrophils to crawl and subsequently adhere under shear stress. This study will be of interest in fields where inflammation is implicated, such as autoimmunity or sepsis.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study combines massively parallel reporter assays and regression analysis to identify sequence features in untranslated regions contributing to the stability of in vitro transcribed mRNA delivered to cells. The strength of evidence presented is solid, although some points about half-life measurements and the relevance of identified sequence features to native transcript stability will inform future discussion surrounding the present study. Taken together, the work will be of interest to a broad swath of colleagues studying post-transcriptional gene regulation and especially to those using massively parallel reporter assays.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study provides convincing evidence that mutant hair cells with abnormal, reversed polarity of their hair bundles in mouse otolith organs retain wild-type localization, mechanoelectrical transduction and firing properties of their afferent innervation, leading to mild behavioral dysfunction. It thus demonstrates that the bimodal pattern of afferent nerve projections in this organ is not causally related to the bimodal distribution of hair-bundle orientations, as also confirmed in the zebrafish lateral line. The work will be of interest to scientists interested in the development and function of the vestibular system as well as in planar-cell polarity.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study is a detailed investigation of how chromatin structure influences replication origin function in yeast ribosomal DNA, with a focus on the role of the histone deacetylase Sir2 and the chromatin remodeler Fun30. The paper shows that Sir2 does not affect origin licensing but rather affects local transcription and nucleosome positioning which correlates with increased origin firing. Overall, the evidence is convincing and the model is plausible.

eLife Assessment

This valuable study presents the design of a new device for using high-density electrophysiological probes ('Neuropixels') in freely moving rodents. The evidence demonstrating the system's versatility and ability to record high-quality extracellular data in both mice and rats is compelling. This study will be of significant interest to neuroscientists performing chronic electrophysiological recordings.

eLife Assessment

This article describes a novel mechanism allows Drosophila to combat enteric pathogens while also preserving the beneficial indigenous microbiota. The authors provide compelling evidence that oral infection of Drosophila larvae by pathogenic bacteria activate a valve that traps the intruders in the anterior midgut, allowing them to be killed by antimicrobial peptides. This is an important finding revealing a new mechanism of host defense in the gut of insects.

eLife Assessment

This study represents valuable findings on the asymmetric connectivity pattern of two different types of CA3 pyramidal cell types showing that while athorny cells receive strong inputs from all other cell types, thorny cells receive weaker inputs from athorny neurons. Computational modeling is used to evaluate the impact of this connectivity scheme on the sequential activation of different cell types during sharp wave ripples. The evidence combining experimental and computational modelling approaches convincingly supports the authors' claims regarding the network mechanisms underlying the temporal sequences of neuronal activity during sharp-waves.