Evaluated articles

eLife assessment

This study presents valuable findings describing how the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter and basolateral amygdala communicate when a predator threat is detected. Though the periaqueductal gray is usually viewed as a downstream effector, this work contributes to a growing body of literature from this lab showing that the periaqueductal gray produces effects by acting on the basolateral amygdala, the experimental design, data collection and analysis methods provide solid evidence for the main claims. The anatomical and immediately early gene evidence that the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus may serve as a mediator of dorsolateral periaqueductal gray to basolateral amygdala neurotransmission provides and impetus for future functional assessment of this possibility. This study will appeal to a broad audience, including basic scientists interested in neural circuits, basic and clinical researchers interested in fear, and behavioral ecologists interested in foraging.

eLife assessment

This important study used single-cell whole-brain imaging of the immediate early gene Fos to identify the brain areas recruited by two anesthetics, ketamine and isoflurane. The utilization of a custom software package to align and analyze brain images for c-Fos positive cells stands out as an impressive component of the approach. The results provide solid evidence that these anesthetics might induce anesthesia via different brain regions and pathways, and raw fos showed shared and distinct activation patterns after ketamine- v. isoflurane-based anesthesia. Though differences could also be due, as the authors note, to differences in dose and route of administration. This paper may be of interest to preclinical and clinical scientists working with anesthetic and dissociative drugs.

eLife assessment

This is valuable study on the mechanistic relationship between two prominent events in post-stimulus EEG: alpha desynchronization and P300 that are known for their slow/relatively late build up. The sample size is substantial. The data are compelling, showing that the P300 can be explained by desynchronization of a non-zero mean alpha oscillations over posterior sites through the baseline-shift model, at least partially. This makes a significant contribution to understanding and interpreting P300 generation (and possibly other ERP components) from concurrent changes in brain oscillations, with links to cognition.

eLife assessment

This important study dissects the role of octopamine in the interplay between internal energy homeostasis, food intake and food-related memories. The solid experimental evidence will shed additional light on previously published work and should be of interest to the growing community of biologists interested in how internal state shapes behavior, including decision making processes, learning and memory.

eLife assessment

This fundamental study advances our understanding of seabird responses to environmental conditions, with implications for movement ecology, flight biomechanics, animal foraging, and bio-energetics. Animal-borne data-loggers are used to generate a compelling high quality dataset on animal movement and environmental conditions. The study will interest ornithologists, comparative bio-mechanists, ocean ecologists and those interested in technological advances in animal sensors.

eLife assessment

This valuable study reports on the structure and function of capsid size-determining external scaffolding protein encoded by a Vibrio phage satellite. The structural work is of high quality and the presented reconstructions are compelling. The paper offers a substantial advance in the field of phage and virus structure and assembly, with implications for understanding the evolution of phage satellites.

eLife assessment

This fundamental work describes an understudied bird migration pattern using data from an Arctic raptor. With an extensive dataset and comprehensive analyses, the observed pattern is convincing. This study will be of interest to researchers exploring the ecological drivers of bird migration.

eLife assessment

This useful manuscript focuses on understanding how an Eklf mutation confers anticancer and longevity advantages in vivo. The data demonstrate that Eklf (K74R) imparts such advantages in a background and age independent manner in both female and male mice, and that the benefits are transferable by bone marrow transplantation. Despite added data since a previous version, the paper unfortunately remains incomplete, as it is still unclear whether Eklf affects resistance to malignant progression/metastasis by modulating Pd1 or Pdl1, or by increasing NK cells. The authors provide evidence that supports in principle both mechanisms, and they do not resolve which mechanism is primarily involved.

eLife Assessment

The authors analyze a comprehensive cohort of human plasma samples to identify an extracellular vesicles protein signature for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The application of liquid biopsies is valuable, and the work addresses a key clinical problem as pancreas cancer is often diagnosed in late stages. The strength of evidence is solid. Altogether, this work supports the potential use of extracellular vesicles in clinical settings, with promising value to scientists and clinicians.

eLife assessment

This important study reports, with convincing evidence, that a long non-coding RNA disrupts the activity of the tumor suppressor p53 to contribute to the growth and therapeutic response of glioblastoma. The work will be relevant to scientists working on non-coding RNAs and brain tumors.

eLife assessment

This represents an important study that demonstrates a high degree of heterogeneity within trailblazer cells in clusters that participate in collective migration. Solid methods highlight this heterogeneity and show that in TNBC cancers, trailblazer cells are defined by vimentin (and not Keratin 14) and are dependent on both TGFbeta and EGFR signaling.

eLife assessment

This important manuscript presents several structures of the Kv1.2 voltage-gated potassium channel, based on state-of-the-art cryoEM techniques and algorithms. The authors present solid evidence for structures of an inactivating mutant of Kv1.2, DTX-bound Kv1.2 and of Kv1.2 in potassium-free solution (with presumably sodium ions bound within the selectivity filter). These structures advance our knowledge of the molecular basis of the slow inactivation process of potassium channels.

eLife assessment

This study represents a valuable addition to the understanding of the DNA replication origin selection process in the budding yeast. The authors provide convincing evidence that the number of possible origins of replication is much higher than previously appreciated, although many of the newly identified origins are likely to only direct replication initiation rarely. This work will be of interest to those studying DNA replication and investigating protein-DNA interactions across the genome.

eLife assessment

This important manuscript reports interactions between genetic variation, DNA accessibility, and chromatin structure in gene expression at a genome wide scale. The authors found that most of these interactions occur within topologically associating domains (TADs) and 3D genome structure data can be efficiently used to guide the discovery of significant genetic and epigenetic influences on gene expression. Overall, this convincing study highlights the importance of 3D chromatin structure in controlling how gene expression is regulated by genetic and epigenetic processes.

eLife assessment

This valuable study presents reports on the role of the transcription factor BATF and its target PD1 in lipid metabolism including a model of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Overall, the evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing. The work will be of interest to medical biologists working on NAFLD.

eLife assessment

This useful study reports on how Notch activity regulates the termination of neurogenesis in central brain during larval-pupal stages in Drosophila. The evidence supporting the claims is solid. The work will be of interest to developmental neurobiologists.

eLife assessment

This is a valuable comparative study of local adaptation using gene-by-environment and gene-by-phenotype correlations. The analyses seemed still incomplete, as the biological take-home messages were obscured by the statistical approaches used, and it remains unclear how to best interpret the level of genome-wide convergence and in inversions. The repeatability of local adaptation across species, and the role of inversions in local adaptation, are questions of considerable empirical interest.

eLife assessment

This investigation of the changes in gene expression and some of the physiological consequences of sublethal exposures to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid in honeybee larvae is useful, although numerous experiments were not considered based on technical issues. The methodological design leads to concerns and it is therefore not obvious that all conclusions are justified. The study adds to our understanding of how this insecticide impacts development and growth of honeybees, but the evidence supporting the major claims is incomplete.

eLife assessment

This valuable study is of relevance for those interested in the mechanism required for infections of humans by Klebsiella pneumoniae. The authors apply TraDIS (high-density TnSeq) to K. pneumoniae with the goal of identifying genes required for survival under various infection-relevant conditions and the gene sets identified, together with the raw sequence data, will be resources for the Klebsiella research community. The evidence to support the lists of essential and conditionally-essential genes is convincing. The study provides strong evidence that some genes are conditionally essential in urine because of iron limitation, but there is less mechanistic insight for genes that are conditionally essential in serum.

eLife assessment

This important study uses the brain endocast of a ~1.9-million-year-old hominin fossil from Kenya, attributed to genus Homo, to show that the organization of the Broca's area in members of early Homo was primitive. Specifically, the prefrontal sulcal pattern in this early Homo specimen more closely resembles that of chimpanzees than of modern humans. Because Broca's area is associated with speech function, the compelling evidence from this study is relevant for understanding the timing and trajectory of evolution of speech related traits in our genus. Coupled with its potential implications for taxonomic classification, this study will be of interest to paleoanthropologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and neuroscientists.