Evaluated articles

eLife Assessment

This is a potentially useful study that provides solid, yet confirmatory structural findings about the complex (FtsEX) that controls peptidoglycan remodeling during bacterial cell division. The authors capitalize on the fact that ATP binding stabilizes the FtsEX complex allowing structural characterization for this system. A model is then developed to explain ATP regulation but there is a gap between the model presented here and in vivo data reported previously.

eLife Assessment

This important work elucidates the biological processes and detailed mechanisms by which testosterone influences seminal plasma metabolites in mice. The evidence supporting the upregulation of metabolic enzymes and the role of ACLY is solid, highlighting the potential contributions of fatty acids to sperm motility.

eLife assessment

This manuscript highlights single-stranded DNA exo- and endo-nuclease activities of ExoIII as a potential caveat and an underestimated source of decreased efficiency in its use in biosensor assays. The data present solid evidence for the ssDNA nuclease activity of ExoIII and identifies residues that contribute to it. The findings are useful, but some aspects in the study remain incomplete.

eLife assessment

Spermiogenesis is a complex process allowing the emergence of specific sperm organelle, including the acrosome, a sperm giant vesicle of secretion. This important study reports the key role of Cylicin-1 in acrosome biogenesis and identifies the molecular partners necessary for acrosome anchoring. The compelling demonstration is based on infertile patient samples and two animal models. Overall, this provides results that will be invaluable to the male reproduction community, including scientists and andrologists.

eLife Assessment

This study presents an important application of high-content image-based morphological profiling to quantitatively and systematically characterize induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mixed neural cultures cell type compositions. Exceptional evidence through rigorous experimental and computational validations support new potential applications of this cheap and simple assay.

eLife assessment

This work demonstrates an important regulatory role of the N-terminal disordered tail of small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) proteins, which modulate the function of various proteins in eukaryotic cells. The authors present convincing evidence that the N-terminal tail of SUMO inhibits SUMO's interaction with downstream effector proteins and SUMOylation targets, and that this regulatory mechanism depends on the SUMO paralogue or the phosphorylation of the N-terminal tail. This discovery significantly advances the field by providing a possible explanation of how SUMO paralogues select their effectors and SUMOylation targets.

eLife assessment

This study presents a valuable contribution towards understanding the protein target and mechanism of action of an herbicide, which could be applied to the development of herbicide-based technologies to improve crop yields. Evidence is gathered using a variety of technical approaches that enrich and support the findings, but the methodology and the presentation of the results are incomplete.

eLife assessment

This valuable paper by Yao, Dai, and colleagues describes a viral gene drive against herpes simplex virus 1 in cell culture. The authors provided solid evidence that an engineered gene drive sequence, expressing either spCas9 or Un1Cas12f1 nuclease, could spread efficiently in the population of wild-type viruses and induce fewer drive-resistant mutations than spCas9. Limitations include a mechanistically inaccurate title, several methodologic flaws, and a paucity of descriptions of possible therapeutic applications.

eLife Assessment

In this useful study, Wang and colleagues investigate the potential probiotic effects of Bacillus velezensis in a murine model. They provide convincing evidence that B. velezensis limits the growth of Salmonella typhimurium in lab culture and in mice, together with beneficial effects on the microbiota. The overall presentation of the manuscript has improved and the work will be of interest to infectious disease researchers.

eLife assessment

These valuable findings develop a mouse model with trackable fusion Fshr protein, which will be of use to the field. The animal model helps to elucidate the expression and function of the FSH receptor in extra-gonadal tissues. The strength of the evidence is solid in most parts, although additional validation of the localization data would strengthen the study considerably.

eLife assessment

This study provides an important insight into the mechanisms of cooperation between Hsp70 and its cochaperones during reactivation of aggregated proteins. Based on convincing evidence, the authors demonstrate that the co-chaperone Hsp110 boosts disaggregation activity by enhancing Hsp70 recruitment to protein aggregates. This work is of broad interest to biochemists and cell biologists working in the protein homeostasis field.

eLife assessment

The authors presented a valuable bioinformatics pipeline for screening and identifying inhibitory receptors for potential drug targets. They provided solid evidence showing a sequential reduction in the search space through various screening tools and algorithms and demonstrated that this pipeline can be used to "rediscover" known targets. Further experimental validation on putative and unknown inhibitory receptors will strengthen the evidence reported in this work. This study will be of interest to bioinformaticians and computational biologists working on immune regulation, sequence screening, and target identification of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

eLife assessment

This important study identifies a novel link between the early keratinocyte response to wounds and the subsequent regenerative capacity of local sensory neurons. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is convincing, although inclusion of conditional genetics or cell-autonomy tests would have strengthened the mechanistic aspects. The work will be of interest to cell and developmental biologists interested in tissue regeneration and cell interactions in a broader context.

eLife assessment

This manuscript reports important data on the stability of nucleosomes with dsDNA substrates containing defined mismatches at three defined nucleosomal positions. Compelling evidence obtained by single-molecule FRET experiments shows that certain mismatches lead to more stable nucleosomes likely because mismatches kink to enhance DNA flexibility leading to higher nucleosome stability. The biological significance and implications of the findings remain unclear.

eLife assessment

Pin1 as an essential prolyl cis/trans isomerase has attracted considerable attention because this enzyme family is implicated in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. However, the requirement for its catalytic function remains a matter of dispute. The authors provide solid evidence that Pin1 modulates the activity of an important cell signaling kinase, Protein Kinase C, by a non-catalytic mechanism, acting as a chaperone to regulate the stability of this kinase.

eLife assessment

This manuscript presents a detailed phenotyping of the role of dietary iron in a large number of genetically distinct mouse strains. There are exciting and convincing data that could be valuable in their impact on the fields of nutrition, iron metabolism and anemia.

eLife assessment

This computational study is a valuable empirical investigation into the common trait of neurons in brains and artificial neural networks: responding effectively to both objects and their mirror images and it focuses on uncovering conditions that lead to mirror symmetry in visual networks and the evidence convincingly demonstrates that learning contributes to expanding mirror symmetry tuning, given its presence in the data. Additionally, the paper delves into the transformation of face patches in primate visual hierarchy, shifting from view specificity to mirror symmetry to view invariance. It empirically analyzes factors behind similar effects in two network architectures, and key claims highlight the emergence of invariances in architectures with spatial pooling, driven by learning bilateral symmetry discrimination and importantly, these effects extend beyond faces, suggesting broader relevance. Despite strong experiments, some interpretations lack explicit support, and the paper overlooks pre-training emergence of mirror symmetry.

eLife assessment

This is a fundamental study examining the role of prediction error in state allocation of memories. The data provided are convincing and largely support the conclusion that a gradual change between acquisition and extinction maintains the memory state of acquisition and thus results in extinction that is resistant to restoration. This paper is of interest to behavioural and neuroscience researchers studying learning, memory, and the neural mechanisms of those processes as well as to clinicians using extinction-based therapies in treating anxiety-based disorders

eLife assessment

The paper investigates a potential cause of a type of severe epilepsy that develops in early life because of a defect in a gene called KCNQ2. The significance is fundamental because it substantially advances our understanding of a major research question. The strength of the evidence is convincing because appropriate methods are used that are in line with the state-of-the art.

eLife assessment

Wounds are commonly infected, which can lead to delayed or poor wound healing, thereby significantly impacting morbidity and overall quality of life for patients. This manuscript uses single cell RNA sequencing to try to understand the impact of infection on various cell types during wound healing in a mouse model. The methodology is solid and the results provide a valuable 'atlas' of the cellular changes associated with infected and uninfected wounds which will be of interest to the field.