Evaluated articles

Identifying Plasmodium falciparum transmission patterns through parasite prevalence and entomological inoculation rate

1. Benjamin Amoah
2. Robert S McCann
3. Alinune N Kabaghe
4. Monicah Mburu
5. Michael G Chipeta
6. Paula Moraga
7. Steven Gowelo
8. Tinashe Tizifa
9. Henk van den Berg
10. Themba Mzilahowa
11. Willem Takken
12. Michele van Vugt
13. Kamija S Phiri
14. Peter J Diggle
15. Dianne J Terlouw
16. Emanuele Giorgi

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The association between metrics of malaria transmission based on prevalence of existing infections and the incidence of new infections has epidemiologically important consequences for malaria control and elimination efforts. The association between P. falciparum entomological inoculation rate and parasite prevalence has been previously characterized, and this report evaluates the added-value of spatio-temporal models to such analyses.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Unsupervised learning of haptic material properties

1. Anna Metzger
2. Matteo Toscani

Reviewed by eLife

Heritable functional architecture in human visual cortex

1. Ivan Alvarez
2. Nonie J. Finlayson
3. Shwe Ei
4. Benjamin de Haas
5. John A. Greenwood
6. D. Samuel Schwarzkopf

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The paper was viewed as generally sound. There main concern was that the findings were viewed as incremental without a demonstration of a link between the heritability of pRF properties and visual perception. The speculation in the Discussion about shared perceptual experience is intriguing, but psychophysical (or other) evidence would be needed to really make that point clearly. In addition, there was some discussion about the non-independence of vertices and correlation values. In the end, we all agreed that non-independent vertices may inflate correlation coefficient values, but that this is unlikely to substantially affect conclusions drawn from comparisons of monozygotic and dizygotic twins.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Subjective time is predicted by local and early visual processing

1. Yelena Tonoyan
2. Michele Fornaciai
3. Brent Parsons
4. Domenica Bueti

• Curated by eLife

  Summary: This work uses electro-encephalographic (EEG) recordings combined with an interesting experimental approach to measure temporal expansion/compression. Specifically, the question addressed here is whether adaptation to visual motion affects perceived duration, and if so, how spatially confined these effects are with respect to the processing of the stimulus in early visual areas. The authors find consistent evidence that a visual reference is judged as shorter/longer depending on a previous adaptation. They report several EEG analyses suggesting the early visual activity is correlated with such temporal distortions. This manuscript is of potential interest to cognitive neuroscientists specifically interested in temporal aspects of visual processing and time perception. Although the paradigm is well suited to assess the authors' question, the behavioral data as well as the electrophysiological analyses show important shortcomings currently hindering the interpretation of the results, and necessitating substantial revisions to the current work. Additionally, further methodological details are required to strengthen the manuscript.

Reviewed by eLife

Bone marrow adipocytes drive the development of tissue invasive Ly6Chigh monocytes during obesity

1. Parastoo Boroumand
2. David C Prescott
3. Tapas Mukherjee
4. Philip J Bilan
5. Michael Wong
6. Jeff Shen
7. Ivan Tattoli
8. Yuhuan Zhou
9. Angela Li
10. Tharini Sivasubramaniyam
11. Nancy Shi
12. Lucie Y Zhu
13. Zhi Liu
14. Clinton Robbins
15. Dana J Philpott
16. Stephen E Girardin
17. Amira Klip

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Using mice fed with high fat diet (HFD), Boroumand et al. observed a link between bone marrow (BM) adipocyte whitening and the expansion of BM Ly6Chi monocytes and derived cells in the adipose tissue. By adopting an in vitro approach, they also show that BM conditioned medium is able to metabolically rewire Ly6Chi monocytes notably concerning mitochondrial fission/fusion gene expression. They conclude that early changes in the BM adipocytes induced by HFD drive the activation of monocytes and influence the outcome of the disease.

  This study is of interest to those investigating BM adaptations to lipid signals as well as macrophage biologists interested in macrophage recruitment and differentiation in the context of obesity and beyond in inflammation.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors)

Reviewed by eLife

An NKX2-1/ERK/WNT feedback loop modulates gastric identity and response to targeted therapy in lung adenocarcinoma

1. Rediet Zewdu
2. Elnaz Mirzaei Mehrabad
3. Kelley Ingram
4. Pengshu Fang
5. Katherine L Gillis
6. Soledad A Camolotto
7. Grace Orstad
8. Alex Jones
9. Michelle C Mendoza
10. Benjamin T Spike
11. Eric L Snyder

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript greatly expands our understanding of an aggressive subtype of lung cancer. The author use in vivo cancer models and extensive analysis of the cancer cells states to uncover aspects of differentiation, drug responses and pathway activation. Findings of the study will help in the development of lineage-specific targeted therapies against cancers.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

Unveiling the sensory and interneuronal pathways of the neuroendocrine connectome in Drosophila

1. Sebastian Hückesfeld
2. Philipp Schlegel
3. Anton Miroschnikow
4. Andreas Schoofs
5. Ingo Zinke
6. André N Haubrich
7. Casey M Schneider-Mizell
8. James W Truman
9. Richard D Fetter
10. Albert Cardona
11. Michael J Pankratz

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript will be of broad interest to readers in the field of neuroscience. The authors use a serial section transmission electron microscopy data set to trace out the entire neuroendocrine system of a maggot from its sensory input to neuroendocrine cells. It highlights the complexity of brain circuits, describing how parallel processing systems can lead to a multitude of different input combinations for different neuroendocrine cell types and subcircuits. They provide interpretations about functionality of one of described neural circuits. While the analyses are generally rigorous, the functional interpretations need more supporting evidence.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Spatiotemporal dynamics of PIEZO1 localization controls keratinocyte migration during wound healing

1. Jesse R Holt
2. Wei-Zheng Zeng
3. Elizabeth L Evans
4. Seung-Hyun Woo
5. Shang Ma
6. Hamid Abuwarda
7. Meaghan Loud
8. Ardem Patapoutian
9. Medha M Pathak

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The manuscript links a critical physiological function of the skin, wound healing to the ability of skin cells to migrate and the modification of migration by the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1. The topic of the manuscript is timely, relevant and would be of interest to a broad audience. The experimental design followed by the authors is straightforward and elegant, and the majority of the conclusions are well supported by the results.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Organ geometry channels cell fate in the Arabidopsis ovule primordium

1. Elvira Hernandez-Lagana
2. Gabriella Mosca
3. Ethel Mendocilla Sato
4. Nuno Pires
5. Anja Frey
6. Alejandro Giraldo-Fonseca
7. Ueli Grossniklaus
8. Olivier Hamant
9. Christophe Godin
10. Arezki Boudaoud
11. Daniel Grimanelli
12. Daphné Autran
13. Célia Baroux

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The authors use imaging analysis of Arabidopsis developing ovule primordia until the onset of meiosis to clarify the importance of organ morphogenesis in cell fate. They first document the growth of ovule cells in three dimensions, then use computational modelling to predict factors underlying ovule growth, shape and spore mother cell (SMC) differentiation. They test this model through analysis of a mutant of Katanin, encoding a microtubule-severing protein. Overall, this work is elegant, adds new information and confirms previous hypotheses for the field. A well appreciated feature of this paper is OvuleViz, an R-based software tool that they developed, which will provide a consistent way for others to analyze mutants with similar phenotypic abnormalities.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the joint public review from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Sensitizing Staphylococcus aureus to antibacterial agents by decoding and blocking the lipid flippase MprF

1. Christoph J Slavetinsky
2. Janna N Hauser
3. Cordula Gekeler
4. Jessica Slavetinsky
5. André Geyer
6. Alexandra Kraus
7. Doris Heilingbrunner
8. Samuel Wagner
9. Michael Tesar
10. Bernhard Krismer
11. Sebastian Kuhn
12. Christoph M Ernst
13. Andreas Peschel

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study is of interest to readers in the field of Microbiology and the control of microbial infectious diseases. The authors address the challenge of antibiotic resistant bacteria with an innovative anti-virulence approach using monoclonal antibodies against a Staphylococcus aureus lipid flippase involved in tolerance to cationic peptides. The work indicates that this approach could re-sensitize antibiotic resistant S. aureus and diminish the severity of infections.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Unexpected plasticity in the life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei

1. Sarah Schuster
2. Jaime Lisack
3. Ines Subota
4. Henriette Zimmermann
5. Christian Reuter
6. Tobias Mueller
7. Brooke Morriswood
8. Markus Engstler

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper describes the transmission of Trypanosoma brucei by the Tsetse vector. As part of these studies, the authors discovered that (i) a single parasite is sufficient for transmission and (ii) two stages of the Trypanosoma brucei life cycle (slender and stumpy forms) can be transmitted by the Tsetse vector - although the stumpy form developed more rapidly into proliferative parasites in the Tsetse midgut. The results are unexpected because it was previously thought that only stumpy forms were important for transmission.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife, preLights

KSR1- and ERK-dependent translational regulation of the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

1. Chaitra Rao
2. Danielle E Frodyma
3. Siddesh Southekal
4. Robert A Svoboda
5. Adrian R Black
6. Chittibabu Guda
7. Tomohiro Mizutani
8. Hans Clevers
9. Keith R Johnson
10. Kurt W Fisher
11. Robert E Lewis

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This paper demonstrates the involvement of Kinase Suppressor of Ras 1, a protein that acts as a scaffold in the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade, in translational control of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. The analysis is thorough and includes both loss-of-function and gain-of-function studies. This study advances our understanding of cancer development.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase mediates chromatin rewiring and lineage transformation in lung cancer

1. Yusuke Inoue
2. Ana Nikolic
3. Dylan Farnsworth
4. Rocky Shi
5. Fraser D Johnson
6. Alvin Liu
7. Marc Ladanyi
8. Romel Somwar
9. Marco Gallo
10. William W Lockwood

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript will be of interest to cancer biologists studying cell fate transitions, particularly adenocarcinoma-to-small cell transitions that occur in prostate and lung cancer, which is a timely topic. While there is not a single linear mechanism identified that fully explains Kras-induced neuroendocrine cell fate suppression in all contexts, multiple new findings will likely be built upon by the field. Overall, the data are properly controlled and the key claims are supported.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. All reviewers agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A Liquid-to-Solid Phase Transition Enhances the Catalytic Activity of SARM1

1. Heather S. Loring
2. Paul R. Thompson

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript describes an interesting regulatory mechanism that activates SARM1, an enzyme that degrade NAD+ and promote axon degeneration. Previous structural and biochemical studies mostly focus on how SARM1 is auto-inhibited at basal conditions and this manuscript provides evidences supporting that phase transition could promote its activity, thus providing new understanding about its regulatory mechanism. The finding also enables in vitro assays to be carried out more easily and thus could facilitate the development of small molecule modulators of SARM1 for therapeutics purposes.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Prenatal methadone exposure disrupts behavioral development and alters motor neuron intrinsic properties and local circuitry

1. Gregory G Grecco
2. Briana E Mork
3. Jui-Yen Huang
4. Corinne E Metzger
5. David L Haggerty
6. Kaitlin C Reeves
7. Yong Gao
8. Hunter Hoffman
9. Simon N Katner
10. Andrea R Masters
11. Cameron W Morris
12. Erin A Newell
13. Eric A Engleman
14. Anthony J Baucum
15. Jiuen Kim
16. Bryan K Yamamoto
17. Matthew R Allen
18. Yu-Chien Wu
19. Hui-Chen Lu
20. Patrick L Sheets
21. Brady K Atwood

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This work studied mice that had already taken oxycodone that then were switched to methadone treatment prior to becoming pregnant, to model prenatal methadone exposure (PME). The experimental design featured a study of a wide array of measures in the next generation progeny: including physical development, sensorimotor behavior, vocalizations, brain imaging, electrophysiology, and histology. All three reviewers agreed this work provides a novel, thorough, and highly clinically-relevant model of PME that has high value to the field of neuroscience of addictions and developmental neuropharmacology.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Multi-dimensional leaf phenotypes reflect root system genotype in grafted grapevine over the growing season

1. Zachary N Harris
2. Mani Awale
3. Niyati Bhakta
4. Daniel H Chitwood
5. Anne Fennell
6. Emma Frawley
7. Laura L Klein
8. Laszlo G Kovacs
9. Misha Kwasniewski
10. Jason P Londo
11. Qin Ma
12. Zoë Migicovsky
13. Joel F Swift
14. Allison J Miller

• Curated by eLife

  Summary: Experimentally, this is a very solid and nicely replicated experimental design that provides a strong ability to interrogate the questions at hand. Both reviewers had a concern that the use of PCs was underpowering the analysis to test the key questions that were the goal of the experiment. The manuscript could also be improved by working to interleave the different omics datasets to develop a deeper insight.

Reviewed by eLife

Cryo-EM structure of the yeast TREX complex and coordination with the SR-like protein Gbp2

1. Yihu Xie
2. Bradley P Clarke
3. Yong Joon Kim
4. Austin L Ivey
5. Pate S Hill
6. Yi Shi
7. Yi Ren

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This is an interesting paper describing the structure of the yeast THO:Sub2 complex and how it interacts with the SR like protein Gbp2. The paper extends what we have learned from two recently published Tho:Sub2 complex structures by the Conti and Plaschka groups in two ways. Firstly, it shows how Gbp2 interacts with the THO complex. Secondly, it reveals a substantially different orientation between THO:Sub2 protomers compared with the earlier structure, so provides more information on the flexibility and range of movements that the two protomers might make with respect to each other. The structural inferences are supported by some biochemical experiments but mechanistically the work has limitations, similar to other recent cryo-EM structures of this complex. However, this is an important structure of wide interest to people working on gene expression in eukaryotes and it undoubtedly advances the field.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers opted to remain anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Imaging cytoplasmic lipid droplets in vivo with fluorescent perilipin 2 and perilipin 3 knock-in zebrafish

1. Meredith H Wilson
2. Stephen C Ekker
3. Steven A Farber

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript has generated novel and useful tools to mark cytoplasmic lipid droplets and monitor their dynamics in various tissues in live animals. It will be of interest to researchers studying lipid metabolism and related human diseases.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A sustained type I IFN-neutrophil-IL-18 axis drives pathology during mucosal viral infection

1. Tania Lebratti
2. Ying Shiang Lim
3. Adjoa Cofie
4. Prabhakar Andhey
5. Xiaoping Jiang
6. Jason Scott
7. Maria Rita Fabbrizi
8. Ayşe Naz Ozantürk
9. Christine Pham
10. Regina Clemens
11. Maxim Artyomov
12. Mary Dinauer
13. Haina Shin

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript will be of interest to a broad audience of immunologists especially those studying host-pathogen interactions, mucosal immunology, innate immunity and interferons. The study reveals a novel role for neutrophils in the regulation of pathological inflammation during viral infection of the genital mucosa. The main conclusions are well supported by a combination of precise technical approaches including neutrophil-specific gene targeting and antibody-mediated inhibition of selected pathways.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

IL-33 promotes innate lymphoid cell-dependent IFN-γ production required for innate immunity to Toxoplasma gondii

1. Joseph T Clark
2. David A Christian
3. Jodi A Gullicksrud
4. Joseph A Perry
5. Jeongho Park
6. Maxime Jacquet
7. James C Tarrant
8. Enrico Radaelli
9. Jonathan Silver
10. Christopher A Hunter

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study sheds new light on the function of an immune system protein termed interleukin (IL)-33 in response to parasite infection. The study provides information on alternative functions of this immune protein and details the path taken to achieve a beneficial immune response. This study is of interest to immunologists who deal with the host response to infection, particularly to parasites. Immunotherapies that enhance or inhibit IL-33 are in development. Understanding the role of this immune factor in a broad range of infections is important when considering future treatments that target this pathway.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife