Evaluated articles

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.

eLife assessment

The manuscript addresses a fundamental question: are IDRs responsible for subnuclear clustering of transcription factors? A screen of 75 IDRs yielded convincing evidence that IDRs are rarely sufficient for subnuclear clustering, while the experimental design and data analysis provided limited evidence for the authors' claims regarding transcription factor clustering.

eLife assessment

In this valuable study, patients homozygous for both minor frequency alleles of the APOL1 gene are shown to be at significant risk for progression into sepsis after infection. The study has enrolled a significant number of subjects and provides solid results. The study addresses to infectious diseases and critical care experts and one major weakness is the lack of inclusion of non-Black patients.

eLife assessment

This study presents a valuable finding on the putative molecular patterns underlying characteristic morphological regions observed in colorectal cancer (CRC). The authors provide a morphological framework through which clinicians might improve the performance of molecular signatures and consequently predict the clinical response of patients with better accuracy. The evidence supporting the claims of the authors is solid. The work will be of interest to clinicians and cancer biologists working in the field of CRC.

eLife assessment

This study follows the career trajectories of the winners of an early-career funding award in the United States, and finds that researchers with greater mobility, men, and those hired at well-funded institutions experience greater subsequent funding success. Using data on K99/R00 awards from the National Institutes of Health's grants management database, the authors provide compelling evidence documenting the inequalities that shape faculty funding opportunities and career pathways, and show that these inequalities disproportionately impact women and faculty working at particular institutions, including historically black colleges and universities. Overall, the article is an important addition to the literature examining inequality in biomedical research in the United States.

eLife assessment

This paper presents an important contribution to the field of hippocampal registration by introducing a novel surface-based approach that utilizes the topological and morphological features of the hippocampus for anatomical registration across individuals, rather than volumetric-based methods commonly used in the literature. The study provides compelling evidence for the efficacy of this approach using histological samples from three different datasets and offers validation of the method through comparison with traditional volumetric registration. This is significant work given the large number of studies that examine hippocampal shape, thickness, and function in large cohorts, providing strong support for the use of hippocampal unfolding methods in future studies.

eLife assessment

This important work provides a thorough and detailed analysis of natural variation in C. elegans egg-laying behavior. The authors present convincing evidence to support their hypothesis that variations in egg-laying behavior are influenced by trade-offs between maternal and offspring fitness. This study establishes a framework for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying this paradigm of behavioral evolution.

eLife assessment

This manuscript reports an important series of results showing the relationship between oscillatory zinc and calcium fluctuations during egg activation and fertilization. Compelling evidence using several complimentary approaches provides further insight into the signals for proper egg activation that underpin successful fertilization and embryo development. The findings are significant because they may lead to improvements in assisted reproduction methods.

eLife assessment

This study reports valuable findings on the influence of acute stress on prosocial behavior and its neural correlates. Though the evidence is generally solid, concerns about confounding and sampling bias detract from the potential impact.

eLife Assessment

In this valuable paper, the authors created a reporter mouse line in which the Axon Initial Segment (AIS) is intrinsically labeled by an ankyrin-G-GFP fusion protein activated by Cre recombinase, tagging the native Ank3 gene. Using confocal, superresolution, and two-photon microscopy as well as whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo, the authors convincingly document that the subcellular scaffold of the AIS and electrophysiological parameters of labeled cells remain unchanged. They further uncover rapid AIS remodeling following increased network activity in this model system, as well as highly reproducible in vivo labeling of AIS over weeks.

eLife assessment

This is an important study on how behavioral context affects decision making in the nematode C. elegans. Behavioral analyses at multiple time scales combined with genetic and neuronal manipulations revealed how arousal states affect decision making. The results and interpretations are convincing. This work will be of interest to both neuroscientists and ecologists.

eLife assessment

This important study provides convincing data in support of the conclusion that weak but not strong fear memories are more easily modified using behavioural and pharmacological approaches potentially as a result of differential connectivity with the amygdala showing greater connectivity through the brain in weak compared to strong memories. The scope of the paper would be strengthened if both sexes were examined and more varied definitions of weak vs. strong memories were used. This paper is of interest to behavioural and neuroscience researchers studying learning, memory, and/or neural networks.

eLife assessment

This important study correlates the size of various prefrontal brain regions in primate species with socioecological variables like foraging distance and population density. The evidence presented is solid but the approach and conclusions are limited to primates with well-defined gyri.

eLife assessment

Schnell et al report important differences between the strategies used by rodents and humans when discriminating different visual objects. The evidence supporting these findings is convincing, showing that rat performance was influenced far more by low-level cues compared to humans. It is, however, unclear to what extent these differences can be explained by the lower visual acuity of rats. This work will be of general interest to vision and cognition researchers, particularly those studying object vision.

eLife assessment:

This study presents valuable findings on the impact of C-natriuretic peptide (CNP) treatment in vivo on the fertility of aged mice. Solid data indicate CNP induces the cAMP-PKA pathway, causing reduced recruitment of Parkin protein to mitochondria in oocytes, resulting in reduced mitophagy, which may be significant for increased mitochondrial bioenergetics and improved cytoplasmic and nuclear maturation. The authors make additional claims regarding the mechanisms by which CNP impacts oocyte quality in vivo for which the evidence is inconclusive. This work will be of interest to reproductive biologists and clinical infertility specialists.

eLife assessment

This study explores how Ebola virus evades human immune responses. The study reports a potential new mechanism wherein Ebola virus traps human IRF3, a key transcription factor involved in immune signaling, into virus-produced "inclusion bodies". The topic is important, the paper has many merits, and the biochemical assays are solid. However, the current data do not clearly explain the relationship between the VP35 protein and IRF3.

eLife assessment

The presence or absence of a surrounding envelope, previously a clear distinguishing feature of different viruses, has been blurred by the recent recognition that many so-called 'nonenveloped' viruses are released from cells as quasi-enveloped virions cloaked in host cell membranes. This mechanism of viral egress allows for non-lytic infection, and has potentially important implications for pathogenesis. In this manuscript, Jassey and colleagues provide solid evidence that the protein deacetylase SIRT-1 is required for the non-lytic release of enteroviruses in extracellular vesicles.

eLife assessment

This study provides valuable insights into the complex genetics of dominant optic atrophy. Leveraging a fly model, the investigators provide solid evidence, albeit with small effect sizes, for a dominant negative mechanism of certain pathogenic variants that tend to cause more severe phenotypes, a long held hypothesis in the field. The work is of high interest to those in the optic atrophy and degeneration fields.

eLife assessment

This paper provides important insights into how asexual reproduction can arise in interspecific hybrids. The evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with rigorous molecular cytogenetic experiments showing the production of clonal gametes is common across hybrids between closely to moderately divergent sexual species. By highlighting the potential for asexuality to evolve in hybrids during a narrow window of species divergence, this work will be of broad interest to evolutionary biologists.