Evaluated articles

eLife Assessment

This is a useful contribution to our understanding of taste perception. The idea that specific receptors function in the pharynx to mediate responses to carboxylic acids is interesting, although the expression analysis is incomplete. Reviewers also have a number of other suggestions for improvement, including the request that authors provide more details about the methodology used. In general, the claims are supported by solid evidence and add to a growing body of literature on this topic.

eLife Assessment

This is a useful revised manuscript that shows a set of data including the first cryo-EM structures of human PIEZO1 as well as structures of disease-related mutants in complex with the regulatory subunit MDFIC, which generate different inactivation phenotypes. The molecular basis of PIEZO channel inactivation is of great interest due to its association with several pathologies. This manuscript provides some structural insights that may help to ultimately build a molecular picture of PIEZO channel inactivation. While the structures are of use and clear conformational differences can be seen in the presence of the auxiliary subunit MDFIC, the strength of the evidence supporting the conclusions of the paper, especially the proposed role for pore lipids in inactivation, is incomplete.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript reports on the effects of a single dose of methamphetamine vs placebo on a probabilistic reversal learning task with different levels of noise, in a large group of young healthy volunteers. The paper is well written and the methods are rigorous. The findings are valuable and have theoretical or practical implications for a subfield. The strength of the evidence is solid, with the methods, data, and analyses broadly supporting the claims with only minor weaknesses.

eLife Assessment

This valuable paper seeks to determine the role of endogenous CNS hemoglobin in protecting mitochondrial homeostasis in hypoxia. There is merit in the work, although it remains incomplete as there is a question as to the validity of the hypoxia model as relevant to CNS-specific ischemia/hypoxia that should be considered. In particular, a whole-body hypoxia model may liberate exosomes from other hypoxic organs, which should be addressed by the authors. Overall, this work has the potential to be of broad interest to the neuroscience and hypoxia communities.

eLife Assessment

This study presents a useful characterisation of the topographical organisation of the human pulvinar, an associative thalamic subregion crucial for visual perception and attention. The evidence supporting the conclusions is solid given the multimodal validation and replication across datasets, although even higher-resolution imaging data would have strengthened the study. The manuscript would also be strengthened by clarifying how the work extends previous assessments of thalamic connectivity and expanding the results with a more digested interpretation of the findings and validation of the segmentation quality. With these components strengthened, the work would be of interest to neuroscientists, neurologists, and neuropsychiatrists working on pulvinar functioning in health and disease.

eLife Assessment

This important study uncovers a surprising link between two self-cleaving RNAs that belong to the same structural family. The evidence supporting the main conclusions is convincing and based on extensive biochemical and bioinformatic analysis. This research will be of broad interest to RNA molecular biologists and biochemists.

eLife Assessment

This important paper uses elegant models, including genetic knock outs, to demonstrate that FABP4 contributes to lipid accumulation in tumor-associated macrophages, which seems to increase breast cancer migration. While the work is of high interest, the strength of the evidence relating to some of the conclusions is incomplete and the paper would benefit from some refinement. The work will be of interest to those researchers trying to link metabolism, the immune system, and cancer.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript describes an important study of a new lipid-mediated regulation mechanism of adenylyl cyclases. The biochemical evidence provided is convincing and will trigger more research in this mechanism. This manuscript will be of interest to all scientists working on lipid regulation and adenylyl cyclases.

eLife Assessment

This important study reports the transcriptomic and proteomic landscape of the oviducts at four different preimplantation periods during natural fertilization, pseudopregnancy, and superovulation. The data presented convincingly supported the conclusion in general, although more analyses would strengthen the conclusions drawn. This work will interest reproductive biologists and clinicians practicing reproductive medicine.

eLife Assessment

The authors follow up on a prior paper in which they showed that beta1 adrenergic receptors contributed to the pathogenesis of cavernous malformations. In the prior work, they used morpholinos and drugs to show this. In this new advance, they now extend this using a genetic knockout of the receptor. While both reviewers agree that this is important for the CV field, there are concerns about the labeling of figures and sample sizes used to make their claims, so the evidence is currently incomplete.

eLife Assessment

In this important study, the authors used a zebrafish model and scRNAseq analysis to show that a subset of keratinocytes within melanoma microenvironment highly up-regulate Twist and undergo Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT). Surprisingly, when overexpressing Twist in keratinocytes, the resulting alteration in keratinocytes is inhibitory for melanoma invasion in both zebrafish and human cell culture models. The results are supported by overall convincing experimental data that provide new insights into the interactions between melanoma cells and their environment.

eLife Assessment

This study corroborates recent findings from another group and provides valuable insights into the structure of the autophagy initiation complex, which includes ULK1, ATG13, and FIP200. The authors present solid evidence that supports their claims and addresses one of the key questions in autophagy initiation.

eLife Assessment

This work attempts to demonstrate an ATP-independent non-canonical role of proteasomal component PA28y in the promotion of oral squamous cell carcinoma growth, migration, and invasion. The evidence remains incomplete and the work would benefit from further experimental work. The authors have not adequately addressed the reviewers' comments.

eLife Assessment

This useful study by Gao et al identifies Hspa2 as a heterogeneous transcript in the early embryo and proposes a plausible mechanism showing interactions with Carm1. The authors propose that variability in HSPA2 levels among blastomeres at the 4-cell stage skews their relative contribution to the embryonic lineage. Given only 4 other heterogeneous transcripts/non-coding RNA have been proposed to act similarly at or before the 4-cell stage, this would be a key addition to our understanding of how the first cell fate decision is made. Whilst this is a solid study, in order to support its conclusions image analyses and quantifications would need to be better described, and the overexpression studies should be validated.

eLife Assessment

This important study investigates the function of a critical regulator of human early cardiac development. The convincing examination of GATA6 function is thorough and well-executed. The study will be of interest to scientists working on how the human heart acquires its identity.

eLife Assessment

This study presents valuable quantitative insights into the prevalence of functionally clustered synaptic inputs on neuronal dendrites. The simple analytical calculations and computer simulations provide solid support for the main arguments. The findings can lead to a more detailed understanding of how dendrites contribute to the computation of neuronal networks.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript reports fundamental discoveries on how necrotic cells contribute to organ regeneration through apoptotic signaling. These findings would be of broad interest to those who study wound repair and tissue regeneration. The strength of the evidence is solid, but would be stronger with additional quantifications and controls.

eLife Assessment

This important study examines the stability and compensatory plasticity in the retinotopic mapping in patients with congenital achromatopsia. It provides convincing evidence for a stable mapping of the visual field in V1, alongside changes of the readout from V1 into V3, which shows revised receptive field location and size. With the controlling for potential confounding variables, this paper would be of interest to scientists studying the visual system, brain plasticity, and development.

eLife Assessment

This manuscript introduces a new low-cost and accessible method for assembling combinatorially complete microbial consortia using basic laboratory equipment, which is a valuable contribution to the field of microbial ecology and biotechnology. The evidence presented is convincing, demonstrating the method's effectiveness through empirical testing on both synthetic colorants and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.

eLife Assessment

This study provides important new insight into chemosensation by showing that odors activate taste sensory neurons in Drosophila to promote feeding behaviors. Using a convincing methodology, combining behavior analysis, electrophysiology, and calcium imaging, Kazama and colleagues have deepened our understanding of how this phenomenon modulates the feeding behavior, although in some cases additional controls would strengthen the conclusions. Here, the authors articulate a clear instance of a novel neural and behavioral mechanism for gustatory receptors in an olfactory response making this work relevant to researchers studying chemosensation, sensory biology, and insect behavior.