Evaluated articles

Ribosomal RNA synthesis by RNA polymerase I is subject to premature termination of transcription

1. Chaïma Azouzi
2. Katrin Schwank
3. Sophie Queille
4. Marta Kwapisz
5. Marion Aguirrebengoa
6. Anthony Henras
7. Simon Lebaron
8. Herbert Tschochner
9. Annick Lesne
10. Frédéric Beckouët
11. Olivier Gadal
12. Christophe Dez

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript characterizes a mutated clone of RNA polymerase I in yeast, referred to as SuperPol, to understand the mechanisms of RNA polymerase I elongation and termination. The authors present convincing evidence that demonstrates the existence of premature termination in Pol I transcription. Overall, the characterization of this RNA pol I offers important insights into the regulation of ribosomal RNA transcription and its potential application in cancer pharmacology.

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

microRNA-19b regulates proliferation & patterning in the avian forebrain

1. Archita Mishra
2. Suvimal Kumar Sindhu
3. Niveda Udaykumar
4. Jonaki Sen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides insights into a key question in comparative neuroanatomy and development. The authors provide evidence of the role for a particular micro-RNA in regulating the development of key transcription factors that control forebrain development. The study rests on clear but incomplete results.

Reviewed by eLife

A computational pipeline to track chromatophores and analyze their dynamics

1. Johann Ukrow
2. Mathieu DM Renard
3. Mahyar Moghimi
4. Gilles Laurent

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The open-source software Chromas tracks and analyses cephalopod chromatophore dynamics. The software features a user-friendly interface alongside detailed instructions for its application, with compelling exemplary applications to two widely divergent cephalopod species, a squid and a cuttlefish, over time periods large enough to encompass new chromatophore development among existing ones. It demonstrates accurate tracking of the position and identity of each chromatophore. The software and methods outlined therein will become an important tool for scientists tracking dynamic signaling in animals.

Reviewed by eLife

Human RAP2A homolog of the Drosophila asymmetric cell division regulator Rap2l targets the stemness of glioblastoma stem cells

1. Maribel Franco
2. Ricardo Gargini
3. Víctor M Barberá
4. Daniel Becerra
5. Miguel Saceda
6. Ana Carmena

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study explores the role of RAP2A in asymmetric cell division (ACD) regulation in glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), drawing parallels to Drosophila ACD mechanisms and proposing that an imbalance toward symmetric divisions drives tumor progression. While findings on RAP2A's role in GSC expansion are promising, and the reviewers found the study innovative and technically solid, the study relies on neurosphere models without in vivo confirmation and will therefore need to be further validated in the future.

Reviewed by eLife

Single-cell type analysis of wing premotor circuits in the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila melanogaster

1. Erica Ehrhardt
2. Samuel C Whitehead
3. Shigehiro Namiki
4. Ryo Minegishi
5. Igor Siwanowicz
6. Kai Feng
7. Hideo Otsuna
8. FlyLight Project Team
9. Geoffrey W Meissner
10. David Stern
11. James W Truman
12. David Shepherd
13. Michael H Dickinson
14. Kei Ito
15. Barry J Dickson
16. Itai Cohen
17. Gwyneth M Card
18. Wyatt Korff

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important resource paper presents a library of cell-type-specific genetic driver lines that label wing-related motor and premotor neurons in the ventral nerve cord of the fruit fly, Drosophila. The toolkit is systematically validated with compelling anatomical and behavioral evidence and will provide a resource for future studies of Drosophila flight and courtship.

Reviewed by eLife

Targeted and random mutagenesis of cassava brown streak disease susceptibility factors reveal molecular determinants of disease severity

1. ZJ Daniel Lin
2. Myia K Stanton
3. Gabriela L Hernandez
4. Elizabeth J De Meyer
5. Zachary von Behren
6. Katherine Benza
7. Helene Tiley
8. Emerald Hood
9. Greg Jensen
10. Kerrigan B Gilbert
11. James C Carrington
12. Rebecca S Bart

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study shows that mutations in specific cassava genes can reduce infection by cassava brown streak viruses. The authors also identify a key amino acid change that may be significant in how the virus interacts with the plant, but its role is not yet confirmed. While the findings are promising for developing resistant cassava varieties, in the absence of testing a quadruple mutant and without more data on the critical importance of amino acid L5 in VPg-eIF4E interactions, the evidence for several of the major claims remains incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Esr1-Dependent Signaling and Transcriptional Maturation in the Medial Preoptic Area of the Hypothalamus Shapes the Development of Mating Behavior during Adolescence

1. Koichi Hashikawa
2. Yoshiko Hashikawa
3. Brandy Briones
4. Kentaro Ishii
5. Yuejia Liu
6. Mark A Rossi
7. Marcus L Basiri
8. Jane Y Chen
9. Omar R Ahmad
10. Rishi V Mukundan
11. Nathan L Johnston
12. Rhiana C Simon
13. James C Soetedjo
14. Jason R Siputro
15. Jenna A McHenry
16. Richard D Palmiter
17. David R Rubinow
18. Larry S Zweifel
19. Garret D Stuber

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors test the hypothesis that gonadal steroid signaling influences the transcriptional development of specific neurons in the mPOA during adolescence, and that such adolescent development of the mPOA is necessary for mating behaviors. The findings are valuable and supported by convincing data. This work contributes new insight into hormone-sensitive transcriptional profiles within genetically defined neuron clusters in the mPOA during adolescence and will be of interest to systems and molecular neuroscientists and those interested in development, sex differences, and/or hormonal regulation.

Reviewed by eLife

Defined cellular reprogramming of androgen receptor-active prostate cancer to neuroendocrine prostate cancer

1. Shan Li
2. Kai Song
3. Huiyun Sun
4. Yong Tao
5. Arthur Huang
6. Vipul Bhatia
7. Brian Hanratty
8. Radhika A Patel
9. Henry W Long
10. Colm Morrissey
11. Michael C Haffner
12. Peter S Nelson
13. Thomas G Graeber
14. John K Lee

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The study by Li et al. provides fundamental findings supported by convincing evidence that they defined cellular reprogramming of androgen receptor in neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). The findings enhance the understanding of the treatment of androgen receptor functions in NEPC.

Reviewed by eLife

Multiplexed CRISPRi Reveals a Transcriptional Switch Between KLF Activators and Repressors in the Maturing Neocortex

1. Ryan W Kirk
2. Liwei Sun
3. Ruixuan Xiao
4. Erin A Clark
5. Sacha Nelson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This is an important study utilizing innovative CRISPR based approaches demonstrating the role of the KLF family of transcription factors in the post natal maturation of cortical projection neurons. The strength of evidence overall is compelling, and the study is well executed. The screen data presented provides a number of interesting candidates for future analyses into the mechanism of action of KLF family members in neuronal maturation.

Reviewed by eLife

cxcl18b-defined transitional state-specific nitric oxide drives injury-induced Müller glia cell-cycle re-entry in the zebrafish retina

1. Aojun Ye
2. Shuguang Yu
3. Meng Du
4. Dongming Zhou
5. Jie He
6. Chang Chen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Following retinal injury, zebrafish Müller glia reenter the cell cycle and generate replacement cells; this potentially valuable study proposes that injury induces a cxcl18b+ transitional state in Müller cells, which then express nitric oxide, inhibiting Notch signaling and allowing Müller glial cells to reenter the cell cycle. However, the evidence supporting the claims is incomplete, and the authors have made interpretations and conclusions that are not supported by the data. Questions of the temporal expression and function of cxcl18b, as well as the source of potential inflammatory cues before cxcl18b expression, remain unanswered and technical limitations and data inconsistencies raise concerns. Using larval animals complicates the analysis since the retina is still forming, and distinguishing between injury-induced regeneration and ongoing development is complex. With more rigorous testing of the signaling pathways proposed and a clear demonstration of their interdependence, the link between nitric oxide signaling and Notch activity, particularly, would interest those investigating retinal regeneration.

Reviewed by eLife

Affinity-guided labeling reveals P2X7 nanoscale membrane redistribution during BV2 microglial activation

1. Benoit Arnould
2. Adeline Martz
3. Pauline Belzanne
4. Francisco Andrés Peralta
5. Federico Cevoli
6. Volodya Hovhannisyan
7. Yannick Goumon
8. Eric Hosy
9. Alexandre Specht
10. Thomas Grutter

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors employ an unbiased, affinity-guided reagent to label P2X7 receptor and use super-resolution imaging to monitor P2X7 redistribution in response to inflammatory signaling. The evidence is convincing and the study will be valuable to those studying the dynamics of receptor distribution and clustering.

Reviewed by eLife

Tumor Cell Spatial Organization Directs EGFR/RAS/RAF Pathway Primary Therapy Resistance through YAP Signaling

1. Rachel Nakagawa
2. Andrew Beardsley
3. Sophia Durney
4. Mary-Kate Hayward
5. Vishvak Subramanyam
6. Nathaniel P Meyer
7. Harrison Wismer
8. Hani Goodarzi
9. Valerie M Weaver
10. Daniel Van de Mark
11. Andrei Goga

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study identifies a role for YAP in regulating tumor cell growth and drug response with differential effects noted based upon growth conditions in monolayer vs spheroid culture. This work has the potential to define more biologically relevant cell culture model systems for drug resistance and define targetable pathways to overcome drug resistance. The findings described are important to the cancer biology field and the evidence supporting the key findings is convincing.

Reviewed by eLife

Imaging of brain electric field networks with spatially resolved EEG

1. Lawrence Frank
2. Vitaly Galinsky
3. Olave Krigolson
4. Susan F. Tapert
5. Stephan Bickel
6. Antigona Martinez

Reviewed by eLife

Unsupervised Representation Learning of C. elegans Poses and Behavior Sequences From Microscope Video Recordings

1. Maurice Deserno
2. Katarzyna Bozek

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study introduces a self-supervised machine learning method to classify C. elegans postures and behaviors directly from video data, offering an alternative to the skeleton-based approaches that rely on often error-prone tracking. This novel approach holds promise for advancing ethology research. That said, the strength of evidence is currently incomplete, as key aspects - including measuring head-tail orientation, increased behavioral interpretability, and quantitative comparisons to established methods - are underdeveloped and would benefit from further validation.

Reviewed by Arcadia Science, eLife

Rhythmic sampling and competition of target and distractor in a motion detection task

1. Changhao Xiong
2. Nathan M Petro
3. Ke Bo
4. Lihan Cui
5. Andreas Keil
6. Mingzhou Ding

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work presents important information on rhythmicity of overlapping target and distractor processing and how this affects behaviour. The methods are, in general, clearly laid out and defensible, with several supplementary analyses leading to a solid base of evidence for their claims.

Reviewed by eLife

Premature vision drives aberrant development of response properties in primary visual cortex

1. Sophie V Griswold
2. Stephen D Van Hooser

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This carefully conducted study aims to understand how the early visual experience of premature infants induces lasting deficits, including compromised motion processing. The authors address this important question in a ferret animal model, exposing the developing visual system prematurely to patterned visual input by opening one or both eyes at a time when both retinal waves and light traveling through closed lids can drive sensory responses. Convincing evidence is presented, suggesting that eye opening at this time impacts temporal frequency tuning and elevates spontaneous firing rates. These findings will have great relevance for neuroscientists studying visual system development, particularly in the context of premature birth.

Reviewed by eLife

Detecting behavioural oscillations with increased sensitivity: A modification of Brookshire’s (2022) AR-surrogate method

1. Anthony M Harris
2. Henry A Beale

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study proposes an updated analysis technique that allows researchers to identify rhythms in behavior. If the proposed analyses control the rate of false positives, this will be an important contribution for all neuroscientists interested in rhythmic cognition. At present, the strength of evidence is incomplete, as the simulations ignore one crucial aspect of temporal structure in behavior.

Reviewed by eLife

Overt visual attention modulates decision-related signals in ventral and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex

1. Blair Shevlin
2. Rachael Gwinn
3. Aidan Makwana
4. Ian Krajbich

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study uses an innovative task design combined with eye tracking and fMRI to distinguish brain regions that encode the value of individual items from those that accumulate those values for value-based choices. It shows that distinct brain regions carry signals for currently evaluated and previously accumulated evidence. The study provides solid evidence in support of most of its claims, albeit with current minor weaknesses concerning the evidence in favour of gaze-modulation of the fMRI signal. The work will be of interest to neuroscientists working on attention and decision-making.

Reviewed by eLife

CO2-dependent opening of Connexin 43 hemichannels

1. Valentin-Mihai Dospinescu
2. Alexander Mascarenhas
3. Jack Butler
4. Sarbjit Nijjar
5. Kyara de Oliveira Taborda
6. Sean Connors
7. Lumei Huang
8. Nicholas Dale

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reveals that connexin43 (Cx43) hemichannels are directly activated by CO₂ through a conserved carbamylation motif, extending a mechanism previously described for β-connexins to α-connexins. The evidence is convincing, supported by complementary biochemical and electrophysiological analyses showing CO₂-induced hemichannel opening and ATP release in cultured cells and hippocampal slices. These findings advance our understanding of connexin regulation by metabolic gases and will be of broad interest to researchers studying cell communication, neural signaling, and gasotransmitter biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Microenvironmental arginine restriction sensitizes pancreatic cancers to polyunsaturated fatty acids by suppression of lipid synthesis

1. Patrick B Jonker
2. Mumina Sadullozoda
3. Guillaume Cognet
4. Juan J Apiz Saab
5. Kelly H Sokol
6. Violet X Wu
7. Deepa Kumari
8. Colin Sheehan
9. Mete E Ozgurses
10. Darby Agovino
11. Grace Croley
12. Smit A Patel
13. Althea Bock-Hughes
14. Kay F Macleod
15. Hardik Shah
16. Jonathan L Coloff
17. Evan C Lien
18. Alexander Muir

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study shows that nutrient stress emanating from the microenvironment induces metabolic vulnerabilities in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Using a combination of cell-based and mouse models, the authors provide compelling evidence showing that arginine restriction in the microenvironment disrupts lipid homeostasis in PDAC, resulting in the induction of ferroptosis upon exposure of tumors to polyunsaturated fatty acids. This report is likely to be of broad interest to researchers interested in studying cancer biology, tumor microenvironment, metabolism, and stress adaptation mechanisms.

Reviewed by eLife