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  1. Oct 2025

    Annotators

    1. RISC-V

      RISC-V چیه؟

      RISC-V (ریسک فایو) یک معماری مجموعه دستورالعمل (Instruction Set Architecture – ISA) برای پردازنده‌هاست. یعنی همون چیزی که مشخص می‌کنه یک CPU چه دستوراتی رو می‌تونه اجرا کنه (مثل جمع، ضرب، پرش، load/store و …).


      نکات مهم:

      1. RISC = Reduced Instruction Set Computer

      2. یعنی مجموعه دستورالعمل‌هاش ساده و بهینه طراحی شده تا اجرای دستورات سریع‌تر باشه.

      3. V = Version 5

      4. عدد ۵ به نسل طراحی RISC برمی‌گرده، نه اینکه فقط ۵ دستور داشته باشه 🙂.

      5. Open Source بودن

      6. بزرگ‌ترین فرقش با معماری‌های معروف مثل x86 (اینتل/AMD) یا ARM (پردازنده‌های موبایل) اینه که RISC-V متن‌بازه.

      7. یعنی هر کسی می‌تونه بدون پرداخت لایسنس، پردازنده بر اساس RISC-V طراحی کنه.

      8. کاربردها

      9. از میکروکنترلرهای خیلی کوچک (مثل Arduino)

      10. تا سرورها و حتی سوپرکامپیوترها
      11. چون انعطاف‌پذیره و می‌شه دستورالعمل‌های خاص رو بهش اضافه کرد.

      مقایسه خیلی ساده:

      • x86 (Intel/AMD): بسته، پیچیده، ولی خیلی قدرتمند.
      • ARM: کم‌مصرف و محبوب در موبایل و تبلت، ولی نیاز به لایسنس داره.
      • RISC-V: ساده، متن‌باز، قابل توسعه، و در حال رشد سریع در دنیا.
    1. Bots# Bots are computer programs that act through a social media account. We will talk about them more in the next (Chapter 3). There are also various applications that are made to help users interact with social media. For example, there are social media manager programs that help people schedule posts and let multiple people use the same account (particularly useful if you are something like a news organization).

      The kinds of bots we've used so far seem pretty simple. It's telling a computer to send a post to social media. But nowadays, we have an overwhelming amount of bots, to the point that a decent chunk of the content I see online is reposted stuff on a clear bot page that I just have to scroll through. Even though we as a class are a bot farm, it's obviously way less consequential. It gets really crazy when you think about the creators who have their content stolen, and reposted across dozens of different burner accounts, just to amass a following on at least one. I think nowadays it's gone too far.

    1. Here is a secret about college success that not many people know: successful students seek help. They use resources. And they do that as often as necessary to get what they need.

      After reading this, it helps reassure me that asking for help when needed is okay. It shows my professors and me that I want to be successful in my college journey. Using the resources around me will help support me to be a successful student and create a successful experience throughout college.

    2. Trying to handle everything on your own every time an issue arises is a recipe for getting stressed out. There will be times when you are overwhelmed by all you have to do. This is when you will need to ask for and allow others to help you.

      This part of the passage stands out to me because it is very true. There are times when we get overwhelmed with work that it ends up being stressful, and we can get that feeling of helplessness. I can say that I relate to this passage as I have experienced that feeling of being overwhelmed. When I felt this way, I also felt like no one would be able to help me, which ended up being, as it says in the passage, "a recipe for getting stressed out."

    1. Dossier d'Information : La Méthode Réconciliations

      Résumé

      La méthode "Réconciliations" est une approche pédagogique innovante, conçue par Jérémie Fontanieu, professeur de sciences économiques et sociales (SES), et son ancien collègue David Benoit, professeur de mathématiques au lycée de Drancy.

      Née en 2012 du constat de la démotivation des élèves, de l'épuisement des enseignants et de la rupture de communication entre l'école et les familles, cette méthode repose sur un principe fondamental : la création d'une alliance solide et proactive entre les professeurs et les parents.

      Le protocole s'articule autour de deux piliers : un appel téléphonique à chaque famille avant même la rentrée scolaire pour établir un contact de confiance, suivi de l'envoi d'un SMS individualisé et hebdomadaire pour maintenir un dialogue constant tout au long de l'année.

      En transformant les parents en "alliés indéfectibles", la méthode change la dynamique de la classe.

      Les élèves, conscients de cette communication permanente, deviennent plus engagés et responsables, ce qui enclenche un cercle vertueux de progrès, d'encouragements et de réussite.

      Les résultats sont probants : la classe de Jérémie Fontanieu affiche 100% de réussite au baccalauréat depuis l'année scolaire 2017-2018.

      Au-delà des performances académiques, la méthode réduit considérablement le temps consacré à la discipline, diminue le sentiment d'isolement des professeurs et réconcilie les enseignants avec leur métier.

      Développée de manière indépendante, sans soutien institutionnel, la méthode se diffuse via un collectif d'enseignants qui comptait 350 membres pour l'année 2023/2024, avec un objectif de 1000 participants.

      Flexible, elle est appliquée avec succès de l'école primaire au lycée, dans des contextes socio-économiques variés, des zones prioritaires aux centres-villes et zones rurales.

      1. Genèse et Contexte de la Méthode

      La méthode Réconciliations est née d'une série de constats alarmants sur l'état du système éducatif, particulièrement exacerbés dans des contextes socio-économiques difficiles comme la Seine-Saint-Denis.

      A. Les constats initiaux

      Jérémie Fontanieu identifie plusieurs sources de frustration et d'échec qui ont motivé le développement de son approche :

      L'épuisement et le désespoir des enseignants : Particulièrement chez les plus jeunes, un sentiment d'abandon par l'institution face à la "violence de ce métier" et une impuissance face à des adolescents qui "gâchent leur potentiel".

      Les professeurs se sentent seuls à porter toutes les responsabilités.

      La démotivation des élèves : Souvent "accros aux écrans et aux réseaux sociaux", les élèves manquent d'implication dans leur scolarité, ce qui accroît la frustration de leurs professeurs.

      Ils ont "la flemme" ou manquent de confiance en eux.

      La rupture entre parents et enseignants : Une distance, voire une confrontation, entre ces deux pôles éducatifs, marquée par des "quiproquos et des failles" que les élèves exploitent.

      Les parents, souvent tenus à l'écart, reçoivent des informations partielles de leurs enfants.

      Les appels de l'école sont quasi systématiquement perçus comme des annonces de mauvaises nouvelles.

      Le sentiment d'abandon généralisé : En Seine-Saint-Denis, élèves et parents se sentent délaissés par l'Éducation nationale et la République, percevant l'école comme une "machine à broyer" incapable de les intégrer.

      Ce sentiment est également partagé par les enseignants face à la pénurie structurelle, les faibles salaires et la dégradation des conditions de travail.

      B. La déconstruction du "Mythe du prof héros"

      Jérémie Fontanieu, dans son livre Le Mythe du prof héros, analyse une construction culturelle qu'il juge toxique.

      Ce mythe, hérité des "hussards noirs de la République" du XIXe siècle, place l'enseignant sur un piédestal et lui attribue des capacités extraordinaires.

      Un mythe à double tranchant : Si l'idée de valoriser les professeurs est belle en apparence, elle conduit les parents à se décharger entièrement sur l'enseignant ("les laisser gérer").

      Une source de culpabilité : Pour les professeurs, cette attente irréaliste engendre un "sentiment de culpabilité de ne pas réussir à être à la hauteur du mythe".

      Un frein à l'implication parentale : Ce mythe dissuade les parents de s'impliquer, alors même qu'ils ont un rôle crucial à jouer.

      Fontanieu insiste sur le fait que l'implication parentale n'est pas forcément intellectuelle mais relève de "l'attention morale", du soutien aux valeurs d'honnêteté et de courage, communes à l'éducation parentale et scolaire.

      2. Principes Fondamentaux et Mécanisme Opérationnel

      La méthode Réconciliations repose sur une stratégie de co-éducation proactive, simple et structurée, visant à faire des parents des partenaires centraux du processus éducatif.

      A. Le socle : l'alliance parents-professeurs

      L'idée centrale est de "nouer le dialogue" entre professeurs et parents pour créer un binôme solide.

      En informant systématiquement les parents, l'enseignant change de statut aux yeux des élèves.

      Ces derniers, réalisant que leurs parents et professeurs "sont devenus des amis", ne peuvent plus exploiter le manque de communication.

      B. Le mécanisme en deux temps

      La méthode s'appuie sur deux actions clés, mises en œuvre dès le début de l'année scolaire.

      Étape

      Description

      Objectifs

      1. L'appel téléphonique initial

      L'enseignant contacte chaque famille personnellement "le 31 août ou le 1er septembre", avant même qu'un problème ne survienne.

      • - Établir la confiance : Les parents, "positivement surpris", apprécient cette attention et deviennent rapidement des alliés.<br>\
        • Présenter la démarche : L'enseignant explique sa méthode et son intention de collaborer.<br>\
        • Dédramatiser la communication : L'appel n'est pas lié à une sanction, ce qui change la perception de l'école.

      2. Les SMS hebdomadaires

      Chaque semaine, un SMS individualisé est envoyé à chaque famille pour l'informer du comportement et du travail de l'enfant, "y compris lorsqu’il n’y a pas de problème".

      • - Maintenir un dialogue constant : Assurer un suivi régulier et éviter les ruptures de communication.<br>
      • - Valoriser et encourager : Les SMS permettent de féliciter les efforts et les progrès, renforçant la motivation.<br>\
        • Assurer la cohésion : Le fait que tous les élèves soient concernés, qu'ils soient en difficulté ou non, évite la stigmatisation et favorise la solidarité.

      Jérémie Fontanieu souligne que cette approche est "contre-intuitive" car elle demande un investissement de travail supplémentaire en début d'année, mais que ce temps est "largement rentabilisé" par la suite.

      3. Impacts et Résultats Observés

      La mise en place de la méthode Réconciliations génère des effets positifs et mesurables sur l'ensemble des acteurs du système éducatif : élèves, enseignants et parents.

      A. Sur les élèves

      Engagement accru : Constatant l'alliance entre parents et professeurs, les élèves deviennent "moins passifs et plus engagés" et prennent leurs responsabilités.

      Cercle vertueux de la réussite : L'investissement croissant des élèves entraîne des progrès, qui sont salués par les adultes (parents et professeurs).

      Ces encouragements renforcent à leur tour l'implication, créant "une dynamique de réussite, de confiance et d'espoir pour tous".

      Amélioration des résultats scolaires : Depuis l'année scolaire 2017-2018, la classe de terminale de Jérémie Fontanieu affiche un taux de 100% de réussite au baccalauréat.

      Les élèves terminent le programme en avance, ce qui leur laisse "beaucoup de temps pour réviser".

      Gain de confiance : La méthode permet aux élèves de réussir "là où ils pensaient ne pas en être capable", ce qui les encourage à poursuivre des études supérieures.

      B. Sur les enseignants

      Réduction de la charge disciplinaire : Le partenariat avec les parents diminue les comportements perturbateurs. C'est "de l'énergie dépenser en moins à faire sa discipline".

      Fin de l'isolement : Les professeurs ne se sentent plus seuls à tout porter sur leurs épaules.

      Ils trouvent un soutien précieux chez les parents, qui deviennent des "alliés indéfectibles" les protégeant des "violences du métier".

      Réconciliation avec le métier : La méthode permet aux enseignants de se consacrer à leur cœur de métier : l'enseignement. Jérémie Fontanieu évoque "une réconciliation entre nous, enseignants, et notre métier".

      Gestion du temps optimisée : Bien que l'approche puisse sembler chronophage, elle fait en réalité gagner "beaucoup de temps" en réduisant les conflits et en augmentant l'implication des élèves.

      C. Sur les parents

      Partenaires actifs : Les parents deviennent des "acteurs clés" et des partenaires fiables, intégrés au processus éducatif.

      Influence positive : Ils réalisent l'influence qu'ils peuvent avoir, même sans compétences académiques spécifiques. Leur rôle est un levier d'attention morale et de soutien.

      Relation apaisée avec l'école : La communication régulière et positive transforme la relation, qui n'est plus basée sur la crainte des mauvaises nouvelles.

      4. Le Collectif "Réconciliations" : Diffusion et Organisation

      La méthode, initialement expérimentale, est aujourd'hui portée par un collectif d'enseignants en pleine croissance, qui fonctionne sur un modèle horizontal et indépendant.

      A. Historique et croissance

      Développement : La méthode a été développée à partir de 2012 au lycée Eugène Delacroix de Drancy.

      Création du collectif : Après avoir constaté des résultats "suffisamment forts", le collectif est créé en 2021 pour partager la méthode.

      Expansion rapide : Le collectif est passé de 200 enseignants à 350 pour l'année 2023-2024, avec des projections autour de 500 pour 2024-2025.

      Objectif : Atteindre une masse critique de 1000 enseignants pour passer à une phase de diffusion à plus grande échelle via un site internet et un manuel.

      B. Philosophie et indépendance

      Le collectif revendique une indépendance totale et refuse "aucun soutien institutionnel". Jérémie Fontanieu explique ce choix : "Nous utilisons notre liberté pédagogique.

      Nous sommes indépendants, et nous sommes très attachés à la diffusion horizontale de cette méthode, de professeur à professeur.

      Nous grandissons plus lentement sans l’aide de l’État, mais de manière plus saine". La diffusion se fait principalement par le bouche-à-oreille.

      C. Portée et applicabilité

      La méthode Réconciliations démontre une grande flexibilité et s'adapte à divers contextes :

      Niveaux scolaires : Elle est appliquée de l'école primaire (CM2) jusqu'au lycée.

      Contextes géographiques et sociaux : Si elle est née en "quartier populaire", environ la moitié des enseignants qui l'utilisent travaillent en zones rurales ou dans des établissements de centre-ville, prouvant sa pertinence au-delà des zones d'éducation prioritaire.

      5. Accès à la Méthode et Ressources Disponibles

      Pour préserver la qualité de l'accompagnement, l'accès à la méthode est actuellement contrôlé par son fondateur en attendant que le collectif atteigne sa taille cible.

      Comment participer : Les enseignants intéressés doivent contacter directement Jérémie Fontanieu par email à l'adresse projet.reconciliations@gmail.com.

      Les détails de la méthode restent "assez secrets" et ne sont pas communiqués publiquement pour le moment.

      Outils de soutien pour les membres : Les professeurs qui rejoignent le collectif ont accès à un ensemble d'outils pratiques :

      • ◦ Vidéos et tutoriels (notamment pour la rédaction des SMS).   
      • ◦ Groupes de discussion en ligne.   
      • ◦ Visioconférences hebdomadaires.   
      • ◦ Une rencontre annuelle pour un suivi et une formation continue.

      Ressources publiques : Pour en savoir plus sur la philosophie de la méthode, le public peut consulter :

      • ◦ Le livre de Jérémie Fontanieu, "Le Mythe du prof héros".   
      • ◦ Le film documentaire "Le Monde est à eux", sorti au cinéma en mars 2024.   
      • ◦ Un deuxième documentaire disponible en ligne, montrant l'application de la méthode en écoles primaires et au collège.
    1. If we choose a more dramatic and precise verb like “calls for,” “criticizes,” “describes,” “argues,” or “questions,”

      Are we proving what right or wrong?

    1. Despite the focus on diversity, our desires for inclusion, many professors still teach in classrooms that are predominant-ly white. Often a spirit of tokenism prevails in those settings. This is why it is so crucial that "whiteness" be studied, under-stood, discussed-so that everyone learns that affirmation of multiculturalism, and an unbiased inclusive perspective, can and should be present whether or not people of color are pre-sent. Transforming these classrooms is as great a challenge as learning how to teach well in the setting of diversity.

      This statement is so important because it allows us to see why diversity is so important to be taught even if the people are not necessarily diverse themselves. It shows that even though most students in professor's class are white, it doesn't mean that there is no reason to teach diversity. How can one be open to multiculturalism and diversity if they are not taught about it? Learning about diversity shouldn't be seen as an optional subject and doesn't open up the space for inclusivity.

    2. There must be training si tes where teachers have the opportunity to express those concerns while also learning to create ways to approach the multicultural classroom and curriculum. When I first went to O berlin College, I was disturbed by what I felt was a Jack of understanding on the apart of many professors as to what the multicultural classroom might be like

      This text shows that clearly one of the issues why multicultural education is not being implemented is because teacher's do not have the information and training they need to implement it into their routines. This issue makes it almost impossible for multicultural aspects to be seen in the classroom because the teacher has no knowledge about it as talked about in the text. Higher up departments should be held accountable to put these trainings into place and to implement these concepts into schools for there to be an actual change.

    3. there is not nearly enough practica! discussion of ways classroom settings can be trans-formed so that the learning experience is inclusive.

      This reading already starts off stating this fact that education is still not diverse. There is a concern that multicultural education is only seen as a concept and is not acutally being imbedded into schools. This becomes an issue because there needs to be actual change and steps foward in order to create a diverse education system that allows for all students to thrive in their environment.

  2. Sep 2025
    1. Lysosomal enzyme genes not identified in the human genetic analysis

      These were not identified in your initial analysis of the 44 lysosomal enzyme genes and the CEU AD patients or in the proteomic analysis with the 3 late-stage patients, or both?

    1. Coining that produced littleMiscellaneousABSTRACTCoining is a technique used in treating many illnesses since ancient times. It is a form of dermabrasion therapy still widely practicedin China and South East Asia. This ancient treatment method is employed to rid the body of “heatiness” or “negative energies”.Coining is associated with serious complications, and has been confused with child abuse by physicians unfamiliar to Asiancultures. Despite the availability of more simple and effective treatment for fever, coining is still widely practiced among Asians.Keywords: Coining, fever, traditional medicine, abuse.Tan AK, Mallika PS. Coining: an ancient treatment widely practiced among Asians. Malaysian Family Physician. 2011;6(2&3):97-98Figure 1: Large areas of ecchymoses as a result of coining 98Malaysian Family Physician 2011; Volume 6, Number 2&3ISSN: 1985-207X (print), 1985-2274 (electronic)©Academy of Family Physicians of MalaysiaOnline version: http://www.e-mfp.org/ecchymoses is considered counterproductive

      What is considered doing too little? - It probably depends on which area it's done on.

    1. Yet the same users who integrate these tools into personalworkflows describe them as unreliable when encountered within enterprise systems. Thisparadox illustrates the GenAI Divide at the user level.This preference reveals a fundamental tension. The same professionals using ChatGPT dailyfor personal tasks demand learning and memory capabilities for enterprise work. Asignificant number of workers already use AI tools privately, reporting productivity gains,while their companies' formal AI initiatives stall. This shadow usage creates a feedback loop:employees know what good AI feels like, making them less tolerant of static enterprisetools.Unwillingness to adopt new toolsModel output quality concernsPoor user experienceLack of executive sponsorshipChallenging change management0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

      This is huge.

    1. Santé Mentale et Handicap : Synthèse de l'Audition de la Défenseure des droits

      Résumé Exécutif

      Ce document de synthèse présente les constats et analyses clés issus de l'audition de Claire Hédon, Défenseure des droits, devant la commission d'enquête sur les défaillances des politiques publiques en matière de santé mentale et de handicap. L'audition révèle une divergence critique entre les droits proclamés par la loi et leur application effective sur le terrain. Le handicap demeure le premier motif de saisine pour discrimination, signalant des failles systémiques dans des domaines essentiels tels que l'éducation, l'emploi et l'accessibilité. La situation de la santé mentale est jugée particulièrement alarmante, avec un système de soins insuffisant et cloisonné pour les adultes, et des conditions critiques pour les mineurs marqués par des délais d'attente insoutenables et des pratiques d'hospitalisation inadaptées. La Défenseure des droits soutient que le non-respect des droits fondamentaux, loin d'être une économie, engendre un coût social et financier élevé à long terme. La collecte de données fiables, l'application rigoureuse des textes existants et une approche décloisonnée sont identifiées comme des leviers indispensables pour remédier à ces défaillances.

      1. Le Défenseur des droits : Un Observatoire des Défaillances Systémiques

      L'institution du Défenseur des droits, par ses cinq domaines de compétence (droits des usagers des services publics, lutte contre les discriminations, droits de l'enfant, déontologie de la sécurité, protection des lanceurs d'alerte), constitue un observateur privilégié des carences des politiques publiques relatives au handicap et à la santé mentale.

      Le Handicap comme Premier Motif de Discrimination

      Claire Hédon souligne que le handicap est, depuis plusieurs années, le premier motif de saisine en matière de discrimination, ce qui témoigne de difficultés persistantes et généralisées.

      Statistiques Clés (2024) :

      Total des saisines pour discrimination : 5 679    ◦ Part concernant le handicap : 22 % (soit 1 249 réclamations)

      Ces discriminations s'exercent dans de multiples domaines : emploi, scolarisation, accès à la santé, à la justice, aux loisirs, au sport et à la culture.

      Le Coût du Non-Respect des Droits

      La Défenseure des droits conteste l'idée selon laquelle l'application des droits fondamentaux représenterait un coût financier excessif. Elle affirme sa conviction que "c'est le non-respect des droits fondamentaux qui entraînera à terme un coût élevé pour la société". L'approche de l'institution se concentre sur "l'écart entre le droit annoncé et son effectivité", soulignant que les défaillances actuelles génèrent un coût social majeur.

      2. La Santé Mentale : Une Crise des Droits Fondamentaux

      L'audition met en lumière une crise profonde dans la prise en charge de la santé mentale en France, exacerbée par la crise sanitaire du Covid-19. Les politiques publiques sont jugées insuffisantes tant en quantité qu'en organisation.

      2.1. Prise en Charge des Adultes : Un Système Insuffisant et Cloisonné

      Le système de soins pour adultes souffre de faiblesses structurelles majeures :

      Offre de soins : Des offres trop faibles, des capacités d'hospitalisation limitées et des déserts médicaux.

      Organisation : Un système mal organisé et cloisonné entre les secteurs sanitaire et médico-social.

      Ressources : Des moyens qui stagnent alors que les besoins augmentent, rendant les conditions d'exercice indignes pour les soignants et les patients.

      Conséquences pour les patients :

      • Délais d'attente excessifs.

      • Ruptures de soins fréquentes et errance sanitaire.

      • Inégalités territoriales criantes, pénalisant particulièrement les personnes précaires.

      Focus : La Situation Critique des Personnes Détenues

      La santé mentale des personnes détenues est une préoccupation majeure, avec une surreprésentation des pathologies et troubles mentaux en milieu carcéral.

      Appels à la plateforme (3141) de juillet 2024 à juillet 2025 :

      7,6 % des appels concernaient des difficultés d'accès aux soins (1 065 appels).    ◦ 106 appels portaient spécifiquement sur un risque suicidaire.

      Causes identifiées :

      1. La politique de désinstitutionnalisation : Menée sans un développement suffisant des services de proximité pour prendre le relais des services hospitaliers psychiatriques.

      2. La diminution des déclarations d'irresponsabilité pénale : Conduisant au maintien en détention de personnes dont l'état de santé nécessiterait une prise en charge dans une structure de soins.

      La Cour européenne des droits de l'homme (arrêt GC c. France, 2012) a qualifié cette situation de "traitement inhumain". Le manque de continuité des soins à la sortie de prison augmente par ailleurs le risque de récidive.

      2.2. Santé Mentale des Mineurs : Une Situation Alarmante

      Les données concernant la santé mentale des jeunes sont particulièrement inquiétantes. Une étude de 2025 (Institut Montaigne, Mutualité française, Institut Terram) révèle que 25 % des jeunes de 15 à 29 ans souffrent de dépression, un chiffre atteignant 39 % en outre-mer.

      Carences Structurelles de la Pédopsychiatrie

      Absence de données fiables : Le manque de données agrégées sur le nombre d'enfants en attente de prise en charge "fragilise le pilotage de nos politiques publiques". Le rapport 2023 de la Cour des comptes estime que sur 1,6 million d'enfants souffrant d'un trouble psychique, seuls 50 à 53 % bénéficient de soins.

      Pénurie de médecins et inégalités territoriales : Malgré des infrastructures dans la moyenne européenne, le secteur est saturé. Les Centres Médico-Psychologiques (CMP) sont inégalement répartis, et les délais pour obtenir un premier rendez-vous dépassent souvent un an.

      Pratiques Inadaptées et Atteintes aux Libertés

      Des pratiques préoccupantes sont régulièrement signalées :

      Hospitalisation en services pour adultes : Des enfants et adolescents sont hospitalisés dans des services de psychiatrie adulte, une situation qui "ne fait que s'aggraver".

      Maintien par défaut : Des jeunes en situation de handicap sont maintenus en structure psychiatrique faute de places dans le secteur médico-social ou en protection de l'enfance.

      Recours à l'isolement et à la contention : Ces mesures de dernier recours sont utilisées de manière trop fréquente, souvent motivées par un manque de personnel. Pour les mineurs hospitalisés en "soins libres" (à la demande des parents mais sans leur propre consentement), il n'existe aucun contrôle systématique par un juge des libertés et de la détention (JLD), contrairement aux adultes.

      Exemple emblématique : Une adolescente de 15 ans, atteinte d'autisme sévère, a été hospitalisée pendant plus de deux ans dans un service psychiatrique pour adultes, sans justification médicale. Elle était confinée dans une chambre d'isolement "plus de 20 heures par jour", déscolarisée et privée de soins somatiques essentiels.

      3. Politiques du Handicap : Des Droits Proclamés mais Non Effectifs

      Vingt ans après la loi de 2005, son application reste partielle et les obstacles à l'inclusion demeurent nombreux.

      3.1. Éducation : Une Inclusion Inachevée

      Bien que la loi de 2005 ait permis une augmentation du nombre d'enfants handicapés scolarisés, l'accès à une éducation de qualité reste difficile.

      Catégorie de réclamation (2024)

      Chiffres et pourcentages

      Discrimination liée à l'éducation/formation

      7 % des 5 679 saisines

      Droits de l'enfant (majorité liée à la scolarisation)

      30 % des 3 073 saisines

      Obstacles persistants :

      Manque d'AESH : Malgré les créations de postes, les besoins ne sont pas couverts.

      Pause méridienne : La loi du 27 mai 2024 prévoyant la prise en charge par l'État de l'accompagnement sur le temps de la pause méridienne est "très loin d'être effective" en raison de blocages administratifs.

      Aménagement des examens : Une augmentation inquiétante des refus d'aménagement pour des élèves ou étudiants handicapés, parfois sous le prétexte paradoxal que "leurs résultats étaient bons".

      3.2. Emploi : Premier Domaine de Discrimination

      L'emploi est le principal secteur où s'exercent les discriminations liées au handicap. Sur les réclamations pour handicap en 2024, 21 % concernent l'emploi privé et 24 % l'emploi public. L'obligation d'emploi de 6 % ne suffit pas à garantir l'égalité de traitement.

      Difficultés récurrentes :

      • Aménagement tardif du poste de travail.

      • Non-respect des préconisations du médecin du travail.

      • Difficultés accrues dans le maintien dans l'emploi pour les personnes dont le handicap ou la maladie survient en cours de carrière.

      3.3. Accessibilité : Un Retard Persistant

      L'accessibilité, condition essentielle à la participation sociale, reste un point faible majeur.

      Transports : L'objectif de mise en accessibilité n'est pas atteint, la loi s'étant limitée aux "points d'arrêt prioritaires".

      Logement : Inquiétude face à l'assouplissement des règles d'accessibilité (loi ELAN).

      Numérique : La dématérialisation produit des effets ambivalents. Selon l'ARCOM, peu de sites publics atteignent 50 % d'accessibilité et seulement 5 % sont totalement conformes.

      3.4. Aides à l'autonomie : Une Compensation Insuffisante et Inégale

      Le droit à la compensation instauré par la loi de 2005 présente des limites flagrantes.

      La barrière des 60 ans : Une différence de traitement persiste selon que le handicap survient avant ou après 60 ans, la fusion des régimes prévue pour 2010 n'ayant jamais eu lieu.

      Limites de la PCH (Prestation de Compensation du Handicap) :

      ◦ L'aide humaine est limitée aux besoins essentiels.    ◦ Les aides techniques sont sous-financées.    ◦ La PCH parentalité est critiquée pour ses critères restrictifs.

      4. Recommandations et Perspectives

      L'audition se conclut sur plusieurs axes d'action prioritaires pour remédier aux défaillances constatées.

      Application des textes : L'urgence est "l'application pure et simple des textes votés par le Parlement", dont beaucoup sont en attente de décrets d'application.

      Données statistiques : Il est impératif de disposer de données fiables et agrégées (ex : nombre d'heures de scolarisation effectives, nombre de places manquantes en IME) pour piloter les politiques publiques.

      Décloisonnement : Renforcer la coordination entre les secteurs sanitaire, médico-social, éducatif et judiciaire est crucial pour assurer la fluidité des parcours.

      Priorité à la jeunesse : La santé mentale des jeunes, érigée en grande cause nationale 2025, nécessite une "véritable prise de conscience collective" et des moyens financiers adéquats, notamment pour les CMP.

      Formation : L'amélioration de la formation des professionnels (enseignants, AESH, employeurs, soignants) est essentielle pour faire évoluer les pratiques et les cultures professionnelles.

      Lutte contre la complexité administrative : Le "mille-feuille" des dispositifs doit être simplifié pour améliorer la lisibilité et l'accès aux droits pour les familles.

    1. D=D(a,b)=fxx(a,b)fyy(a,b)−[fxy(a,b)]2

      To me this formula looks like word salad and is incomprehensible at a quick glance. Which leads me to wonder if it is possible to rewrite the formula so that it is more easily read and understood. Or if it is possible to compress some of the terms to make it easier to understand.

    1. Four qualitative factors that maketexts easier or more complex are (1) levels of meaning (e.g., single or multiple) or purpose (e.g., explicitor implicit), (2) structure (e.g., simple or complex),(3) language conventionality and clarity (e.g., literalor figurative), and (4) knowledge demands (e.g., fewor many assumptions about readers' knowledge

      need a human's eyes on these things

    Annotators

    1. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors quantify human fMRI BOLD responses in pulvinar and mediodorsal thalamic nuclei during a fear conditioning and extinction task across two days, in a large sample size (hundreds of participants). They show that the BOLD responses in these areas differentiate the conditioned (CS+) and safety (CS-) stimuli. Additionally, this changes with repeated trials, which could be a neural correlate of fear learning. They show that the anterior pulvinar is most correlated with the MD, and that this is not due to anatomical proximity. They perform graph analysis on the pulvinar subnuclei, which suggests that the medial pulvinar is a hub between the sensory (lateral/inferior) and associative (anterior) pulvinar. They show different patterns of thalamic activity across conditioning, extinction, recall, and renewal.

      Strengths:

      The data has a large sample size (n=293 in some measures, n=412 in others). This is a validated human fear conditioning/extinction task that Dr Milad's group has been working with for several years. Few labs have investigated the thalamus activity during fear conditioning and extinction, particularly with a large sample size. There is an independent replication of the pulvinar network structure (Figure 3), which suggests that the processing in the more sensory-related inferior and lateral pulvinar is relayed to the anterior pulvinar (and possibly thereby to more action-related prefrontal areas) via an intermediate step in the medial pulvinar - potentially a novel discovery, but that needs more validation.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) The authors cannot make causal claims about their results based on correlational neuroimaging evidence. Causal claims should be pared back. E.g., sentence 1 in the Results section: "The anterior pulvinar and MD contribute to early associative threat learning, as evidenced by increased functional activation in response to CS+ compared to CS- at the block level (Fig. 1b-c)." needs to be reworded to something like "The anterior pulvinar and MD have increased functional activation... This suggests that these areas may contribute to early associate threat learning."

      (2) Figure 1: The fact that the difference in BOLD activity between CS+ and CS- goes away on the third trial is not addressed. This is a very large effect in the data.

      (3) Figure 3: Could the observed network structure be due to anatomical proximity? Perhaps the authors should do an analogous analysis to what they did in Figure 2 for this intra-pulvinar analysis. This analysis doesn't take into account the indirect connections through corticothalamic and thalamocortical connections with the visual cortex and the pulvinar. There is an implicit assumption that there are interconnections between the pulvinar subnuclei, but there are few strong excitatory projections between these subnuclei to my knowledge. If visual areas are included in the graph, it would make things more complex, but would probably dramatically change the story. In this way, the message is somewhat constructed or arbitrary.

      (3) In the results section describing Figures 4-7, there are no statistics supporting the claims made. There needs to be a set of graphs comparing the results across the study sessions and days, with statistical comparisons between the different experiments to confirm differences.

      (4) Figure 7 does not include the major corticothalamic and thalamocortical projections from early, mid-level, and higher visual cortex to the different pulvinar nuclei. I doubt that there are strong direct projections between the pulvinar nuclei; rather, the functional connections are probably mediated through interconnections with cortical visual areas.

      (5) Stylistic: There are a lot of hypotheses and interpretations presented in this primary literature paper, which may be better suited for a review or perspective piece.

      (6) In the discussion, there is an assumption that the fMRI BOLD responses to CS+ and CS- need to be different to indicate that an area is processing these distinctly, but the BOLD signal can only detect large-scale changes in overall activity. It's easy to imagine that an area could be involved in processing these two stimuli distinctly without showing an overall difference in the gross amount of activity.

      (7) There is strong evidence that the BOLD responses to the threat-related and safety-related stimuli are different, modest evidence for their claims of learning/plasticity in these pathways, and circumstantial evidence supporting their hypothesized graph network models. Overall, most of the claims made in the discussion are better considered possible interpretations rather than proven findings - this is not a criticism, as these experiments and subject matter are extremely complex.

      This study continues to validate the power and utility of this in human fear conditioning/extinction paradigm, and extends this paradigm to investigating fear learning beyond the traditional limbic system pathways. It's possible that their models for the pulvinar nuclei interconnections could guide future neuromodulation or DBS studies that could provide more causal evidence for their hypotheses.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The present work was aimed at investigating the specific contributions of thalamic nuclei to associative threat learning and extinction. Using fMRI, they examined activation patterns across pulvinar divisions, the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and the mediodorsal thalamus (MD) during threat acquisition, extinction, and recall. Their goal was to uncover whether distinct thalamic systems support different modes of learning-automatic survival mechanisms versus more deliberate processes - and to propose a hierarchical pulvinar model of fear conditioning. They also try to refine current neuroanatomical models of threat learning and memory, highlighting the role of thalamic nuclei in it.

      Strengths:

      (1) Valuable theoretical elaboration and modeling regarding the differential role of pulvinar subdivisions on feedforward (inferior, lateral) and higher-order integration (anterior), and their functional interplay with other relevant subcortical and cortical structures in associative threat and extinction learning.

      (2) Large sample sizes and multipronged analytical approaches were used for hypothesis testing.

      (3) Exhaustive literature review in the field of associative threat, as well as regarding the role of thalamic nuclei and other brain structures in it.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) Several weaknesses should be pointed out regarding how fMRI data were collected, as well as decisions regarding how the fMRI data were preprocessed and analyzed:

      a) fMRI data have low resolution (3 cubic mm), which certainly limits the examination of small nuclei such as the ones investigated here, and especially the examination of the LGN and inferior pulvinar.

      b) fMRI was normalized to standard space. Analyzing the data in individual-subject space would have given you the options of avoiding altering every participant's brain and of using a probabilistic thalamic atlas that better adapts to each subject's brain and thalamic nuclei (see, for instance, Iglesias et al., 2018). This would have been ideal and would have given the authors more precision, especially considering the low resolution of the fMRI data and the size of the thalamic nuclei of interest.

      c) On top of the two previous points, the authors decided to smooth the data to 6mm, which means that every single voxel within these small nuclei was blurred/mixed with the 2 immediately contiguous voxels (if they followed the standard SPM12 normalization resampling default which resamples, or upsamples the data in this case, to 2 x 2 x 2mm). Given the strong changes in structural connectivity and function that can occur, especially in the thalamus, on voxels of this size, this and the previous 2 decisions do not favor anatomical precision.

      d) Motion during scanning was poorly controlled in the preprocessing. Including the motion parameters as covariates of no interest in the GLM does not fully guarantee that motion is not influencing the results, and that motion is not differentially influencing some experimental conditions more than others.

      (2) It is not clearly indicated in the manuscript how many subjects and how many trials went into each of the analyses. It would be important to indicate this in the text and/or the figures.

      (3) It is not clear either, why, given the large sample size, some of the results were not conducted using reproducibility strategies such as dividing the sample into 2 or 3 groups or using further cross-validation strategies.

      (4) Limited testing of alternative hypotheses. The results clearly seem to be a selection of the findings supporting the hypotheses that the authors sought to confirm. (just one example: in the analysis reported in Figures 1-2; are there other correlations between the activation of the anterior pulvinar and MD with other pulvinar nuclei? only the MD-anterior Puv is reported).

      (5) The manuscript does not contain a limitations subsection. Practically every study has limitations, and this one is not an exception. Better to tell the limitations to the readers upfront so they can factor them into their evaluation of the relevance of the manuscript and reported evidence.

      (6) Data should be made available to the scientific community. Code too. Even if you just used standard fMRI toolboxes, any code used to run analyses will be helpful to the community, or if someone decides to try to replicate your findings.

      Despite these weaknesses and what can be derived from them, this manuscript constitutes a valuable contribution to the field to start characterizing and conceptualizing the involvement of thalamic nuclei and their interactions with other brain regions in the associative threat learning circuitries. It also paves the road for further testing of the functional dynamics among these regions and circuitries, and modeling testing.

    1. Document d'information : Enjeux et Défis de la Santé Mentale en France

      Synthèse

      L'audition devant la commission d'enquête de l'Assemblée nationale met en lumière une crise profonde et multidimensionnelle du système de santé mentale en France.

      Les analyses des experts révèlent un fardeau économique et social colossal, estimé à 163 milliards d'euros, plaçant les maladies mentales au premier rang des dépenses de l'Assurance Maladie.

      Ce coût est principalement tiré par les hospitalisations, qui représentent jusqu'à 85 % des dépenses directes pour des pathologies comme la schizophrénie, tandis que les coûts des médicaments, majoritairement génériqués, restent faibles.

      Le système de soins psychiatriques est caractérisé par des défaillances systémiques majeures. La prévention est quasi inexistante, entraînant des retards de diagnostic dramatiques (plus de 10 ans pour les troubles bipolaires).

      L'organisation des soins, jugée obsolète, reste hospitalo-centrée, inégalitaire sur le territoire et cloisonnée, notamment entre les soins somatiques et psychiatriques.

      Ce cloisonnement a des conséquences mortelles, réduisant l'espérance de vie des patients de 15 à 20 ans, principalement à cause de maladies cardiovasculaires et de cancers non ou mal soignés.

      Malgré ce tableau sombre, des innovations organisationnelles et technologiques ont prouvé leur efficacité.

      Les "Centres Experts", par des bilans complets, réduisent significativement les hospitalisations et améliorent le pronostic des patients.

      De même, des projets pilotes utilisant des outils numériques (expérimentation "Article 51") ont divisé par deux les tentatives de suicide et généré des économies substantielles.

      Cependant, ces innovations peinent à être déployées à grande échelle en raison de freins structurels, d'un manque de vision stratégique et d'un sous-investissement chronique dans la recherche et le développement.

      La psychiatrie souffre en parallèle d'une grave crise d'attractivité, exacerbant les pénuries de personnel et la saturation du système.

      Enfin, la recherche et le pilotage des politiques publiques sont handicapés par un manque criant de données structurées, notamment sur le volet du handicap.

      1. Le Fardeau Économique et Social des Maladies Mentales

      L'analyse économique présentée par Isabelle Duranzaleski, professeur de médecine et docteur en économie, révèle l'empreinte considérable des pathologies psychiatriques sur la société française.

      L'étude, qui reproduit des méthodologies internationales pour permettre les comparaisons, agrège plusieurs types de coûts pour obtenir un chiffre global.

      1.1. Une Estimation Globale de 163 Milliards d'Euros

      En combinant l'ensemble des coûts, l'étude arrive à un total de 163 milliards d'euros.

      Ce chiffre, bien que sujet à des risques de double compte, a pour objectif principal d'alerter les décideurs publics sur l'ampleur du fardeau.

      Il se décompose en quatre catégories principales :

      1. Dépenses de l'Assurance Maladie : Les coûts directs des soins médicaux, qui placent les maladies mentales comme le premier ou deuxième poste de dépense avec le cancer.

      2. Dépenses du secteur médico-social : Les coûts réels engagés pour l'accompagnement.

      3. Pertes de production : Le "manque à gagner" pour la société lié à la morbidité et à la mortalité prématurée.

      4. Perte de santé valorisée : Une estimation monétaire de la perte d'années de vie en bonne santé, calculée selon des standards internationaux.

      1.2. La Prépondérance des Coûts d'Hospitalisation

      Une analyse détaillée des dépenses directes pour les patients atteints de schizophrénie et de troubles bipolaires, menée via les Centres Experts, démontre que l'hospitalisation constitue la source principale des coûts.

      Pour la schizophrénie, 85 % des coûts directs sont liés aux hospitalisations.

      Pour les troubles bipolaires, ce chiffre s'élève à 78 %.

      En comparaison, la part des médicaments est très faible, en raison de l'accès quasi-exclusif à des traitements génériqués et du manque d'accès aux innovations thérapeutiques.

      Pathologie

      Part des Hospitalisations

      Part des Médicaments

      Part des Consultations

      Schizophrénie

      85 %

      9 %

      6-7 %

      Troubles Bipolaires

      78 %

      18 %

      6-7 %

      1.3. Le Coût Spécifique du Suicide

      Une étude distincte, utilisant la même méthodologie, a évalué le coût du suicide et des tentatives de suicide, en incluant les coûts directs des soins, la perte de production et la perte d'années de vie valorisée.

      Coût du suicide : 18 milliards d'euros.

      Coût des tentatives de suicide : 5 milliards d'euros.

      2. Défaillances Systémiques et Organisation des Soins

      Les experts s'accordent sur un constat sévère : l'organisation actuelle des soins psychiatriques en France est en échec. Elle est marquée par un retard structurel, une inégalité d'accès et un cloisonnement préjudiciable.

      2.1. L'Échec de la Prévention

      Selon Marion Leboyer, professeur de psychiatrie, et Coralie Gandré, maîtresse de recherche à l'IRDES, le système de soins français présente des défaillances majeures aux trois niveaux de la prévention.

      Prévention primaire : Elle est quasi-inexistante, marquée par une méconnaissance profonde des maladies mentales dans la société et une méfiance envers la psychiatrie, ce qui entraîne une perte de chance considérable.

      La France accuse un retard de 20 ans par rapport aux pays anglo-saxons dans la mise en place de mesures de prévention et de lutte contre la stigmatisation.

      Prévention secondaire : Elle se traduit par un retard au diagnostic catastrophique.

      Troubles bipolaires : Plus de 10 ans en moyenne entre les premiers symptômes et le diagnostic.    ◦ Schizophrénie : Une "durée de psychose non traitée" de 2 à 5 ans, alors que les cinq premières années sont cruciales pour la réponse au traitement.

      Ce retard est attribué à un déficit de formation des médecins de première ligne et à un manque d'information du grand public.

      Prévention tertiaire : L'arrivée tardive dans le soin se fait majoritairement par les urgences, qui sont engorgées par des patients de plus en plus sévères, chroniques et polypathologiques.

      Un patient sur quatre hospitalisé en psychiatrie y entre via les urgences, un indicateur international de mauvaise qualité de l'accès aux soins.

      2.2. Un Modèle de Soins Obsolète, Inégal et Cloisonné

      Le système français est décrit comme :

      Hospitalo-centré : L'approche reste centrée sur l'hôpital, malgré un virage ambulatoire précoce (80 % des prises en charge).

      Un quart des lits en psychiatrie est occupé au long cours sans indication thérapeutique, souvent par défaut d'offre d'hébergement non médicalisé.

      Inégalitaire sur le territoire : L'accès aux soins varie considérablement d'une région à l'autre.

      La prévalence de la schizophrénie et des troubles bipolaires est deux fois plus élevée dans les villes, suggérant la nécessité de politiques de soins adaptées aux facteurs de risque environnementaux (urbanicité, pollution, stress).

      Peu lisible et insuffisamment spécialisé : L'offre de soins est confuse pour les usagers et manque de spécialisation par pathologie, contrairement aux pratiques internationales.

      Manquant de vision stratégique : Les experts déplorent une absence de stratégie claire et de politique d'évaluation de l'organisation des soins.

      2.3. La Fracture entre Soins Somatiques et Psychiatriques

      Un des points les plus critiques soulevés est le cloisonnement total entre la psychiatrie et les autres spécialités médicales.

      Les conséquences pour les patients sont dramatiques :

      Surmortalité massive : La première cause de mortalité n'est pas le suicide, mais les maladies cardiovasculaires et les cancers.

      L'espérance de vie est réduite de 20 ans pour les femmes et 15 ans pour les hommes (données de M. Leboyer) ou de 13 ans pour les femmes et 16 ans pour les hommes (étude IRDES).

      Le taux de mortalité est 2 à 3 fois supérieur à celui de la population générale.

      Sous-dépistage des comorbidités : Des pathologies comme le syndrome métabolique (hypertension, obésité, etc.) sont très fréquentes (24 % pour la schizophrénie, 38 % pour la dépression résistante, contre 10 % en population générale), mais 70 % à 90 % des patients ne sont ni dépistés, ni soignés.

      Moindre recours aux soins préventifs : Les patients ont moins accès au dépistage des cancers, à la vaccination, aux dentistes, ophtalmologues ou gynécologues.

      Retard au diagnostic pour le cancer : Les patients atteints de troubles psychiques sont diagnostiqués plus tardivement pour les cancers, reçoivent des prises en charge plus invasives mais moins intensives, ce qui augmente les pertes de chance.

      3. Innovations et Levier d'Amélioration : Un Potentiel Sous-exploité

      Face à ces défaillances, des innovations organisationnelles, numériques et thérapeutiques ont démontré leur efficacité, mais leur déploiement reste limité par de nombreux freins.

      3.1. Les Centres Experts : Un Modèle d'Évaluation Efficace

      Inspirés des modèles existants pour le cancer ou les maladies rares, les Centres Experts proposent un bilan complet (psychiatrique, cognitif, social, somatique) sur une journée en hôpital de jour.

      Impact démontré : Les études menées avant et après passage dans ces centres montrent une diminution significative du nombre de journées d'hospitalisation, une amélioration du pronostic, une meilleure adhérence au traitement et un meilleur dépistage des comorbidités somatiques.

      Objectif : L'objectif est de déployer ce dispositif sur tout le territoire national et de l'inscrire dans la liste des activités spécifiques nationales pour garantir un accès équitable à tous les patients.

      3.2. Le Numérique au Service du Suivi (Expérimentation Article 51)

      Un projet pilote a testé une innovation organisationnelle combinant un suivi par une infirmière de pratique avancée ("case manager") et des outils digitaux pour des patients bipolaires.

      Résultats positifs : L'évaluation par le ministère de la Santé a montré :

      • Tentatives de suicide divisées par deux (de 7,6 % à 3,9 %).  
      • Journées d'hospitalisation réduites (de 42 % à 24 %).  
      • Impact économique démontré : un gain estimé à 3 500 € par patient et par an, grâce à la baisse des hospitalisations.

      Déploiement en attente : Malgré ces résultats, la décision de généraliser le dispositif est toujours en attente, suscitant l'inquiétude des patients et des soignants.

      3.3. Freins à l'Innovation et à la Recherche

      Plusieurs obstacles entravent la modernisation de la psychiatrie :

      Sous-investissement dans la recherche : La France ne consacre que 2 à 4 % de son budget de recherche biomédicale à la psychiatrie, l'un des taux les plus faibles des pays développés.

      Faible translation des découvertes : De nombreuses innovations (biomarqueurs sanguins, imagerie cérébrale, outils numériques) issues de la recherche peinent à être appliquées dans les soins courants.

      Accès limité aux nouvelles thérapies : Les patients français ont un accès moindre aux innovations thérapeutiques, qu'elles soient médicamenteuses (ex: antipsychotiques de 2e génération disponibles ailleurs en Europe mais pas en France) ou psychosociales.

      4. Enjeux Transversaux et Difficultés Spécifiques

      4.1. Crise d'Attractivité et Pénurie de Personnel

      La psychiatrie fait face à une crise d'attractivité majeure, constituant un frein structurel à toute amélioration.

      Désaffection des jeunes médecins : La psychiatrie est choisie parmi les dernières disciplines par les internes, contrairement à des pays comme le Canada où elle est devenue un premier choix suite à des investissements massifs.

      Pénurie de personnel : La FHF (Fédération Hospitalière de France) estime qu'un quart des postes de psychiatres sont vacants dans plus de la moitié des établissements publics.

      Conséquences directes : Cette pénurie entraîne une fermeture massive de lits d'hospitalisation et une saturation de l'ensemble du système de soins (CMP surchargés, urgences engorgées).

      4.2. Les Pratiques Coercitives et les Droits des Patients

      La France se distingue par un recours élevé à des pratiques restrictives de liberté, avec des variations très importantes entre établissements qui interrogent l'équité des prises en charge.

      Soins sans consentement : Près de 100 000 personnes par an (soit 5% de la file active).

      Isolement : Près de 30 000 personnes par an.

      Contention mécanique : Près de 10 000 personnes par an. Ces chiffres placent la France dans une situation défavorable par rapport aux autres pays développés, avec une tendance à l'augmentation.

      4.3. Le Manque Crucial de Données sur le Handicap

      Maude Espagiac, spécialiste du handicap, souligne une difficulté majeure pour la recherche et le pilotage des politiques : l'accès aux données.

      Cloisonnement des données : Les systèmes d'information des secteurs médical, social et médico-social ne communiquent pas, ce qui empêche d'avoir une vision complète des parcours et des coûts.

      Identification des personnes : Il est très difficile d'identifier les personnes en situation de handicap dans les bases de données de santé existantes, et de mesurer les coûts non publics (reste à charge pour les familles, les aidants).

      Perspective d'amélioration : L'intégration annoncée des données des MDPH (Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées) dans le Système National des Données de Santé (SNDS) d'ici 2026 est une avancée attendue depuis une décennie.

    1. Joint Public Review:

      This manuscript puts forward the provocative idea that a posttranslational feedback loop regulates daily and ultradian rhythms in neuronal excitability. The authors used in vivo long-term tip recordings of the long trichoid sensilla of male hawkmoths to analyze spontaneous spiking activity indicative of the ORNs' endogenous membrane potential oscillations. This firing pattern was disrupted by pharmacological blockade of the Orco receptor. They then use these recordings together with computational modeling to predict that Orco receptor neuron (ORN) activity is required for circadian, not ultradian, firing patterns. Orco did not show a circadian expression pattern in a qPCR experiment, and its conductance was proposed to be regulated by cyclic nucleotide levels. This evidence led the authors to conclude that a post-translational feedback loop (PTFL) clockwork, associated with the ORN plasma membrane, allows for temporal control of pheromone detection via the generation of multi-scale endogenous membrane potential oscillations. The findings will interest researchers in neurophysiology, circadian rhythms, and sensory biology. However, the manuscript has limited experimental evidence to support its central hypothesis and is undermined by several questionable assumptions that underlie their data analysis and model builds, as well as insufficient biological data, including critical controls to validate and/or fully justify the model the authors are proposing.

      Strengths:

      The study is notable for its combination of long-term in vivo tip recordings with computational modeling, which is technically challenging and adds weight to the authors' claims. The link between Orco, cyclic nucleotides, and circadian regulation is potentially important for sensory neuroscience, and the modeling framework itself - a stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley formulation that explicitly incorporates channel noise - is a solid and forward-looking contribution. Together, these elements make the study conceptually bold and of clear interest to circadian and olfactory biologists.

      Major weaknesses:

      At the same time, several limitations temper the conclusions. The pharmacological evidence relies on a single antagonist and concentration, without key controls. The circadian analysis is based on relatively small numbers of neurons, with rhythms detected only in subsets, and the alignment procedure used in constant darkness raises concerns of bias. The molecular evidence is sparse, with only three qPCR timepoints, and the model, while creative, rests on assumptions that are not yet fully supported by in vivo data.

      Detailed comments are provided below:

      (1) The role for Orco proposed in the authors' model largely stems from the effects seen following the administration of (a single dose) of the Orco antagonist, OLC15. However, this hypothesis is undercut by the lack of adequate pharmacological controls, including a basic multipoint OLC15 dose-response series in addition to the administration of blockers for the other channels that are embedded in their model, but which were ruled out as being involved in the modulation of biological rhythms. In addition, these studies would (ideally) also benefit from the inclusion of the same concentration (series) of an inactive OLC15 analog to better control for off-target effects.

      (2) The expression pattern of Orco was assessed using qPCR at only three timepoints. Rhythmic transcripts can easily be missed with such sparse sampling (Hughes et al., 2017). A minimum of six evenly spaced timepoints across a 24-hour cycle would be required to confidently rule out circadian transcriptional regulation. In addition, the use of the timeless mRNA control from another study is not acceptable. Furthermore, qPCR analysis measures transcript abundance, not transcription, as the authors repeatedly state. Transcriptional studies would require nuclear run-off or, more recently, can be done with snRNAseq analysis. Taken together, these concerns undermine the authors' desire to rule out TTFL-based control that directly led them to implicate a PTTF-based model.

      (3) The modelling presented is based on Orco as a ZT-dependent conductance tied to the cAMP oscillations that were reported by this group in the cockroach and from the presence and functionality in Manduca of homomeric Orco complexes that are devoid of tuning ORs. While these complexes have been generated in cell culture and other heterologous expression systems, as well as presumably exist in vivo in the Drosophila empty neuron and other tuning OR mutants, there is no evidence that these complexes exist in wild-type Manduca ORNs. While this doesn't necessarily undermine every aspect of their models, the authors should note the presence of Orco/OR complexes rather than Orco homomeric complexes.

      (4) Some aspects of the authors' models, most notably the decision to phase align/optimize their DD and OLC15 recordings, are likely to bias their interpretations.

      (5) The tip recordings from long trichoid sensilla are critical aspects of this study. These recordings were carried out on upper sensillar tips located on the distal-most second annulus. Since there are approximately 80 annuli on the Manduca antennae, it is unclear whether the recordings are representative of the antennal response.

      (6) The authors do not provide any data in support of their cAMP/cGMP-based Orco gating, and the PTTF model proposed is somewhat disappointing. The model seems to be influenced by their long-held proposal that insect olfactory signaling has a critical metabotropic component involving cyclic nucleotides, PKC, etc, a view that may be influenced by the use of Orco homomeric complexes generated in HEK cells. Nevertheless, structural studies on Orco do not support a cyclic nucleotide binding site, although PKC-based phosphorylation has been implicated in the fine-tuning/adaptation of olfactory signaling.

      (7) Because only 5/11 LD and 7/10 DD animals showed daily rhythms, with averages lacking clear daily modulation, the methods are not sufficiently reliable enough to reveal novel underlying mechanisms of circadian rhythm generation. The reported results are therefore not yet reliable or quantifiable. To quantify their results, the authors should apply tests for circadian rhythmicity using methods such as RAIN, JTK CYCLE, MetaCycle, or Echo. The use of FFT and Wavelet is applauded, but these methods do not have tests of significance for rhythms and can be biased when analyzing data in which there could only be 1-3 circadian cycles. Because the conclusions appear to be based on 11-12 neurons that were recorded for 2-4 days, the reader is concerned that the methods are not yet perfected to provide strong evidence for circadian regulation of spontaneous firing of ORNs. The average data (e.g., Figure 3Bii and 3Cii) highlight the apparent lack of daily rhythms. In summary, the results would be more compelling if more than 50% of the recordings had significant circadian amplitudes and with similar periods and phases.

      (8) The statement that circadian patterns of ORN firing are lost with the Orco antagonist (OLC15) is not strongly supported. The manuscript should be revised to quantify how Orco changed circadian amplitude in the 12 recorded neurons. Measures of circadian amplitude can avoid confusing/vague statements like Line 394 "low and high frequency bands appeared to merge during the activity phase around ZT 0 in the animals that showed clear circadian rhythms (N = 5 of 11 in LD)". The conclusion that Orco blocks circadian firing appears to be contradicted by Figure 6, which indicates that ~6 of these neurons had circadian periods detected by wavelet. The manuscript would be strengthened with details about the specificity and reproducibility of the Orco antagonist. The authors quantify the gradual decrease in firing with the slope of a linear fit to estimate how the "effectiveness [of OLC15] increased over time." They conclude that the drug "obliterated circadian rhythms and attenuated the spontaneous activity in several, but not all experiments (N = 8 of 12)." The report would be greatly strengthened with corroborating data from additional Orco antagonists and additional doses of OLC15 (the authors use only 50 uM OLC15).

      (9) The manuscript includes several statements that are more speculation than conclusion. For example, there is no evidence for tuning or plasticity in this report. Statements like the following should be removed or addressed with experiments that show changes in odor response specificity or sensitivity: "ORN signalosomes are highly plastic endogenous PTFL clocks comprising receptors for circadian and ultradian Zeitgebers that allow to tune into internal physiological and external environmental rhythms as basis for active sensing." (Discussion Line 622). The paper concludes that (line 380) "mean frequency of spontaneous spiking and the frequency of bursting expressed daily modulation, and are both most likely controlled via a circadian clock that targets the leak channel Orco." This is too bold given the available results.

      (10) Because Orco conductance is modulated by cyclic nucleotides, it remains highly plausible that circadian regulation occurs upstream at the level of signaling pathways (e.g., calcium, calcium-binding proteins, GPCRs, cyclases, phosphodiesterases). The possibility that circadian oscillations of cyclic nucleotides are generated by the canonical TTFL mechanism has not been excluded. In fact, extensive work in Drosophila has demonstrated that the TTFL-based molecular clock proteins are required for circadian rhythms in olfaction.

      (11) A defining feature of circadian oscillators is the feedback mechanism that generates a time delay (e.g., PERIOD/TIMELESS repressing their own transcription). While the authors describe how cyclic nucleotides can regulate Orco conductance, they do not provide a convincing explanation of how Orco activity could, in turn, feed back into the proposed PTFL to sustain oscillations. For these reasons, the authors should consider:

      (a) Providing a broader discussion of non-TTFL models of circadian rhythms (e.g., redox cycles, post-translational modifications).

      (b) Reassessing Orco expression using a higher-resolution temporal sampling ({greater than or equal to}6 timepoints per 24 h).

      (c) Clarifying or revising the PTFL model to explicitly address how feedback would be achieved. Alternatively, the data may be more consistent with Orco conductance rhythms being regulated by post-translational mechanisms downstream of the canonical TTFL oscillator, as suggested by the Drosophila olfactory system literature.

      Minor weaknesses:

      (1) The authors should compare the firing patterns of ORN neurons to the bursts, clusters, and packets of retinal efferent spikes reported in Liu JS and Passaglia CL (2011; JBR). By comparing measures in moths to measures in Limulus, the authors might be able to address the question: Is the daily firing pattern of ORN neurons likely a conserved feature of circadian control of sensory sensitivity?

      (2) The methods need further details. For example, it is unclear if or how single neuron activity was discriminated and whether the results were compromised by the relatively large environmental fluctuations in temperature (21-27oC), humidity (35-60%), or other cues known to modulate spontaneous firing.

    2. Author response:

      Joint Public Review

      This manuscript puts forward the provocative idea that a posttranslational feedback loop regulates daily and ultradian rhythms in neuronal excitability. The authors used in vivo long-term tip recordings of the long trichoid sensilla of male hawkmoths to analyze spontaneous spiking activity indicative of the ORNs' endogenous membrane potential oscillations. This firing pattern was disrupted by pharmacological blockade of the Orco receptor. They then use these recordings together with computational modeling to predict that Orco receptor neuron (ORN) activity is required for circadian, not ultradian, firing patterns. Orco did not show a circadian expression pattern in a qPCR experiment, and its conductance was proposed to be regulated by cyclic nucleotide levels. This evidence led the authors to conclude that a post-translational feedback loop (PTFL) clockwork, associated with the ORN plasma membrane, allows for temporal control of pheromone detection via the generation of multi-scale endogenous membrane potential oscillations. The findings will interest researchers in neurophysiology, circadian rhythms, and sensory biology. However, the manuscript has limited experimental evidence to support its central hypothesis and is undermined by several questionable assumptions that underlie their data analysis and model builds, as well as insufficient biological data, including critical controls to validate and/or fully justify the model the authors are proposing.

      We thank the reviewers for their thorough and thoughtful comments and believe that the manuscript will be much stronger once we incorporate the requested changes.

      Please note that we used ORN as acronym for “olfactory receptor neuron” throughout the manuscript. ORNs contain odorant receptors (ORs), and in insects these ORs have to associate with the olfactory receptor co-receptor (Orco) in the cilium of the neuron to form functional OR-Orco complexes for odorant detection. Besides this chaperone function, Orco can form homomers with the potential to act as ionic pacemaker channels; a role which we explore in this study.

      Strengths:

      The study is notable for its combination of long-term in vivo tip recordings with computational modeling, which is technically challenging and adds weight to the authors' claims. The link between Orco, cyclic nucleotides, and circadian regulation is potentially important for sensory neuroscience, and the modeling framework itself - a stochastic Hodgkin-Huxley formulation that explicitly incorporates channel noise - is a solid and forward-looking contribution. Together, these elements make the study conceptually bold and of clear interest to circadian and olfactory biologists.

      Major weaknesses:

      At the same time, several limitations temper the conclusions. The pharmacological evidence relies on a single antagonist and concentration, without key controls. The circadian analysis is based on relatively small numbers of neurons, with rhythms detected only in subsets, and the alignment procedure used in constant darkness raises concerns of bias. The molecular evidence is sparse, with only three qPCR timepoints, and the model, while creative, rests on assumptions that are not yet fully supported by in vivo data.

      Please see our responses to the detailed comments.

      Detailed comments are provided below:

      (1) The role for Orco proposed in the authors' model largely stems from the effects seen following the administration of (a single dose) of the Orco antagonist, OLC15. However, this hypothesis is undercut by the lack of adequate pharmacological controls, including a basic multipoint OLC15 dose-response series in addition to the administration of blockers for the other channels that are embedded in their model, but which were ruled out as being involved in the modulation of biological rhythms. In addition, these studies would (ideally) also benefit from the inclusion of the same concentration (series) of an inactive OLC15 analog to better control for off-target effects.

      The Orco agonist VUAA1 (Jones et al., 2011) binds directly to Orco and increases the channel open time probability. In M. sexta hawkmoths, we have already published that VUAA 1 increases the low spontaneous activity of ORNs in a dose-dependent fashion (Nolte et al., 2016). Chen and Luetje (2012) systematically varied the chemical structure of VUAA1 to identify new Orco ligands and discovered 22 Orco Ligand Candidates (OLC) that either activated or inhibited Orco. In their heterologous expression system, Orco was most sensitive to inhibition by OLC15. Based on these results, we published a dose-response curve of OLC15 inhibition (1-100 µM) using in vivo tip recordings of pheromone-sensitive long trichoid sensilla of M. sexta (Nolte et al., 2016). In that study, we could also demonstrate that OLC15 antagonizes the VUAA1 activation of Orco.

      Furthermore, we tested other published Orco antagonists in in vivo assays in intact hawkmoths, focusing on amiloride-derived antagonists, because we previously identified an amiloride-sensitive cation channel in hawkmoth ORNs. We found that, in contrast to OLC15, the amilorides HMA and MIA were not Orco-specific but instead affected different targets depending on time-of-day (Nolte et al., 2016). Based on those experiments and the dose-response curves we determined that the Orco agonist VUAA1 (Jones et al., 2011) and the Orco antagonist OLC15 (Chen and Luetje, 2012) worked best in hawkmoth ORNs to target Orco pharmacologically. Based on comparative tests with other published Orco antagonists we settled since then in all further experiments on a dose of 50 µM OLC15.

      We will clarify the Methods section accordingly.

      (2) The expression pattern of Orco was assessed using qPCR at only three timepoints. Rhythmic transcripts can easily be missed with such sparse sampling (Hughes et al., 2017). A minimum of six evenly spaced timepoints across a 24-hour cycle would be required to confidently rule out circadian transcriptional regulation. In addition, the use of the timeless mRNA control from another study is not acceptable. Furthermore, qPCR analysis measures transcript abundance, not transcription, as the authors repeatedly state. Transcriptional studies would require nuclear run-off or, more recently, can be done with snRNAseq analysis. Taken together, these concerns undermine the authors' desire to rule out TTFL-based control that directly led them to implicate a PTTF-based model.

      We agree with the referees that more time points and a direct comparison between timeless and Orco mRNA levels should be included in this manuscript. We will include these additional qPCR experiments and edit the manuscript to make clear that we measure transcript abundance, but we will not perform snRNAseq analysis due to time- and financial constraints. We are currently working on the transcriptional control of Orco, both during ontogeny and throughout the day but this work in progress is beyond the scope of this manuscript.

      (3) The modelling presented is based on Orco as a ZT-dependent conductance tied to the cAMP oscillations that were reported by this group in the cockroach and from the presence and functionality in Manduca of homomeric Orco complexes that are devoid of tuning ORs. While these complexes have been generated in cell culture and other heterologous expression systems, as well as presumably exist in vivo in the Drosophila empty neuron and other tuning OR mutants, there is no evidence that these complexes exist in wild-type Manduca ORNs. While this doesn't necessarily undermine every aspect of their models, the authors should note the presence of Orco/OR complexes rather than Orco homomeric complexes.

      Our ELISAs found circadian oscillations in cAMP levels not only in antennae of the Madeira cockroach (Schendzielorz et al., 2014, 2012), but also in hawkmoth antennae (Schendzielorz et al., 2015). We will add the 2015 citation to the Modeling chapter in the Methods section to clarify this.

      We agree with the referees that we cannot distinguish between Orco homo- and heteromers in the different compartments of our hawkmoth ORNs. Thus, as the referee suggests, we will add text regarding the presence and localization of OR-Orco heteromers. However, we have indications that Orco homomers could indeed be present in the hawkmoth ORNs. In a heterologous expression system, MsexOrco expression alone was sufficient to increase intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> levels in response to VUAA1 application (Nolte et al., 2013). In differentiating primary cell cultures of hawkmoth antennae, Orco expression started during a developmental time window where ORNs did not yet express pheromone receptors, and Orco affected spontaneous activity (Nolte et al., 2016). Thus, Orco homomers are present in developing hawkmoth ORNs during a time window where ORNs already express spontaneous activity but cannot heteromerize with pheromone receptors. However, we do not know whether and in what ratio homo- and heteromers of Orco and ORs are present in the respective sensillum compartments of adult hawkmoths (Nolte et al., 2013; Stengl, 1994; Stengl and Hildebrand, 1990).

      We will clarify our manuscript accordingly.

      (4) Some aspects of the authors' models, most notably the decision to phase align/optimize their DD and OLC15 recordings, are likely to bias their interpretations.

      It is consensus that insects display daily and circadian rhythms in pheromone-dependent mating, odor-gated feeding, and egg-laying behavior that phase-locks to environmental rhythms, corresponding with daily/circadian rhythms of sensory neuron physiology (e.g., Merlin et al., 2007; Rymer et al., 2007; Schendzielorz et al., 2015, 2012). However, circadian rhythms can be easily masked by stress, like the disturbances during a very challenging long-term recording experiment over several days. In addition, we observed in our animal raising facility that in LD 17:7 light-dark cycles the originally nocturnal hawkmoths M. sexta distribute their activity patterns over the course of the day, finding nocturnal as well as diurnal hawkmoths. Thus, light-dark cycles were not enough to ensure phase-synchronized behavioral rhythms, and it is very likely that the nocturnal hawkmoths rely heavily on pheromone/odor dependent synchronization as also found in other moth species (Ghosh et al., 2024). Here, we used isolated males that were never exposed to the female pheromones so that their circadian activity patterns readily disperse. Therefore, it became necessary in free-running conditions to first determine the respective behavioral rhythm for each animal, and then to phase-align their activity patterns to allow for statistical analysis. Otherwise, circadian differences would average out in a free-running population. As requested by the referees in point (7), we will use additional tests for rhythmicity in each of our recordings and revise the manuscript accordingly.

      Assuming that hawkmoths need pheromone presence as additional Zeitgeber, we are currently working on a new set of experiments where we attempt to improve synchronization by exposure to LD cycles and pheromone before DD and OLC15 recordings. We will add these experiments to the manuscript.

      (5) The tip recordings from long trichoid sensilla are critical aspects of this study. These recordings were carried out on upper sensillar tips located on the distal-most second annulus. Since there are approximately 80 annuli on the Manduca antennae, it is unclear whether the recordings are representative of the antennal response.

      We think the reviewers might have misinterpreted our description of the recording site. In the Methods, we state that we clip off the 20 most distal annuli (leaving a stump of about 60 annuli) and insert the reference electrode into the flagellum up to the second annulus from the cut end, i.e., the recording site is located at 2/3 – 3/4 of the antenna length as seen from the head of the animal. We will make this more clear in the Methods section.

      In addition, our lab did show with antibody stainings against Orco that apparently all ORNs that innervate long and short trichoid sensilla along the whole flagellum express the same staining pattern (Nolte et al., 2016). Furthermore, our patch clamp recordings of primary cell cultures of whole male antennae found largely overlapping ion channel populations across ORNs. This would indicate that all ORNs, whether they express pheromone- or general odorant receptors, could potentially share the same Orco-dependent spontaneous activity rhythms. In our lab, different experimenters from different years that recorded from long trichoid sensilla on different annuli did not detect obvious differences in neither the spontaneous activity nor the pheromone responses (c.f., Dolzer et al., 2003; Gawalek and Stengl, 2018; Schneider et al., 2025). Thus, it is very likely that we are reporting a general encoding mechanism that is not locally restricted along the antennal flagellum.

      (5.1) The authors do not provide any data in support of their cAMP/cGMP-based Orco gating…

      There are publications supporting cyclic nucleotide gating of Orco in Drosophila, but only after previous phosphorylation via protein kinase C (PKC; review: (Wicher and Miazzi, 2021)). Since Orco is very conserved among insect species, it is likely that these PKC and cGMP/cAMP-dependent regulations are present in other insect species. We are currently running thorough tip-recording experiments on the regulation of Orco gating, which are beyond the scope of this manuscript. However, we will add a set of experiments to this manuscript that demonstrates cAMP gating of Orco.

      (5.2)… and the PTTF model proposed is somewhat disappointing.

      For a detailed introduction of our PTFL membrane clock hypothesis please see our opinion paper (Stengl and Schneider, 2024).

      (5.3) The model seems to be influenced by their long-held proposal that insect olfactory signaling has a critical metabotropic component involving cyclic nucleotides, PKC, etc, a view that may be influenced by the use of Orco homomeric complexes generated in HEK cells.

      Indeed, we propose a metabotropic pheromone-transduction cascade, which in moths and cockroaches is based on G-protein-mediated activation of phospholipase C but not on adenylyl cyclase activation. Our hypothesis is not influenced by HEK cell heterologous expression studies of Orco but is supported by our own work comparing in vivo tip recordings of intact hawkmoths with patch clamp experiments on hawkmoth primary cell cultures of olfactory receptor neurons, which are able to respond to their species-specific pheromones in vitro ((Schneider et al., 2025; Stengl, 2010; Stengl and Funk, 2013; Wicher and Miazzi, 2021). In addition, a multitude of publications by other laboratories with in vivo and in vitro studies using physiological, genetic, and immunocytochemical assays all support a metabotropic signal transduction cascade in insect olfaction (reviews: Stengl, 2010; Stengl and Funk, 2013; Wicher and Miazzi, 2021). In contrast, the hypothesis suggesting a solely ionotropic pheromone- and general odor-dependent transduction cascade for all insect species is based on very sparse experimental evidence, based primarily on heterologous expression studies such as HEK cells that lack the insect’s WT molecular surroundings, and thus, cannot predict OR-Orco function in vivo. Furthermore, the ionotropic hypothesis is heavily based upon the argument that an inverse 7TM receptor cannot couple to G-proteins, which lacks careful backup via biochemical and structural studies. In addition, the ionotropic hypothesis lacks support via carefully performed physiological in vivo studies in different insect species that paid attention to analysis of the distinct kinetic components of ORN´s odor/pheromone responses and that employ physiological concentrations and durations of odor/pheromone stimuli (please see our most recent publication by Schneider et al. (2025)).

      (5.4) Nevertheless, structural studies on Orco do not support a cyclic nucleotide binding site, although PKC-based phosphorylation has been implicated in the fine-tuning/adaptation of olfactory signaling.

      While structural studies did not find evidence for conserved known cyclic nucleotide binding sites on Orco, this does not exclude the presence of so far unknown binding sites, or via sites that fold out only after a specific sequence of previous phosphorylations of the many phosphorylation sites on Orco. Indeed, physiological studies in Drosophila presented evidence for cyclic nucleotide dependence of Orco after previous PKC-dependent phosphorylation (Getahun et al., 2013). Our ongoing in vivo experiments in hawkmoths further corroborate a PKC- and cAMP-dependent modulation of Orco. These studies will be published in a follow-up publication.

      (6) Because only 5/11 LD and 7/10 DD animals showed daily rhythms, with averages lacking clear daily modulation, the methods are not sufficiently reliable enough to reveal novel underlying mechanisms of circadian rhythm generation. The reported results are therefore not yet reliable or quantifiable. To quantify their results, the authors should apply tests for circadian rhythmicity using methods such as RAIN, JTK CYCLE, MetaCycle, or Echo. The use of FFT and Wavelet is applauded, but these methods do not have tests of significance for rhythms and can be biased when analyzing data in which there could only be 1-3 circadian cycles. Because the conclusions appear to be based on 11-12 neurons that were recorded for 2-4 days, the reader is concerned that the methods are not yet perfected to provide strong evidence for circadian regulation of spontaneous firing of ORNs. The average data (e.g., Figure 3Bii and 3Cii) highlight the apparent lack of daily rhythms. In summary, the results would be more compelling if more than 50% of the recordings had significant circadian amplitudes and with similar periods and phases.

      The long-term tip-recordings of intact hawkmoths are very challenging and take a very long time to accomplish, thus, we are very happy that we succeeded in obtaining so many of them (N=34). Since 5/11 LD recordings and 7/10 DD recordings revealed daily/circadian rhythmicity and since many other physiological recordings at different ZTs of different members of our laboratory all revealed ZT-dependent pheromone-transduction we can be certain that the physiology of hawkmoth antennae is under strict circadian control. Please see also our response to (4) above commenting the phase-dispersal of activity rhythms observed in our experiments, as well as in the behavior of hawkmoth males in the mating cage.

      Nevertheless, we will follow the advice of the referees to apply additional tests for significance of rhythms in spontaneous activity, and we are thankful for the tests suggested that we were not aware of.

      (7) The statement that circadian patterns of ORN firing are lost with the Orco antagonist (OLC15) is not strongly supported. The manuscript should be revised to quantify how Orco changed circadian amplitude in the 12 recorded neurons. Measures of circadian amplitude can avoid confusing/vague statements like Line 394 “low and high frequency bands appeared to merge during the activity phase around ZT 0 in the animals that showed clear circadian rhythms (N = 5 of 11 in LD)”. The conclusion that Orco blocks circadian firing appears to be contradicted by Figure 6, which indicates that ~6 of these neurons had circadian periods detected by wavelet. The manuscript would be strengthened with details about the specificity and reproducibility of the Orco antagonist. The authors quantify the gradual decrease in firing with the slope of a linear fit to estimate how the “effectiveness [of OLC15] increased over time.” They conclude that the drug “obliterated circadian rhythms and attenuated the spontaneous activity in several, but not all experiments (N = 8 of 12).” The report would be greatly strengthened with corroborating data from additional Orco antagonists and additional doses of OLC15 (the authors use only 50 uM OLC15).

      We will revise our data analysis, according to the valuable suggestions of the referees.

      However, based upon our previous studies with other Orco antagonists and different doses of OLC15 (Nolte et al., 2016) we found that 50 µM OLC15 is the best Orco antagonist dose in M. sexta to target Orco-dependent modulation of spontaneous action potential activity of hawkmoth olfactory receptor neurons. Please see also our response to (1).

      (8) The manuscript includes several statements that are more speculation than conclusion. For example, there is no evidence for tuning or plasticity in this report. Statements like the following should be removed or addressed with experiments that show changes in odor response specificity or sensitivity: "ORN signalosomes are highly plastic endogenous PTFL clocks comprising receptors for circadian and ultradian Zeitgebers that allow to tune into internal physiological and external environmental rhythms as basis for active sensing." (Discussion Line 622). The paper concludes that (line 380) "mean frequency of spontaneous spiking and the frequency of bursting expressed daily modulation, and are both most likely controlled via a circadian clock that targets the leak channel Orco." This is too bold given the available results.

      We will revise the discussion accordingly and clarify which statements are supported via published evidence and which are predictions based upon our novel hypothesis published in our opinion paper (Stengl and Schneider, 2024).

      (9.1) Because Orco conductance is modulated by cyclic nucleotides, it remains highly plausible that circadian regulation occurs upstream at the level of signaling pathways (e.g., calcium, calcium-binding proteins, GPCRs, cyclases, phosphodiesterases).

      We agree with the referees that it is very likely that there are multiple layers of interconnected feedback cycles that control Orco localization and activity. Our novel hypothesis suggests interlocked TTFL and PTFL control of physiological circadian rhythms, not strictly hierarchical TTFL control, which would require a daily turnover of membrane proteins and transcriptional control via the established TTFL clock in insect ORNs. We currently search for TTFL control at all levels of odor/pheromone transduction using ZT-dependent transcriptomics in combination with qPCR and single nuclear transcriptomics, involving also all the molecules suggested by the referees. These studies are ongoing, are very time- and money-consuming, and are beyond the scope of this manuscript.

      (9.2) The possibility that circadian oscillations of cyclic nucleotides are generated by the canonical TTFL mechanism has not been excluded. In fact, extensive work in Drosophila has demonstrated that the TTFL-based molecular clock proteins are required for circadian rhythms in olfaction.

      Our experiments that test circadian TTFL control at different levels of the cAMP transduction cascade in hawkmoth antennae are on the way and are part of another publication. We will revise our discussion accordingly.

      The experiments published for TTFL dependent control of Drosophila olfaction that we are aware of (Krishnan et al., 1999; Tanoue et al., 2004) do not exclude interlinked PTFL and TTFL clocks. Krishnan et al. (1999) demonstrate that the TTFL clock in antennal olfactory receptor neurons correlates with circadian rhythms in odor responses measured in electroantennogram (EAG) recordings, not in single sensillum recordings as in our experiments. EAG recordings comprise not only voltage responses of the olfactory sensory neurons but also voltage changes generated in non-neuronal antennal cells such as trichogen and tormogen cells that built the transepithelial potential gradient via vATPases that generates the high K<sup>+</sup> concentration in the sensillum lymph (Jain et al., 2024; Klein, 1992; Thurm and Küppers, 1980). In addition, EAG recordings most likely contain responses of afferent neurons originating from somata in the brain that maintain central control of the antennae. Thus, EAG recordings are difficult to interpret.

      (11) A defining feature of circadian oscillators is the feedback mechanism that generates a time delay (e.g., PERIOD/TIMELESS repressing their own transcription). While the authors describe how cyclic nucleotides can regulate Orco conductance, they do not provide a convincing explanation of how Orco activity could, in turn, feed back into the proposed PTFL to sustain oscillations. For these reasons, the authors should consider:

      a) Providing a broader discussion of non-TTFL models of circadian rhythms (e.g., redox cycles, post-translational modifications).

      We will revise the discussion accordingly.

      b) Reassessing Orco expression using a higher-resolution temporal sampling ({greater than or equal to}6 timepoints per 24 h).

      We will add those experiments to the revised version of the manuscript (see our response to (2)).

      c) Clarifying or revising the PTFL model to explicitly address how feedback would be achieved. Alternatively, the data may be more consistent with Orco conductance rhythms being regulated by post-translational mechanisms downstream of the canonical TTFL oscillator, as suggested by the Drosophila olfactory system literature.

      We will revise the manuscript accordingly.

      Minor weaknesses:

      (1) The authors should compare the firing patterns of ORN neurons to the bursts, clusters, and packets of retinal efferent spikes reported in Liu JS and Passaglia CL (2011; JBR). By comparing measures in moths to measures in Limulus, the authors might be able to address the question: Is the daily firing pattern of ORN neurons likely a conserved feature of circadian control of sensory sensitivity?

      We will revise the discussion accordingly.

      (2) The methods need further details. For example, it is unclear if or how single neuron activity was discriminated and whether the results were compromised by the relatively large environmental fluctuations in temperature (21-27oC), humidity (35-60%), or other cues known to modulate spontaneous firing.

      We will clarify the Methods section.

      References

      Chen S, Luetje CW. 2012. Identification of New Agonists and Antagonists of the Insect Odorant Receptor Co-Receptor Subunit. PLOS ONE 7:e36784. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036784

      Dolzer J, Fischer K, Stengl M. 2003. Adaptation in pheromone-sensitive trichoid sensilla of the hawkmoth Manduca sexta. J Exp Biol 206:1575–1588. doi:10.1242/jeb.00302

      Gawalek P, Stengl M. 2018. The Diacylglycerol Analogs OAG and DOG Differentially Affect Primary Events of Pheromone Transduction in the Hawkmoth Manduca sexta in a Zeitgebertime-Dependent Manner Apparently Targeting TRP Channels. Front Cell Neurosci 12:218. doi:10.3389/fncel.2018.00218

      Getahun MN, Olsson SB, Lavista-Llanos S, Hansson BS, Wicher D. 2013. Insect Odorant Response Sensitivity Is Tuned by Metabotropically Autoregulated Olfactory Receptors. PLOS ONE 8:e58889. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0058889

      Ghosh S, Suray C, Bozzolan F, Palazzo A, Monsempès C, Lecouvreur F, Chatterjee A. 2024. Pheromone-mediated command from the female to male clock induces and synchronizes circadian rhythms of the moth Spodoptera littoralis. Curr Biol 34:1414-1425.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.042

      Jain K, Prelic S, Hansson BS, Wicher D. 2024. Expression of Drosophila melanogaster V-ATPases in Olfactory Sensillum Support Cells. Insects 15:1016. doi:10.3390/insects15121016

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      Klein U. 1992. The insect V-ATPase, a plasma membrane proton pump energizing secondary active transport: immunological evidence for the occurrence of a V-ATPase in insect ion-transporting epithelia. J Exp Biol 172:345–354. doi:10.1242/jeb.172.1.345

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      Merlin C, Lucas P, Rochat D, François M-C, Maïbèche-Coisne M, Jacquin-Joly E. 2007. An Antennal Circadian Clock and Circadian Rhythms in Peripheral Pheromone Reception in the Moth Spodoptera littoralis. J Biol Rhythms 22:502–514. doi:10.1177/0748730407307737

      Nolte A, Funk NW, Mukunda L, Gawalek P, Werckenthin A, Hansson BS, Wicher D, Stengl M. 2013. In situ Tip-Recordings Found No Evidence for an Orco-Based Ionotropic Mechanism of Pheromone-Transduction in Manduca sexta. PLOS ONE 8:e62648. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0062648

      Nolte A, Gawalek P, Koerte S, Wei H, Schumann R, Werckenthin A, Krieger J, Stengl M. 2016. No Evidence for Ionotropic Pheromone Transduction in the Hawkmoth Manduca sexta. PLOS ONE 11:e0166060. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0166060

      Rymer J, Bauernfeind AL, Brown S, Page TL. 2007. Circadian rhythms in the mating behavior of the cockroach, Leucophaea maderae. J Biol Rhythms 22:43–57. doi:10.1177/0748730406295462

      Schendzielorz J, Schendzielorz T, Arendt A, Stengl M. 2014. Bimodal Oscillations of Cyclic Nucleotide Concentrations in the Circadian System of the Madeira Cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. J Biol Rhythms 29:318–331. doi:10.1177/0748730414546133

      Schendzielorz T, Peters W, Boekhoff I, Stengl M. 2012. Time of Day Changes in Cyclic Nucleotides Are Modified via Octopamine and Pheromone in Antennae of the Madeira Cockroach. J Biol Rhythms 27:388–397. doi:10.1177/0748730412456265

      Schendzielorz T, Schirmer K, Stolte P, Stengl M. 2015. Octopamine Regulates Antennal Sensory Neurons via Daytime-Dependent Changes in cAMP and IP3 Levels in the Hawkmoth Manduca sexta. PLOS ONE 10:e0121230. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0121230

      Schneider AC, Schröder K, Chang Y, Nolte A, Gawalek P, Stengl M. 2025. Hawkmoth Pheromone Transduction Involves G-Protein–Dependent Phospholipase Cβ Signaling. eNeuro 12:ENEURO.0376-24.2024. doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0376-24.2024

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    1. Synthèse de l'Audition sur l'État de la Santé Mentale en France

      Résuméf

      L'audition à la commission d'enquête de l'Assemblée nationale a mis en lumière un consensus alarmant sur l'état désastreux de la psychiatrie en France, particulièrement en pédopsychiatrie, qualifiée de "désastre absolu".

      Les experts, un pédopsychiatre-épidémiologiste et un psychanalyste-chercheur, s'accordent sur plusieurs points critiques : une dégradation continue du bien-être psychique de la population depuis 20 ans, une inversion préoccupante de la tendance à la baisse des suicides chez les jeunes depuis 2017, et une offre de soins totalement inadaptée face à une demande croissante, créant un "effet ciseau" dévastateur.

      Les défaillances du système sont jugées systémiques et profondes, impliquant une responsabilité partagée entre les psychiatres (pour leurs certitudes passées), les administrations ("il nous flingue"), les directeurs d'hôpitaux (gestion par "tableau Excel") et des politiques publiques inadaptées.

      La critique vise particulièrement le "New Public Management", qui applique des logiques de rentabilité au soin, et l'hégémonie d'une approche "scientiste" de l'Evidence-Based Medicine, jugée inefficace et inconsistante dans le champ de la santé mentale de l'enfant.

      Des dispositifs comme "Mon Soutien Psy" sont cités comme des exemples de "leviers qu'il ne fallait pas activer".

      Face à ce constat, les experts appellent à une réorientation radicale. Les leviers d'action prioritaires incluent la prévention, notamment la lutte contre la maltraitance infantile qui explique 50% des troubles futurs, et le renforcement des dispositifs institutionnels existants (CMP, CMPP, hôpitaux) plutôt que la création de nouvelles structures complexes.

      La formation de thérapeutes qualifiés et la revalorisation des pratiques cliniques pluridisciplinaires sont essentielles.

      Enfin, bien que le coût de l'inaction se chiffre en milliards d'euros, les experts soulignent que la solution n'est pas uniquement budgétaire mais réside dans une meilleure organisation des ressources existantes et dans des choix politiques courageux qui replacent la relation humaine et la complexité clinique au cœur du système de soin.

      1. État des Lieux : Un Constat Alarmant

      Les deux intervenants dressent un tableau extrêmement sombre de la situation psychiatrique en France, soulignant la nécessité de distinguer le "vécu anxio-dépressif" des pathologies cliniques et de se méfier des chiffres de prévalence bruts qui, pour des troubles dimensionnels comme la dépression, "ne veulent rien dire".

      1.1. Tendances Épidémiologiques Inquiétantes

      Le professeur Falissard, épidémiologiste, identifie une "quadruple interaction entre le temps, l'âge, le genre et la pathologie".

      Suicide et tentatives de suicide : Si la tendance globale sur 30 ans est à l'amélioration, une rupture nette est observée depuis 2017 chez les jeunes.

      • ◦ L'amélioration s'est stoppée pour les suicides chez les jeunes.  
      • ◦ Les suicides augmentent légèrement chez les jeunes filles.  
      • ◦ Les tentatives de suicide montent de "façon spectaculaire" chez les jeunes filles depuis 2017.

      Vécu anxio-dépressif : Le ressenti subclinique mesuré par Santé publique France se dégrade "de façon homogène" depuis 20 ans, touchant toutes les tranches d'âge et tous les genres.

      Pédopsychiatrie : La situation est décrite comme un "désastre absolu". Certains départements n'ont plus de pédopsychiatres, rendant la permanence des soins impossible.

      1.2. L'Effet Ciseau : Une Offre de Soins Débordée

      M. Tonou met en évidence l'écart croissant entre l'augmentation de la demande et le déficit de l'offre de soins, créant un "effet ciseau" aux conséquences désastreuses.

      Délais d'attente : Les délais pour une consultation spécialisée sont "insupportables", allant de 6 à 18 mois.

      À l'échelle d'un enfant de 3 à 6 ans, cela équivaut à un délai de 5 à 10 ans pour un adulte.

      Conséquences cliniques :

      ◦ Augmentation des hospitalisations en urgence.    ◦ Augmentation des passages à l'acte suicidaire.     ◦ Consommation accrue de psychotropes en pédiatrie, souvent hors autorisation de mise sur le marché (AMM).     ◦ Substitution des psychothérapies recommandées par le seul médicament, faute de moyens.

      Selon les estimations, 13% de la population française serait concernée par un trouble mental, soit 1,5 million d'enfants et 9 millions de personnes au total.

      2. Défaillances Systémiques et Critiques de la Gouvernance

      Les experts s'accordent sur le fait que la crise actuelle est le résultat d'une série de défaillances à tous les niveaux du système. La responsabilité est "partagée" et les erreurs stratégiques des pouvoirs publics sont pointées du doigt.

      2.1. Une Responsabilité Partagée

      Le professeur Falissard insiste : "tout le monde est responsable du fait qu'aujourd'hui c'est une catastrophe".

      Acteur

      Critique

      Les psychiatres

      Ont eu le tort au 20e siècle de croire détenir une vérité unique (la psychanalyse), ce qui a nui aux patients, notamment dans l'autisme. Ce n'est plus le cas pour 90% des praticiens aujourd'hui.

      L'Administration et la Tutelle

      "Il ne nous aide pas, il nous flingue". Des réglementations absurdes (ex: conventions pour les orthophonistes en CMP) bloquent concrètement la prise en charge des enfants.

      Le Délégué Interministériel (TND)

      Est qualifié d'"antipsychiatre", accusé d'empêcher la construction de soins avec une "lubie scientiste" et une recherche de solutions simplistes à des problèmes complexes.

      Les Directeurs d'Hôpitaux

      Privilégient une gestion comptable ("Le tableau Excel il est bien rempli") au détriment de la qualité des soins, menant à des catastrophes (ex: aide-soignant d'orthopédie remplaçant une infirmière psy, conduisant à des abus sexuels).

      Les Parents

      Sont souvent "partie du problème", plaçant les soignants dans une situation complexe entre le devoir de protection de l'enfant et l'impératif d'inclure les parents dans le soin.

      2.2. Erreurs Stratégiques de Gouvernance

      M. Tonou identifie deux phénomènes majeurs qui ont sapé les fondements du soin psychique :

      1. Le New Public Management : La gestion des structures publiques comme des entreprises, substituant "la rentabilité et le profit au principe fondateur des missions de services publics".

      2. L'Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) : Son déploiement pour évaluer la psychiatrie s'est révélé "tout à fait inconsistant dans le domaine de la santé mentale de l'enfant", avec "aucune avancée en terme de diagnostic, aucune avancée en terme de traitement".

      Plusieurs initiatives sont citées comme des "archétypes de ce qu'il ne faudrait pas faire" :

      • Le dispositif Mon Soutien Psy.

      • La stratégie TND 2023-2027.

      • Le cas des centres experts et de la Fondation FondaMental, critiqués pour leur approche qui dissocie le diagnostic du soin, leur absence de résultats concrets (zéro marqueur biologique trouvé) et les biais scientifiques de leurs études d'efficacité.

      3. Prévention et Pistes d'Amélioration

      Plutôt que de chercher des solutions simplistes, les experts appellent à revenir aux fondamentaux du soin, de la prévention et à mieux organiser les ressources existantes.

      3.1. La Prévention comme Levier Principal

      Lutte contre la maltraitance : La prévention primaire, c'est "éviter les abus sur les enfants".

      Cela "explique 50 % de la variance des problèmes psychiatriques des adolescents et des adultes après".

      L'Aide Sociale à l'Enfance (ASE), qui devrait être le bras armé de cette prévention, est elle-même "un désastre absolu".

      Facteurs de risque sociaux : La lutte contre la pauvreté, la précarité et l'exclusion est une politique de prévention en santé mentale.

      "Lorsque je propose une aide sociale à une famille en difficulté [...] je préviens aussi un risque de santé mentale".

      Milieu scolaire : Réduire le nombre d'élèves par classe (le seuil de 17 élèves est cité comme optimal pour l'apprentissage de la lecture) est un levier puissant pour la santé mentale des enfants.

      3.2. Renforcer l'Existant et Former les Acteurs

      La priorité n'est pas de créer de nouveaux dispositifs, mais de soutenir les institutions et les pratiques qui ont fait leurs preuves.

      Soutenir les institutions : "S'il y avait qu'une chose à retenir, c'est celle-là".

      Il faut "rouvrir des places, des lits à l'hôpital, dans les services spécialisés, les CMP, les CMPP". Il faut cesser de "déshabiller le CMP" pour "abonder les centres experts".

      Repenser la formation :

      ◦ La question centrale n'est pas "quelle est la bonne thérapie ?" mais "qui est un bon thérapeute ?".

      L'effet du clinicien est largement supérieur à l'effet spécifique de la thérapie.    *   ◦ Il n'existe pas de formation universitaire pour les psychothérapies en France.    *  ◦ Il faut recréer des formations intermédiaires pour les infirmiers, sur le modèle d'une spécialisation locale d'un an ("infirmiers plus un"), car le modèle des Infirmières en Pratique Avancée (IPA) est trop lourd et coûteux.

      Valoriser la diversité des approches : La spécificité française réside dans une grande diversité de pratiques (psychanalyse, thérapies familiales, psychothérapie institutionnelle) qui "font leur preuve dans la clinique". Toute tentative de réduire cette diversité "va se payer par du moins de soins".

      4. Enjeux Économiques et Budgétaires

      Le débat sur les moyens financiers révèle une tension entre la nécessité de prouver l'efficacité économique des investissements et la conviction que le soin aux plus vulnérables relève d'un "pacte démocratique" non quantifiable.

      4.1. Le Coût de l'Inaction

      M. Tonou propose une méthode pour chiffrer le "coût de l'inaction", qui se calculerait en milliards d'euros.

      Exemple de calcul : Pour un coût moyen estimé de 10 000 € par an et par patient, une meilleure prise en charge permettant de réduire ces coûts de 20% générerait une économie de 3,9 milliards d'euros en population pédiatrique et de 18 milliards d'euros en population générale.

      Finalité : Démontrer que "le coût de l'inaction est beaucoup plus élevé que des politiques volontaires et cohérentes".

      4.2. Une Question d'Organisation plus que de Moyens ?

      Le professeur Falissard adopte une posture provocatrice : "Ça n'est pas une question de moyen".

      Gains d'efficience : "Nous pourrions faire beaucoup mieux avec la même quantité d'argent". Il pointe l'argent alloué à des dispositifs coûteux et peu efficaces (ex: hospitalisations de semaine pour bilans TDAH) alors que les urgences ne sont pas financées.

      Inefficacité des études médico-économiques : Il affirme que les études prouvant le sous-financement de la psychiatrie "n'ont servi à rien".

      Injustice de l'allocation des ressources : Il dénonce une inégalité fondamentale : "On n'a pas le même argent selon les maladies qu'on a en France".

      Des traitements à 2 millions d'euros sont remboursés pour certaines maladies rares, tandis qu'il n'y a "pas 3000 € pour une tentative de suicide chez une adolescente".

      La rationalité économique ne s'applique pas à la psychiatrie en France.

      La conclusion partagée est que la priorité absolue est de mieux organiser le système, en se basant sur les acteurs de terrain ("pas des gens en costard-cravate") pour redéfinir les priorités et optimiser les dépenses.

    1. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite and the causative agent of Toxoplasmosis. Parasite invasion into host cells, intracellular replication, and then egress, which results in the destruction of the infected cell, is central to pathogenicity. This manuscript focuses on understanding how maternal resources (in this case, cellular organelles) are shared between daughter parasites during cell division. Many organelles are single copy, meaning that division and inheritance by the daughters is crucial for successful replication. The major strength of this study was the use of a Halo-based pulse chase assay to characterize patterns of organelle inheritance. The results show that both microneme and rhoptries (secretory vesicles) previously thought to be synthesized de novo are inherited by daughter parasites. Thus, this paper adds new insight to our understanding of cell division in this important parasite.

      Strengths:

      This study demonstrated that pulse labeling of proteins can be used to monitor protein synthesis, turnover, and movement. This approach will be of great interest to the field. Using this method, the authors demonstrate three main modes of organelle inheritance.

      (1) Organelles, where there are multiple copies (such as secretory vesicles, micronemes, and rhoptries), are divided between the daughter parasites, with additional contribution of newly formed vesicles. New and old material remain as separate entities in the cell.

      (2) Single-copy organelles, which are expanded to include newly synthesized material prior to division, such as the Golgi and apicoplast.

      (3) Cytoskeletal structures that are synthesized anew during each round of division. These studies provide more refined insight into patterns or organelle inheritance and demonstrate that secretory organelles are not made de novo during each round of division as previously thought. The paper has a logical flow, and overall, the data is presented in a clear and organized fashion.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) Descriptions of methodology and statistical analysis were incomplete.

      (2) There are inconsistencies between the data in Figures 1 and 5. In Figure 1, a small amount of maternal IMC is visible in stage 2 parasites. Although this is a ~90% reduction, these parasites should be quantified as parasites with material IMC. However, the graph in Figure 5C indicates that no material parasites have GAPM1a, given that graph 5C is a binary measure (present vs. absent), one would expect a non-zero percent of parasites to have maternal material.

      (3) The conclusion from Figure 6 was not justified based on the data. I agree with the author's conclusion that the accumulation of micronemes and rhoptries in the residual body was time-dependent. In Figure 6A, the signal observed in the residual body at times 6:30, 13, and 14 hours is not observed in subsequent time points. However, the fate of these micronemes and rhoptries is unclear. It cannot be concluded that these vesicles are recycled back to the mother. They could also have been degraded. In fact, the graphs of microneme inheritance in Figure 2B show a decrease in maternal signal from 100% to 80% between stages 1 and 2, indicating that some microneme degradation is taking place.

      (4) To convincingly demonstrate that the redistribution of micronemes and rhoptries was due to recovery of MyoF protein levels after auxin washout, a Western blot should be performed to show MyoF protein levels over time. In addition, the decrease in mMIC2 protein levels in the residual body in Figure 8F should be measured and normalized for photobleaching. Both apical and basal signals appear to be reduced over the time course of imaging.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Knoerzer-Suckow et al. explore the mechanisms of organelle inheritance during endodyogeny in Toxoplasma gondii using an innovative dual-labeling approach to track the distribution of maternal organelles into daughter parasites. They can clearly distinguish between maternal and daughter-derived organelles using their dual-labeling Halo Tag approach. They reveal that different organelles are trafficked to daughter parasites in three broad patterns, which they have binned into groups. Their findings reveal a role for MyoF in the inheritance of micronemes and rhoptries, and notably, they observe that the inner membrane complex (IMC) is not recycled. Instead, the IMC undergoes a pronounced relocalization to the posterior of the maternal cell, where it is likely targeted for degradation.

      Strengths:

      The data surrounding their MyoF knockdown experiments, IMC degradation, and trafficking of MIC2 after auxin washout are compelling. These data add to the knowledge of how organelle inheritance occurs in T. gondii, increasing the field's understanding of endodyogeny.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) The evidence provided to support the claim that microneme and rhoptry inheritance specifically traffics through the residual body does not sufficiently substantiate the claim. The temporal resolution of the imaging is inadequate to precisely trace the path of microneme and rhoptry inheritance. From the data shown in the manuscript, it can be concluded that at least some of the micronemes and rhoptries might be recycled through the residual body, but it is unclear whether many or most of these organelles do so.

      (2) The absence of specific markers for the residual body brings into question whether microneme inheritance occurs through a discrete residual body or simply via the basal end of the maternal parasite. The authors need a robust way to visualize and define the residual body to claim that micronemes and rhoptries are specifically transported through this structure.

    1. Analyse de la Politique de Santé Mentale et de Psychiatrie en France

      Synthèse

      Ce document de synthèse analyse l'état actuel et les perspectives d'évolution des politiques publiques de santé mentale et de psychiatrie en France, en se basant sur les auditions de la délégation ministérielle dédiée.

      Il en ressort un constat central : après plus de trente ans de négligence, où la santé mentale a été le "parent pauvre des politiques publiques", un tournant majeur a été amorcé en 2018 avec la "Feuille de route santé mentale et psychiatrie".

      Cette initiative marque une rupture, symbolisant un engagement politique et financier inédit pour rattraper des décennies de défaillances structurelles.

      La crise Covid-19 a agi comme un révélateur, exacerbant les vulnérabilités préexistantes du système de soins (pénurie de soignants, hospitalo-centrisme, manque de prévention) et de la population (dégradation de la santé mentale des jeunes, des femmes et des précaires).

      Le système actuel est décrit comme largement "illisible", constitué d'une "multitude de particularismes" et freiné par un modèle de financement "anesthésiant" qui décourage l'innovation.

      Face à ces défis, une stratégie de transformation profonde est proposée, articulée autour de plusieurs axes fondamentaux :

      1. Une gouvernance refondée et interministérielle : Inspirée du modèle du handicap, elle vise à coordonner l'ensemble des politiques publiques ayant un impact sur la santé mentale, en impliquant tous les ministères concernés.

      2. Une programmation pluriannuelle : Pour sortir de la logique budgétaire annuelle (PLFSS) et donner de la visibilité financière et stratégique aux réformes sur le moyen et long terme.

      3. Une organisation graduée des soins : Renforcer les premières lignes (médecine générale, psychologues, Maisons des adolescents) pour mieux orienter les patients et réserver les services de psychiatrie hautement spécialisés aux cas les plus complexes.

      4. Des réformes structurelles du financement et des autorisations : Introduire des mécanismes incitatifs pour encourager l'innovation, les soins ambulatoires et la coopération entre tous les acteurs d'un territoire (public, privé, associatif).

      L'enjeu humain reste crucial, avec une crise d'attractivité des métiers liée non seulement à la pénurie mais aussi à une "blessure morale" des soignants due à la perte de sens.

      La dynamique actuelle, portée par une mobilisation politique et sociétale sans précédent, représente un "momentum" unique pour amplifier et accélérer ces réformes.

      Analyse Détaillée

      Un Héritage de Négligence Structurelle

      Pendant plus de 30 ans, la santé mentale a été marginalisée dans les politiques publiques, une situation illustrée par plusieurs facteurs structurels :

      Le "parent pauvre" des politiques de santé : Ce statut s'est traduit par une considération "à part" des patients, des familles et des professionnels, tant dans le système de santé que dans la société.

      Une sous-valorisation financière : L'Objectif national de dépenses d'assurance maladie (Ondam) pour la psychiatrie a systématiquement progressé moins vite que l'Ondam pour la médecine, la chirurgie et l'obstétrique (MCO).

      Un pilotage financier "anesthésiant" : Le modèle de la dotation annuelle de fonctionnement (DAF) a largement contribué à freiner l'innovation et l'adaptation de l'offre de soins face à des besoins populationnels croissants.

      Une offre de soins illisible : L'absence de pilotage stratégique fort a conduit à une "multitude de particularismes" territoriaux, rendant le système complexe et difficile à naviguer pour les usagers, les familles et même les professionnels.

      Des familles en sont réduites à déménager pour accéder à un secteur de psychiatrie jugé plus performant.

      Une faible culture des données probantes : Malgré l'existence de nombreuses études validées sur les prises en charge efficaces, le secteur a peu intégré ces "données probantes" dans ses pratiques.

      La Feuille de Route de 2018 : Une Rupture et un Nouvel Élan

      La "Feuille de route santé mentale et psychiatrie", lancée en 2018, est présentée comme une "rupture par rapport à une aboulie de plus de 30 ans".

      Elle constitue le point de départ d'une politique de rattrapage, marquée par un engagement politique et financier inédit.

      Qualité et alignement international : La feuille de route est jugée de qualité et conforme aux standards internationaux.

      Enrichissements successifs : Elle a été constamment renforcée par des jalons importants comme le Ségur de la santé, les Assises de la santé mentale et de la psychiatrie, les Assises de la pédiatrie, et les annonces dans le cadre de la grande cause nationale.

      Continuité politique : Malgré une forte instabilité ministérielle (le délégué ministériel a "survécu à 10 ministres de la santé"), la feuille de route a été systématiquement reconduite et enrichie, assurant une forme de continuité dans l'action publique.

      Premiers effets visibles : Les réformes structurelles engagées commencent à porter leurs fruits, bien que leur plein impact ne soit attendu qu'à moyen terme.

      Les Vulnérabilités Révélées par la Crise Sanitaire

      La crise du Covid-19 a amplifié des fragilités structurelles anciennes, sans pour autant en être la cause première.

      Vulnérabilités du système de soins :

      ◦ Manque de soignants et départs de l'hôpital public.    ◦ Débits de formation insuffisants.    ◦ Un "hospitalo-centrisme" persistant.    ◦ Pauvreté de la santé primaire et des politiques de prévention.    ◦ Fortes hétérogénéités territoriales.

      Vulnérabilités de la population :

      ◦ Une dégradation de la santé mentale des jeunes, des femmes et des personnes en situation de précarité, un phénomène observé à l'échelle européenne et mondiale.

      Vers un Changement de Paradigme : Stratégie et Réformes Proposées

      Pour répondre à ces défis systémiques, un changement de paradigme est préconisé, s'appuyant sur des réformes profondes de la gouvernance, de la planification et de l'organisation des soins.

      Refonder la Gouvernance sur un Modèle Interministériel

      L'action sur les déterminants de la santé mentale (logement, emploi, lutte contre les violences, addictions) ne relève pas du seul ministère de la Santé. Une gouvernance interministérielle est donc jugée indispensable.

      Structure Proposée

      Fréquence

      Objectif

      Comité Interministériel

      Annuelle

      Définir, coordonner et évaluer les politiques publiques en faveur de la santé mentale, sur le modèle du Comité Interministériel du Handicap (CIH).

      Conférence Nationale

      Triennale

      Débattre des orientations et des moyens des politiques de santé mentale, en réunissant l'ensemble des parties prenantes.

      Comité des Parties Prenantes

      À définir

      Formaliser un organe consultatif pour assurer la participation active des usagers, familles, professionnels et autres acteurs.

      Délégation Ministérielle

      Renforcée

      Renforcer ses moyens (objectif de 8 agents) pour lui confier la coordination et le pilotage de la feuille de route devenue interministérielle.

      Instaurer une Programmation Pluriannuelle

      Le cycle budgétaire annuel du Projet de Loi de Financement de la Sécurité Sociale (PLFSS) est un obstacle à la mise en œuvre de réformes structurelles.

      La nécessité d'une vision à long terme est soulignée, avec un plaidoyer pour une loi de programmation qui garantirait une visibilité financière et stratégique sur plusieurs années.

      Cette approche permettrait d'investir dans des actions de prévention dont les bénéfices, notamment en termes de "coût évité", ne sont mesurables que sur la durée.

      Organiser l'Offre de Soins : Gradation et Coordination

      Le système actuel est marqué par un héritage où "tout allait à la psychiatrie". La stratégie proposée vise à structurer une offre de soins graduée :

      1. Renforcer les premières lignes : La médecine générale, les dispositifs comme "MonSoutienPsy" et les Maisons des adolescents doivent jouer un rôle de filtre pour les troubles légers à modérés et "refroidir" un certain nombre de situations.

      2. Réserver la psychiatrie spécialisée : Le secteur de psychiatrie, avec ses équipes hautement spécialisées (psychiatres, psychologues, IPA, psychomotriciens), doit se concentrer sur les cas les plus complexes et graves.

      3. Coordonner tous les acteurs : La réforme des autorisations vise à obliger les différents offreurs de soins d'un territoire (public sectorisé, public non sectorisé, privé) à sortir de leurs "couloirs de nage" pour s'articuler fonctionnellement et se répartir la charge des besoins.

      4. Inciter à l'innovation : La réforme du mode de financement introduit des compartiments financiers incitatifs pour encourager les pratiques orientées vers le rétablissement, l'ambulatoire et les alternatives à l'hospitalisation, notamment sans consentement.

      La Nécessité d'un "Grand Texte" Clarificateur

      Un texte de loi est jugé crucial pour clarifier la politique de santé mentale, remettre de l'ordre dans les "particularismes" et définir des standards de prise en charge basés sur les données probantes.

      Enjeux Cruciaux : Ressources Humaines et Évaluation

      L'Attractivité des Métiers : Au-delà de la Pénurie

      La crise de l'attractivité en psychiatrie est multifactorielle :

      Pénurie et burnout : La pénurie de personnel génère une surcharge de travail pour les équipes en place, créant un cercle vicieux.

      "Blessure morale" : Plus profondément, les soignants expriment une perte de sens. Ils sont confrontés à des situations qui violent leur éthique professionnelle (ex: maintenir un patient attaché pendant plusieurs jours sur un brancard faute de lit), ce qui génère une "blessure morale".

      Redonner du sens : Les dispositifs innovants (ex: équipes mobiles de crise financées par le Fonds d'Innovation Organisationnelle en Psychiatrie - FIOP) rencontrent moins de difficultés de recrutement car ils s'inscrivent dans un projet clair et porteur de sens.

      Formation : La réforme du DES de psychiatrie, en instaurant un passage obligatoire en pédopsychiatrie plus tôt dans le cursus, vise à améliorer l'attractivité de cette spécialité. Pour les infirmières, un renforcement des modules de santé mentale dans la formation initiale et un meilleur accompagnement à la prise de poste ("onboarding") sont des pistes explorées.

      Développer une Culture de l'Évaluation

      La France est jugée en retard sur l'évaluation de ses politiques publiques.

      Le coût de l'inaction : Des études, notamment anglo-saxonnes, démontrent les coûts socio-économiques phénoménaux de la non-prise en charge des troubles mentaux (estimés à 163 milliards d'euros par an en France par la Fondation FondaMental).

      L'argument du "coût évité" : Investir dans la prévention est économiquement vertueux. Par exemple, il est démontré qu'1€ investi dans des soins psychologiques de première ligne permet d'économiser entre 1,4€ et 1,6€. Cet argument peine cependant à être pris en compte dans les arbitrages budgétaires annuels.

      Évaluation des politiques publiques : Un ensemble d'indicateurs a été mis au point pour suivre les effets de la feuille de route, ce qui constitue une exception. Il reste à développer cette culture au niveau local pour évaluer l'efficacité des dispositifs innovants financés par appels à projets.

    1. Synthèse de l'audition de Santé publique France sur la santé mentale et le handicap

      Résumé

      L'audition de Santé publique France devant la commission d'enquête met en lumière une dégradation persistante de la santé mentale de la population française depuis la pandémie de Covid-19, touchant particulièrement les jeunes de 18 à 24 ans et les femmes.

      Les données de surveillance révèlent une prévalence élevée des troubles dépressifs et anxieux, avec un décalage majeur entre les besoins et le recours effectif aux soins.

      Près de la moitié des adultes ayant connu un épisode dépressif caractérisé n'ont eu aucun recours thérapeutique.

      Les principaux freins identifiés sont le coût des consultations, la difficulté à se confier et le manque d'information.

      Concernant les personnes en situation de handicap, l'agence souligne une lacune importante dans les données de surveillance, rendant difficile la caractérisation fiable de leur état de santé et de leur prise en charge.

      L'accès aux données des Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH) est identifié comme un levier majeur d'amélioration.

      Face à ces constats, Santé publique France insiste sur l'importance cruciale de la prévention.

      Les stratégies préconisées incluent le renforcement des compétences psychosociales dès l'enfance, la lutte contre la stigmatisation via des campagnes d'information et la promotion de la santé mentale positive. Des dispositifs comme le programme "Vigilance", qui a démontré un retour sur investissement positif (€1 investi pour €2 économisés en coûts de santé), sont mis en avant comme des modèles à généraliser pour une approche économiquement vertueuse de la santé publique.

      1. Rôle et Méthodes de Surveillance de Santé publique France

      Santé publique France, agence de santé publique créée en 2016, fonde ses missions sur un triple objectif :

      1. Anticiper et répondre aux crises sanitaires, notamment par la gestion des stocks stratégiques de produits de santé et la mobilisation de la réserve sanitaire.

      2. Surveiller l'état de santé de la population sur l'ensemble du territoire, y compris ultramarin, en couvrant les maladies infectieuses, chroniques et les expositions environnementales.

      3. Développer la prévention et promouvoir la santé.

      Pour la surveillance de la santé mentale, l'agence s'appuie sur plusieurs sources de données complémentaires :

      Les enquêtes en population générale :

      • ◦ Réalisées sur des échantillons aléatoires, elles utilisent des questionnaires et des échelles de santé mentale pour évaluer l'état de la population sans poser de diagnostic individuel.  

      • ◦ Exemples notables : le Baromètre de Santé publique France (adultes), l'enquête ENABI (enfants de 3 à 11 ans, réalisée en milieu scolaire en 2022), et l'enquête EnCLASS (collégiens).   

      • ◦ Pendant la crise sanitaire, l'enquête Coviprêve a permis un suivi plus rapide, bien que moins détaillé.

      Les bases de données médico-administratives :

      ◦ Le Système National des Données de Santé (SNDS) est une source majeure d'informations.  

      ◦ Les données des services d'urgence (motifs de passage) et de SOS Médecins permettent un suivi en temps réel de certains indicateurs comme les troubles anxieux ou les tentatives de suicide.

      L'ensemble de ces données permet d'obtenir une "photographie en vie réelle" de la santé mentale des Français, contribuant à l'élaboration de stratégies de prévention et de campagnes d'information.

      2. État des Lieux de la Santé Mentale en France

      2.1. Une Dégradation Post-Covid Durable

      La surveillance épidémiologique confirme une dégradation nette de la santé mentale de la population française par rapport à la période pré-Covid.

      Populations les plus touchées : Les jeunes adultes de 18 à 24 ans, les jeunes filles et les femmes en général présentent les indicateurs les plus dégradés.

      Persistance : Les différents indicateurs de santé mentale se maintiennent à un niveau élevé, sans retour aux niveaux d'avant la crise sanitaire. Les causes sont multifactorielles (éco-anxiété, système économique, mais aussi une plus grande déclaration due à une libération de la parole).

      2.2. Données Clés sur la Prévalence des Troubles

      Les enquêtes récentes fournissent des chiffres préoccupants :

      Population Cible

      Indicateur

      Donnée Chiffrée

      Source (Année)

      Adultes (18-79 ans)

      Épisode dépressif caractérisé (12 derniers mois)

      1 adulte sur 6

      Baromètre SPF (2024)

      Adultes (18-79 ans)

      Trouble anxieux (12 derniers mois)

      6 % de la population

      Baromètre SPF (2024)

      Enfants (6-11 ans)

      Trouble probable de la santé mentale

      Plus d'1 enfant sur 10

      ENABI (2022)

      Enfants (tous âges)

      Consultation d'un professionnel pour des raisons psychologiques/d'apprentissage

      1 enfant sur 5

      ENABI (2022)

      Collégiens

      Consultation d'un psychiatre au cours de leur vie

      1 tiers des collégiens

      EnCLASS

      2.3. Le Non-Recours aux Soins : Un Enjeu Majeur

      Un décalage important est observé entre les besoins exprimés ou mesurés et le recours effectif à une prise en charge.

      Épisodes dépressifs : Près de la moitié (50 %) des personnes déclarant un épisode dépressif n'ont eu "aucun recours thérapeutique" (ni professionnel, ni traitement).

      Troubles anxieux : Cette proportion est de 1 personne sur 3.

      Profils concernés : Le non-recours aux soins est plus élevé chez les hommes que chez les femmes.

      Situations critiques : Près de 40 % des personnes déclarant une tentative de suicide ne se sont pas présentées à l'hôpital et n'ont pas consulté de professionnel de santé par la suite.

      2.4. Les Freins à la Consultation

      L'enquête Coviprêve a permis d'identifier les principaux obstacles au recours aux soins en santé mentale :

      • 1. Le prix de la consultation (cité par près de la moitié des répondants).

      • 2. La difficulté à se confier ou la peur de ce qu'ils pourraient découvrir sur eux-mêmes.

      • 3. Le manque d'information sur les professionnels et leur rôle.

      • 4. La difficulté à obtenir un rendez-vous.

      • 5. La peur que l'entourage l'apprenne (stigmatisation).

      • 3. La Situation Spécifique des Personnes en Situation de Handicap

      Santé publique France reconnaît un manque de données structurées concernant l'état de santé des personnes en situation de handicap.

      Limites de la surveillance : La surveillance de cette population n'entre pas "strictement" dans les missions de l'agence, bien qu'elle soit incluse dans les enquêtes générales.

      Difficultés de caractérisation : Il est difficile d'identifier et de caractériser de manière fiable ces personnes dans les bases de données. L'Allocation Adulte Handicapé (AAH) est le principal repère, mais elle ne couvre que les adultes en âge de travailler avec des handicaps reconnus comme sévères.

      Besoin crucial de données : L'agence attend avec impatience la remontée des données des Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH) dans le SNDS, ce qui constituerait un "saut qualitatif et quantitatif" pour mieux orienter les politiques publiques.

      Vulnérabilités observées : Les données existantes montrent que les bénéficiaires de l'AAH sont "proportionnellement plus concernés par des événements cardiovasculaires graves".

      4. Stratégies de Prévention et Pistes d'Amélioration

      Face à ces constats, Santé publique France place la prévention au cœur de sa stratégie.

      4.1. Axes de Prévention

      Prévention primaire :

      Compétences psychosociales (CPS) : Développer dès le plus jeune âge (école, associations sportives) des capacités à gérer le stress, communiquer, résoudre des problèmes.

      Cette approche, inspirée des modèles anglo-saxons, est de plus en plus acceptée et intégrée, notamment par l'Éducation Nationale.  

      Promotion de la santé mentale positive : Informer sur les comportements protecteurs (activité physique, sommeil, altruisme, pensée positive) au même titre que la santé physique.

      Lutte contre la stigmatisation :

      • ◦ Mener des campagnes d'information pour dédramatiser les troubles psychiques.  

      • ◦ Mettre à disposition des ressources grand public comme le site santémentaleinfoservice.fr.

      Prévention tertiaire (prévention de la récidive) :

      ◦ Le dispositif Vigilance, qui consiste à rappeler les personnes ayant fait une tentative de suicide six mois après leur passage aux urgences, a fait l'objet d'une évaluation médico-économique très positive. Il est en cours de déploiement dans toutes les régions.

      4.2. Pistes d'Amélioration

      Santé publique France identifie plusieurs axes pour améliorer la connaissance et l'action :

      • Mieux caractériser les personnes en situation de handicap dans les bases médico-administratives et médico-sociales.

      • Mieux documenter la santé et le rôle des aidants.

      • Poursuivre et développer les enquêtes en milieu scolaire pour un dépistage précoce.

      • Renforcer l'information sur les signes de souffrance psychique et les parcours de soins gradués.

      5. Enjeux Économiques et Décisionnels

      L'audition a souligné la dimension économique de la santé mentale et l'importance de convaincre les décideurs publics d'investir dans la prévention.

      Coût des troubles psychiques : Estimé à 109 milliards d'euros pour la société française, dont près de la moitié en perte de productivité.

      Retour sur investissement de la prévention :

      • ◦ L'évaluation du dispositif Vigilance montre que 1 € investi permet d'économiser 2 € de coûts de santé, avec un coût moyen évité de 248 € par patient.  
      • ◦ Santé publique France s'engage à évaluer de plus en plus le retour sur investissement de ses actions.

      Nécessité d'un plaidoyer : L'agence travaille au développement d'indicateurs sur le "fardeau de la maladie" (Global Burden of Disease) pour objectiver le poids des troubles sur la société et justifier les investissements en prévention.

      Le manque de données fiables, notamment à un niveau territorial fin, reste un obstacle pour convaincre les acteurs locaux.

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    1. Briefing : Prise en Charge de la Santé Mentale et du Handicap en France

      Résumé

      Ce document de synthèse analyse les enjeux majeurs de la prise en charge de la santé mentale en France, en se basant sur les échanges tenus à l'Assemblée nationale.

      Il en ressort un paradoxe central : malgré des efforts budgétaires significatifs et le déploiement de dispositifs structurants, le secteur de la psychiatrie est en proie à une crise profonde, principalement due à une pénurie critique de ressources humaines.

      Les points à retenir sont les suivants :

      1. Crise d'Attractivité Sévère : La psychiatrie souffre d'un déficit majeur d'attractivité, avec plus de 23 % de postes de praticiens hospitaliers vacants dans le secteur public et 30 % des postes d'internes non pourvus.

      Cette pénurie, qualifiée de "cercle vicieux", entrave la capacité du système à répondre à la demande croissante.

      2. Dissonance entre Investissements et Réalité de Terrain : Des financements conséquents ont été alloués via des programmes comme le Fonds d'Innovation Organisationnelle en Psychiatrie (FIOP) et des appels à projets pour la pédopsychiatrie.

      Le dispositif "Mon Soutien Psy" a également permis de réaliser plus de 2,5 millions de séances.

      Cependant, ces efforts se heurtent à une réalité marquée par des délais d'attente, des défauts de prise en charge et un manque de diagnostics.

      3. Impératif du Repérage Précoce : Un consensus se dégage sur la nécessité de basculer d'une approche majoritairement curative vers une stratégie axée sur la prévention et le repérage précoce des troubles.

      Les médecins généralistes, la santé scolaire et les maisons des adolescents sont identifiés comme des acteurs clés de cette stratégie, qui est perçue comme un levier de "coûts évités" majeur.

      4. Angle Mort sur les Données et l'Évaluation :

      Il existe un manque critique de données médico-économiques sur l'impact du non-dépistage précoce et des hospitalisations évitées.

      Ce déficit de modélisation affaiblit les plaidoyers pour un investissement accru dans la prévention et le suivi post-hospitalisation.

      5. Structuration des Parcours et Coordination Territoriale :

      Les Projets Territoriaux de Santé Mentale (PTSM) sont considérés comme un outil essentiel pour améliorer la coordination des acteurs.

      Leur renforcement et leur évaluation sont des priorités, tout comme le développement de pratiques innovantes pour fluidifier les parcours entre la ville et l'hôpital.

      Analyse Détaillée des Thématiques

      1. La Crise d'Attractivité des Métiers en Psychiatrie

      Le principal frein à l'amélioration de l'offre de soins en santé mentale est la pénurie de personnel qualifié, en particulier de psychiatres.

      Constat d'une Pénurie Sévère :

      • ◦ La ressource humaine en psychiatrie est qualifiée de "denrée rare".   
      • Postes vacants : Plus de 23 % des postes de psychiatres dans les hôpitaux publics ne sont pas pourvus.  
      • Déficit de formation : Chaque année, 30 % des postes d'internes en psychiatrie restent vacants.  
      • Recours aux praticiens étrangers (Padu) : Même en doublant les postes offerts aux praticiens à diplôme hors Union européenne, le taux de vacance reste extrêmement élevé, atteignant 30 % à 50 % selon les régions.

      Un Cercle Vicieux : Cette crise d'attractivité crée un "cercle vicieux" : les étudiants en médecine réalisant leurs stages dans des services en sous-effectif sont peu enclins à choisir cette spécialité, ce qui perpétue la pénurie.

      Pistes de Solution Évoquées :

      Valoriser les stages : Mettre l'accent sur la qualité de l'encadrement des stagiaires pour améliorer l'image de la profession.  

      Flexibiliser l'exercice : Encourager et faciliter l'exercice mixte (ville-hôpital, public-privé) et le temps partagé, qui correspondent aux aspirations des jeunes médecins ne souhaitant plus un exercice unique et à temps plein.

      Des verrous réglementaires ont été levés depuis 2020 pour faciliter l'exercice mixte ville-hôpital.  

      Formation des paramédicaux : La réforme du métier d'infirmier intègre une obligation de stage en psychiatrie d'une durée minimale.

      Par ailleurs, plus de 540 infirmiers en pratique avancée (IPA) en santé mentale ont déjà été formés.

      2. Dissonance entre Efforts Budgétaires et Réalité de Terrain

      Des investissements financiers importants ont été réalisés, mais leurs effets sont encore insuffisants pour répondre à l'ampleur des besoins.

      Investissements Financiers Conséquents :

      • Fonds d'Innovation Organisationnelle en Psychiatrie (FIOP) : Depuis 2019, 288 millions d'euros ont été mobilisés pour accompagner 268 projets innovants. Le fonds a été reconduit en 2025.  
      • Pédopsychiatrie et Psychiatrie Périnatale : Un appel à projets a permis de financer 435 projets, avec des crédits annuels compris entre 20 et 35 millions d'euros. 
      • Dispositif "Mon Soutien Psy" : Fin 2024, le dispositif comptait plus de 4 100 psychologues conventionnés et avait bénéficié à près de 480 000 patients (dont 26 % de mineurs), pour un total de 2,5 millions de séances réalisées.

      Difficultés Persistantes sur le Terrain :

      ◦ Malgré ces chiffres, une "dissonance" est constatée entre les efforts budgétaires et la réalité vécue par les usagers et les professionnels : délais d'attente prolongés, défauts de prise en charge et manque de diagnostics.  

      ◦ Il est souligné que le système reste trop focalisé sur le "curatif" au détriment du "préventif".

      3. L'Impératif de la Prévention et du Repérage Précoce

      Le repérage précoce est identifié comme un axe stratégique majeur pour éviter l'aggravation des troubles et les conséquences sociales et familiales associées.

      Un Axe Prioritaire : Le dépistage est considéré comme "un des axes forts qu'il nous faut développer". Une mission a été confiée à trois personnalités qualifiées pour formuler des recommandations sur ce sujet.

      Les Acteurs Clés du Repérage :

      Médecins généralistes : Ils sont en première ligne, assurant 76 % des premières consultations pour troubles psychiatriques et traitant 73 % des dépressions.

      L'enjeu est de mieux les "outiller" et de renforcer le lien avec les spécialistes.  

      Santé scolaire : Une circulaire conjointe (Santé/Éducation Nationale) est en cours de rédaction pour formaliser des "circuits courts" entre les établissements scolaires et les Centres Médico-Psychologiques (CMP).  

      Maisons des Adolescents : Leur cahier des charges est en cours de rénovation pour y intégrer pleinement la dimension de repérage. Leurs moyens financiers seront renforcés de façon "considérable".

      L'Enjeu des "Coûts Évités" : L'investissement dans la prévention et le diagnostic précoce est présenté non seulement comme une plus-value pour les personnes concernées, mais aussi comme une source d'économies "majeures" pour la collectivité en évitant des prises en charge plus lourdes à long terme.

      4. Structuration de l'Offre et Coordination des Parcours

      L'organisation des soins sur les territoires et la fluidité des parcours patients sont des défis centraux.

      Projets Territoriaux de Santé Mentale (PTSM) :

      ◦ Considérés comme un "outil intéressant", ils mobilisent les acteurs du sanitaire, du social et du médico-social.  

      ◦ Chaque PTSM bénéficie d'un poste de coordinateur financé.  

      ◦ Une "deuxième génération" de PTSM est en préparation pour aller plus loin dans la structuration des parcours.  

      ◦ Une carte interactive des PTSM sera mise en ligne sur le site du ministère pour améliorer la lisibilité et le partage de bonnes pratiques.

      Défis de la Coordination :

      Post-hospitalisation : L'organisation des sorties d'hospitalisation psychiatrique présente des "vraies difficultés", entraînant des réhospitalisations au coût "relativement conséquent", un point déjà soulevé par la Cour des comptes en 2021. 

      Innovation organisationnelle : Le FIOP vise précisément à soutenir des projets qui testent de nouvelles organisations pour améliorer la coordination ville-hôpital et la graduation des soins.

      5. Manque de Données et Nécessité d'Évaluation

      Un "angle mort" important subsiste concernant les données chiffrées, ce qui freine l'optimisation de l'allocation des ressources.

      Absence de Modélisation Médico-Économique :

      ◦ Il y a un manque de données sur le "coût médico-économique du non-dépistage précoce" et sur les hospitalisations potentiellement évitées.  

      ◦ L'approche culturelle française est perçue comme moins avancée que dans les pays anglo-saxons sur l'utilisation d'outils comme les QALY/DALY pour prioriser les investissements.

      Évaluation des Politiques Publiques :

      Le FIOP comme modèle : Ce fonds est cité en exemple pour son processus d'évaluation "extrêmement rigoureuse", menée par des experts indépendants après trois ans de financement, pouvant mener à la pérennisation, la généralisation ou l'arrêt du projet.  

      L'évaluation des PTSM : Si une évaluation qualitative a été menée (le "Tour de France" de Franck Bélivier), un besoin d'évaluation plus systématique et comparative des performances est exprimé pour mieux identifier et diffuser les bonnes pratiques.

      6. Enjeux Spécifiques à Certaines Populations

      Pédopsychiatrie :

      ◦ Le secteur est "assez dépourvu" en lits, ce qui conduit à des hospitalisations d'enfants dans des services pour adultes.  

      ◦ Une inquiétude est soulevée quant au risque de "surdiagnostic", en référence à un rapport de la Cour des comptes, appelant à une vision plus globale de l'accompagnement.

      Santé Mentale en Milieu Carcéral :

      Prévalence élevée : Environ 30 % des détenus présentent des troubles psychiatriques.

      Pour beaucoup, l'incarcération représente le "premier contact avec le soin". 

      Crise d'attractivité aggravée : Les difficultés de recrutement sont "probablement pires" dans ce milieu. L'exemple du centre pénitentiaire de Fresnes, passé de 19 à 6 psychiatres, est emblématique. 

      Solutions : Le développement de postes à temps partagé est crucial pour attirer des praticiens. Une "feuille de route santé des personnes placées sous main de justice" co-pilotée par les ministères de la Santé et de la Justice vise à travailler sur cet enjeu.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      In this study, the authors employed comprehensive proteomics and transcriptomics analysis to investigate the systemic and organ-specific adaptations to IF in males. They found that shared biological signaling processes were identified across tissues, suggesting unifying mechanisms linking metabolic changes to cellular communication, which revealed both conserved and tissue-specific responses by which IF may optimize energy utilization, enhance metabolic flexibility, and promote cellular resilience.

      Strengths:

      This study detected multiple organs, including the liver, brain, and muscle, and revealed both conserved and tissue-specific responses to IF.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) Why did the authors choose the liver, brain, and muscle, but not other organs such as the heart and kidney? The latter are proven to be the largest consumers of ketones, which is also changed in the IF treatment of this study.

      (2) The proteomics and transcriptomics analyses were only performed at 4 months. However, a strong correlation between IF and the molecular adaptations should be time point-dependent.

      (3) The context lacks a "discussion" section, which would detail the significance and weaknesses of the study.

      (4) There is no confirmation for the proteomic and transcriptomic profiling. For example, the important changes in proteomics could be further identified by a Western blot.

    2. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Fan and colleagues measure proteomics and transcriptomics in 3 organs (liver, skeletal muscle, cerebral cortex) from male C57BL/6 mice to investigate whether intermittent fasting (IF; 16h daily fasting over 4 months) produces systemic and organ-specific adaptations.

      They find shared signaling pathways, certain metabolic changes, and organ-specific responses that suggest IF might affect energy utilization, metabolic flexibility, while promoting resilience at the cellular level.

      Strengths:

      The fact that there are 3 organs and 2 -omics approaches is a strength of this study.

      Weaknesses:

      The analytical approach of the data generated by the present study is not well posed, because it doesn't help to answer key questions implicit in the experimental design. Consequently, the paper, as it is for now, reads as a mere description of results and not a response to specific questions.

      The presentation of the figures, the knowledge of the literature, and the inclusion of only one sex (male) are all weaknesses.

    3. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Fan et al utilize large omics data sets to give an overview of proteomic and gene expression changes after 4 months of intermittent fasting (IF) in liver, muscle, and brain tissue. They describe common and distinct pathways altered under IF across tissues using different analysis approaches. The main conclusions presented are the variability in responses across tissues with IF. Some common pathways were observed, but there were notable distinctions between tissues.

      Strengths:

      (1) The IF study was well conducted and ran out to 4 months, which was a nice long-term design.

      (2) The multiomics approach was solid, and additional integrative analysis was complementary to illustrate the differential pathways and interactions across tissues.

      (3) The authors did not overstep their conclusions and imply an overreached mechanism.

      Weaknesses:

      The weaknesses, which are minor, include the use of only male mice and the early start (6 weeks) of the IF treatment. See specifics in the recommendations section.

    4. Author response:

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary: 

      In this study, the authors employed comprehensive proteomics and transcriptomics analysis to investigate the systemic and organ-specific adaptations to IF in males. They found that shared biological signaling processes were identified across tissues, suggesting unifying mechanisms linking metabolic changes to cellular communication, which revealed both conserved and tissue-specific responses by which IF may optimize energy utilization, enhance metabolic flexibility, and promote cellular resilience. 

      Strengths: 

      This study detected multiple organs, including the liver, brain, and muscle, and revealed both conserved and tissue-specific responses to IF.

      We appreciate the recognition of the study’s strengths and the opportunity to clarify the points raised.

      Weaknesses: 

      (1) Why did the authors choose the liver, brain, and muscle, but not other organs such as the heart and kidney? The latter are proven to be the largest consumers of ketones, which is also changed in the IF treatment of this study.

      We agree that the heart and kidney are critical organs in ketone metabolism. Our selection of the liver, brain, and muscle was guided by their distinct metabolic functions and relevance to systemic energy balance, neuroplasticity, and locomotor activity, key domains influenced by intermittent fasting (IF). These tissues also offer complementary perspectives on central and peripheral adaptations to IF. Notably, we have previously examined the effects of IF on the heart (eLife 12:RP89214), and we fully acknowledge the importance of the kidney. We intend to include it in future studies to broaden the scope and deepen our understanding of IF-induced systemic responses.

      (2) The proteomics and transcriptomics analyses were only performed at 4 months. However, a strong correlation between IF and the molecular adaptations should be time point-dependent.

      We appreciate this insightful comment. The 4-month time point was selected to capture long-term adaptations to IF, beyond acute or transitional effects. While we acknowledge that molecular responses to IF are time-dependent, our goal in this study was to establish a foundational understanding of sustained systemic and tissue-specific changes. We fully agree that a longitudinal approach would provide deeper insights into the temporal dynamics of IF-induced adaptations. To address this, we are currently undertaking a comprehensive 2-year study that is specifically designed to explore these time-dependent effects in greater detail.

      (3) The context lacks a "discussion" section, which would detail the significance and weaknesses of the study.

      We appreciate this observation. The manuscript was originally structured to emphasize results and interpretation within each section, but we recognize that a dedicated discussion section would enhance clarity and contextual depth. In the revised version, we will add a comprehensive discussion section addressing broader implications, limitations, and future directions of the study.

      (4) There is no confirmation for the proteomic and transcriptomic profiling. For example, the important changes in proteomics could be further identified by a Western blot. 

      We acknowledge the importance of orthogonal validation to support high-throughput findings. While our study primarily focused on uncovering systemic patterns through proteomic and transcriptomic profiling, we agree that targeted confirmation would strengthen the conclusions. To this end, we have included immunohistochemical validation of a key protein common to all three organs—Serpin A1C. Additionally, we are planning a dedicated follow-up study to expand functional validation of several key proteins identified in this manuscript, which will be pursued as a separate project.

      Reviewer #2 (Public review): 

      Summary: 

      Fan and colleagues measure proteomics and transcriptomics in 3 organs (liver, skeletal muscle, cerebral cortex) from male C57BL/6 mice to investigate whether intermittent fasting (IF; 16h daily fasting over 4 months) produces systemic and organ-specific adaptations. 

      They find shared signaling pathways, certain metabolic changes, and organ-specific responses that suggest IF might affect energy utilization, metabolic flexibility, while promoting resilience at the cellular level.

      Strengths: 

      The fact that there are 3 organs and 2 -omics approaches is a strength of this study. 

      We appreciate the reviewer’s recognition of the breadth of our study design. By integrating proteomics and transcriptomics across three metabolically distinct organs, we aimed to provide a comprehensive view of systemic and tissue-specific adaptations to IF. This multi-organ, multi-omics approach was central to uncovering both conserved and divergent biological responses.

      Weaknesses: 

      (1) The analytical approach of the data generated by the present study is not well posed, because it doesn't help to answer key questions implicit in the experimental design. Consequently, the paper, as it is for now, reads as a mere description of results and not a response to specific questions.

      We thank the reviewer for this important observation. Our initial aim was to establish a foundational atlas of molecular changes induced by IF across key organs. However, we recognize that clearer framing of the biological questions would enhance interpretability. In the revised manuscript, we will have restructured the introduction, results, and discussion to align more explicitly with specific hypotheses, particularly those related to energy metabolism, cellular resilience, and inter-organ signaling. We have also added targeted analyses and clarified how each dataset contributes to answering these questions.

      (2) The presentation of the figures, the knowledge of the literature, and the inclusion of only one sex (male) are all weaknesses.

      We appreciate this feedback and agree that these are important considerations. Regarding figure presentation, we will revise several figures for improved clarity, add more descriptive legends, and reorganize supplemental materials to better support the main findings. On the literature front, we will expand the discussion to include recent and relevant studies on IF, metabolic adaptation, and sex-specific responses. As for the use of only male mice, this was a deliberate choice to reduce hormonal variability and focus on establishing baseline molecular responses. We fully acknowledge the importance of sex as a biological variable and will soon be conducting studies in female mice to address this gap.

      Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary: 

      Fan et al utilize large omics data sets to give an overview of proteomic and gene expression changes after 4 months of intermittent fasting (IF) in liver, muscle, and brain tissue. They describe common and distinct pathways altered under IF across tissues using different analysis approaches. The main conclusions presented are the variability in responses across tissues with IF. Some common pathways were observed, but there were notable distinctions between tissues.

      Strengths: 

      (1) The IF study was well conducted and ran out to 4 months, which was a nice long-term design. 

      (2) The multiomics approach was solid, and additional integrative analysis was complementary to illustrate the differential pathways and interactions across tissues. 

      (3) The authors did not overstep their conclusions and imply an overreached mechanism. 

      We sincerely thank the reviewer for acknowledging the strengths of our study design and analytical approach. We aimed to strike a careful balance between comprehensive data generation and cautious interpretation, and we appreciate the recognition that our conclusions were appropriately framed within the scope of the data.

      Weaknesses: 

      The weaknesses, which are minor, include the use of only male mice and the early start (6 weeks) of the IF treatment. See specifics in the recommendations section.

      We appreciate the reviewer’s thoughtful comments. The decision to use male mice and initiate IF at 6 weeks was based on minimizing hormonal variability and capturing early adult metabolic programming. We acknowledge that sex and developmental timing are important biological variables. To address this, we are conducting parallel studies in female mice and evaluating IF initiated at later life stages. These follow-up investigations will help determine the extent to which sex and timing influence the molecular and physiological outcomes of IF.

    1. Jumping from call to call to read along and figure out what goes wrong and what is missing is a vital requirement to quickly solve a problem

      جمله‌ی “Jumping from call to call to read along and figure out what goes wrong and what is missing is a vital requirement to quickly solve a problem” به زبان ساده یعنی:


      ترجمه ساده:

      «پریدن بین فراخوانی‌ها (call) و دنبال کردن جریان اجرای برنامه برای فهمیدن اینکه چه چیزی اشتباه است یا چه چیزی کم است، یک مهارت ضروری برای حل سریع مشکل است.»


      توضیح بیشتر:

      • وقتی یک باگ یا مشکل در برنامه پیش می‌آید، معمولاً باید کد را دنبال کنیم و چندین تابع یا متد را بررسی کنیم تا بفهمیم مشکل دقیقاً کجاست.
      • این توانایی باعث می‌شود زمان حل مسئله کاهش پیدا کند و بتوانیم سریعاً باگ‌ها را پیدا و اصلاح کنیم.

      مثال ساده:

      فرض کن یک تابع A() فراخوانی می‌کند B() و B() فراخوانی می‌کند C(). اگر خروجی درست نباشد:

      1. باید به A() نگاه کنیم → مشکلی پیدا نمی‌کنیم
      2. برویم به B() → شاید ورودی اشتباه است
      3. سپس به C() → متوجه می‌شویم مشکل از محاسبه‌ای در C() است

      ✅ این همان jumping from call to call است که جمله به آن اشاره می‌کند.

    1. Note de Synthèse : La Politique de Santé Mentale en France selon la Direction Générale de la Santé

      Synthèse

      Cette note synthétise les perspectives et les actions de la Direction Générale de la Santé (DGS) concernant la santé mentale en France, telles que présentées lors d'une audition parlementaire.

      Le constat principal est une dégradation "nette et durable" de la santé mentale de la population depuis la crise du Covid-19, se manifestant par une hausse significative des troubles anxieux, dépressifs et des idées suicidaires, particulièrement chez les jeunes.

      En 2023, 23 % des adultes déclaraient un niveau d'anxiété élevé et 16 % se disaient déprimés, des chiffres en nette augmentation depuis 2019.

      Le rôle de la DGS se concentre sur la prévention et la promotion de la santé mentale, en amont de la prise en charge psychiatrique. Son action repose sur quatre leviers stratégiques :

      1. Améliorer les connaissances et lutter contre la stigmatisation via des campagnes de communication et des actions locales.

      2. Promouvoir les comportements bénéfiques, notamment par le développement des compétences psychosociales, l'amélioration du sommeil et la prévention de l'usage problématique des écrans.

      3. Renforcer le repérage précoce à travers des programmes comme les "Premiers secours en santé mentale".

      4. Déployer une stratégie nationale de prévention du suicide, s'appuyant sur des dispositifs éprouvés comme le numéro national 3114 et le programme de recontact Vigilance, qui réduit de 38 % le risque de récidive.

      Malgré ces efforts, des défis majeurs persistent.

      La commission parlementaire souligne le décalage entre un diagnostic largement partagé et la mise en œuvre concrète sur le terrain, due notamment à un manque de professionnels (médecins scolaires, psychologues).

      Un débat central porte sur la faible culture de la prévention en France, qui privilégie historiquement le curatif, et sur la difficulté à sécuriser des financements pluriannuels pour des actions dont les bénéfices ne sont visibles qu'à long terme.

      La "Grande Cause Nationale 2025" est perçue comme une opportunité importante mais dont le démarrage a été freiné par le contexte politique.

      1. Rôle de la DGS et Contexte

      La Direction Générale de la Santé (DGS) positionne la santé mentale au cœur de ses priorités, avec un bureau dédié.

      Son action se distingue de celle de la Direction Générale de l'Offre de Soins (DGOS), qui gère la prise en charge psychiatrique.

      La DGS se concentre exclusivement sur les politiques de prévention et de promotion de la santé mentale.

      L'approche de la DGS est double :

      Intersectorielle : La santé mentale étant multifactorielle, elle est prise en compte dans tous les milieux de vie (école, travail, loisirs) en lien avec les ministères concernés.

      Populationnelle : Une attention particulière est portée aux publics les plus vulnérables, incluant les jeunes, les personnes âgées, les personnes en situation de handicap, en situation de précarité ou détenues.

      Il est précisé que la prise en charge globale du handicap relève de la Direction Générale de la Cohésion Sociale (DGCS).

      2. Diagnostic de la Santé Mentale en France : Un Constat Préoccupant

      L'Impact "Net et Durable" de la Crise Sanitaire

      La crise du Covid-19 a marqué un "véritable tournant", provoquant une dégradation significative et persistante de la santé mentale de la population française.

      Chez les adultes : Selon l'enquête CoviPrev de Santé publique France, en 2023 :

      23 % des personnes interrogées déclaraient un niveau d'anxiété élevé (+6 points par rapport à 2019).    ◦ 16 % se disaient déprimées (+5 points par rapport à 2019).

      Populations vulnérables : Les femmes, les jeunes adultes, les personnes précaires et celles ayant des antécédents de troubles psychiques présentent des indicateurs de santé mentale durablement dégradés.

      Le Suicide : Une Préoccupation Majeure

      Le suicide demeure un indicateur alarmant en France.

      • En 2022, le taux de suicide était de 13,3 pour 100 000 habitants, l'un des plus élevés d'Europe.

      • Ce taux est trois fois plus élevé chez les hommes que chez les femmes.

      • Après une baisse depuis les années 80, le taux a atteint un plateau sur lequel il est devenu difficile d'agir.

      La Vulnérabilité Particulière des Jeunes et des Personnes en Situation de Handicap

      Les jeunes : Les indicateurs sont "particulièrement préoccupants".

      Le nombre de passages aux urgences pour gestes suicidaires chez les 11-17 ans est en hausse.

      En 2023, 86 femmes de 15 à 19 ans sur 100 000 ont été hospitalisées pour gestes auto-infligés, une hausse de 46 % par rapport à 2017.

      Personnes en situation de handicap : Elles présentent un risque suicidaire majoré.

      Des études montrent un risque 7 à 10 fois plus important pour les personnes présentant des troubles du spectre autistique.

      Des Causes Multifactorielles

      Ces évolutions sont attribuées à une combinaison de facteurs :

      Environnementaux : L'éco-anxiété est une réalité, notamment chez les jeunes.

      Géopolitiques et économiques : Les conflits, les attentats et l'instabilité économique.

      Sociétaux : La pression scolaire, les usages numériques et l'exposition aux réseaux sociaux sont corrélés à une dégradation de la santé mentale des plus jeunes.

      3. Les Levier d'Action de la Direction Générale de la Santé

      Face à ces constats, la DGS déploie une stratégie de prévention et de promotion articulée autour de quatre axes principaux.

      Axe 1 : Amélioration des Connaissances et Lutte contre la Stigmatisation

      L'objectif est de lever les freins à l'accès aux soins, notamment l'auto-stigmatisation.

      Campagnes de communication : Santé publique France déploie des campagnes grand public et ciblées, avec un site internet dédié.

      Actions territorialisées : Les "Semaines d'information en santé mentale" (SISM) et les "Conseils locaux de santé mentale" (CLSM) sont déployés pour réunir localement élus, citoyens, associations et professionnels.

      Axe 2 : Promotion des Comportements Bénéfiques à la Santé Mentale

      Développement des compétences psychosociales (CPS) : Une stratégie interministérielle (portée par 7 ministères) vise à développer dès le plus jeune âge des compétences comme l'estime de soi, la relation à l'autre et l'esprit critique pour renforcer la résilience.

      Qualité du sommeil : Une feuille de route interministérielle a été lancée, rappelant qu'un sommeil altéré double le risque de développer une dépression.

      Prévention de l'usage excessif des écrans : Des actions sont menées pour contrer la corrélation observée entre le temps d'écran, l'exposition à des contenus inadaptés et les troubles dépressifs chez les jeunes.

      Axe 3 : Repérage Précoce des Troubles

      Premiers secours en santé mentale : Inspiré d'un programme australien, ce dispositif vise à former plus de 200 000 secouristes capables de repérer les situations de détresse dans leur entourage. Le ministre a annoncé un objectif porté à 300 000 formés d'ici 2027.

      Mon bilan prévention : Mis en place en 2023, ce dispositif invite les citoyens à des âges clés de la vie à faire un bilan global de leurs comportements en santé, incluant la santé mentale.

      Axe 4 : Stratégie Nationale de Prévention du Suicide

      Cette stratégie, pilotée par la DGS, a permis de mettre en place des dispositifs clés qui ont démontré leur efficacité.

      Dispositif

      Description

      Données Clés et Résultats

      3114

      Numéro national d'appel pour la prévention du suicide, accessible 24/7.

      Plus de 1000 appels par jour. Un budget de 23 millions d'euros.

      Vigilance

      Dispositif de recontact des personnes passées aux urgences pour une tentative de suicide.

      Réduit de 38 % le risque de réitération suicidaire. Retour sur investissement de 2 € pour 1 € investi. Aujourd'hui généralisé à 17 régions.

      Prévention de la contagion suicidaire

      Plans d'action locaux menés avec les Agences Régionales de Santé (ARS) et les élus pour prévenir les phénomènes de contagion après un suicide.

      Efficacité démontrée par des retours d'expérience qualitatifs.

      4. Enjeux, Débats et Perspectives

      La "Grande Cause Nationale 2025" : Une Opportunité Mitigée

      Reconnue comme une opportunité indéniable, la mise en œuvre de la "Grande Cause" a subi un "retard à l'embrayage" en raison du contexte politique (changement de gouvernement). Cependant, elle a permis de :

      Relancer la mobilisation interministérielle sur des thématiques transversales.

      Prioriser et concrétiser des projets, comme la campagne grand public de Santé publique France.

      Labelliser plus de 750 projets locaux, démontrant une appropriation territoriale.

      Le Défi des Moyens Humains et de la Mise en Œuvre Locale

      Un consensus émerge sur le fait que le diagnostic est connu, mais que l'action sur le terrain manque cruellement de moyens.

      • La prévention et le repérage précoce se heurtent à une pénurie de professionnels (infirmières scolaires, médecins scolaires, psychologues).

      • Les dispositifs comme les Conseils Locaux de Santé Mentale (CLSM) et les Projets Territoriaux de Santé Mentale (PTSM) visent à améliorer la coordination locale, mais la marche reste haute.

      Le Modèle Économique de la Prévention

      Le débat met en lumière une tension structurelle dans le système de santé français.

      Faiblesse de l'investissement : Les dépenses de prévention en France représentent 2 à 3 % des dépenses de santé, un niveau bas comparé aux standards de l'OCDE. La France a historiquement privilégié une culture du soin curatif.

      Logique de court terme : Les décideurs politiques sont contraints par des arbitrages budgétaires annuels, alors que les retours sur investissement de la prévention s'étalent sur plusieurs années. Le coût sociétal total des suicides et tentatives de suicide a été estimé à 24 milliards d'euros en 2019.

      Débat sur la pluriannualité : La proposition d'une loi de programmation pluriannuelle pour la santé mentale est avancée pour garantir des investissements à long terme. La DGS exprime une réserve, soulignant que la multiplication de telles lois rigidifie la dépense publique.

      Le Dispositif "Mon Soutien Psi"

      Ce dispositif, qui permet une prise en charge de séances de psychologue, est reconnu comme un progrès pour lever les freins financiers.

      Il est cependant noté qu'il a pu contribuer à une "fuite" des psychologues du secteur public (hôpitaux, Centres Médico-Psychologiques) vers le secteur libéral, affaiblissant la prise en charge des troubles plus lourds qui nécessitent une approche pluridisciplinaire.

      5. Focus sur des Populations Spécifiques

      Personnes âgées : Le taux de suicide chez les 85-94 ans est de 35 pour 100 000, soit près du triple du taux de la population générale, un chiffre largement attribué à l'isolement.

      Jeunes : Le harcèlement scolaire est identifié comme un facteur de risque majeur. La DGS collabore étroitement avec l'Éducation Nationale pour déployer les programmes de compétences psychosociales afin de mieux armer les élèves.

      Agriculteurs : Cette population connaît des taux de suicide extrêmement élevés. Des dispositifs spécifiques comme les "sentinelles" sont déployés par la MSA dans le cadre du suivi du mal-être agricole.

    1. AbstractBackground Reference genomes have a wide range of applications. Yet, we are from a complete genomic picture for the tree of life. We here contribute another piece to the puzzle by providing a high-quality reference genome for the Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), a species of conservation concern and efforts affected by habitat destruction and climate change.Results We generated a reference genome assembly for the Ural Owl based on high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data. It figures amongst the best avian genome assemblies currently available (BUSCO completeness of 99.94 %). The primary assembly had a size of 1.38 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 90.1 Mb, while the alternative assembly had a size of 1.3 Gb and a scaffold N50 of 17.0 Mb. We show an exceptionally high repeat content (21.07 %) that is different from those of other bird taxa with repeat extensions. We confirm a Strix characteristic chromosomal fusion and support the observation that bird microchromosomes have a higher density of genes, associated with a reduction in gene length due to shorter introns. An analysis of gene content provides evidence of changes in the keratin gene repertoire as well as modifications of metabolism genes of owls. This opens an avenue of research if this is related to flight adaptations. The population size history of the Ural Owl decreased over long periods of time with increases during the Eemian interglacial and stable size during the last glacial period. Ever since it is declining to its currently lowest effective population size. We also investigated cell culture of progressive passages as a tool for genetic resources. Karyotyping of passages confirmed no large variants, while a SNP analysis revealed a low presence of short variants across cell passages.Conclusions The established reference genome is a valuable resource for ongoing conservation efforts, but also for (avian) comparative genomics research. Further research is needed to determine whether cell culture passages can be safely used in genomic research.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf106), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Jianbo Jian

      The authors provide a high-quality reference genome for the Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), these genomic resources are valuable for conservation and evolution. The manuscript is well-written, and the scientific story with cell culture for conservation is interesting. I have some questions or comments as following: 1、 in abstract, the N50 is contig or scaffold? 2、For the GenomeScope analysis, the estimated genome size is 1.29 Gb with low heterozygosity (0.2%). The assembled genome size is 1.38 Gb. Could there be duplicated genome sequences in the assembly, or did the genome survey evaluation exclude some k-mers? What were the parameters used in GenomeScope2 (e.g., was the -h parameter set to its default value)? 3、How do you perform the decontamination? 4、For the Hi-C contact map, due to some chromosomes are considerably larger while others are much smaller, it is suggested that the larger chromosomes could be displayed independently from the smaller ones to enhance clarity and interpretation.

    2. AbstractBackground Reference genomes have a wide range of applications. Yet, we are from a complete genomic picture for the tree of life. We here contribute another piece to the puzzle by providing a high-quality reference genome for the Ural Owl (Strix uralensis), a species of conservation concern and efforts affected by habitat destruction and climate change.Results We generated a reference genome assembly for the Ural Owl based on high-fidelity (HiFi) long reads and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) data. It figures amongst the best avian genome assemblies currently available (BUSCO completeness of 99.94 %). The primary assembly had a size of 1.38 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 90.1 Mb, while the alternative assembly had a size of 1.3 Gb and a scaffold N50 of 17.0 Mb. We show an exceptionally high repeat content (21.07 %) that is different from those of other bird taxa with repeat extensions. We confirm a Strix characteristic chromosomal fusion and support the observation that bird microchromosomes have a higher density of genes, associated with a reduction in gene length due to shorter introns. An analysis of gene content provides evidence of changes in the keratin gene repertoire as well as modifications of metabolism genes of owls. This opens an avenue of research if this is related to flight adaptations. The population size history of the Ural Owl decreased over long periods of time with increases during the Eemian interglacial and stable size during the last glacial period. Ever since it is declining to its currently lowest effective population size. We also investigated cell culture of progressive passages as a tool for genetic resources. Karyotyping of passages confirmed no large variants, while a SNP analysis revealed a low presence of short variants across cell passages.Conclusions The established reference genome is a valuable resource for ongoing conservation efforts, but also for (avian) comparative genomics research. Further research is needed to determine whether cell culture passages can be safely used in genomic research.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf106), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Luohao Xu

      This manuscript provides a high-quality genome of Ural owl which is of evolutionary and ecological importance, as well as cell cultures that is worth exploration for endangered species. But Oral owl does not seem to be an endangered species?

      One chromosomal fusion was identified, but it is very important to specific which chromosome. The chromosomes are very conserved in birds. The authors should follow the chromosome nomenclature according to chicken chromosome homology (http://pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2216641120).

      "bird microchromosomes have a higher density of genes" is already known for 20 years, so no need to confirm again.

      It is very speculative to link karatin gene expansions to flight adaptions. I suggest to revise this statement throughout the manuscript.

      The first paragraph lacks any citations. And the statements are not fully accurate because there are already reference genomes in Strigiformes (owls), some of which were generated by the bioEarch project.

      L120, I don't think this is true?

      L131, remove million?

      L158, again, the authors need to make sure that those chromosomes are homologous to chicken chromosomes. It is known that the 10 smallest microchromosomes are difficult for assembly due to HiFi sequencing dropout (Huang 2023 PNAS). I am curious whether the 10 smallest microchromosomes (or dot chromosomes) have been correctly assembled? The figure 3 does not seem to show this information.

      For the 17 lost genes, are they lost in all reference genomes, or just "supported by more than one reference genome" (L260)?

      It is not surprising to me that kerain, immune and olfactory receptor genes are independently expanded in different bird lineages.

      L284-285, this statement is not true, because females also have a Z chromosome. Maybe the sequence coverage of the Z chromosome can be used to confirm the sex.

      L361, cite B10K publications.

      L370, "identified" should be "confirmed"?

      L378, this is a bit misleading, because it is clear that barn owls have microchromosomes.

      L382, "mainly composed of centromeric satellite DNA", and L387-388 are not true. LINEs the LTRs should still be the major repeat contents.

      L395-396, "In birds, microchromosomes possibly originate from chromosome fission.", this is not true, again see Huang 2023 PNAS.

      The paragraph starting from L394 is already well know. No need to discuss this. Overall, the discussion part needs to be streamlined, including the paragraph at L434 and L455

    1. AbstractBackground Influenza A virus (IAV) poses a significant threat to animal health globally, with its ability to overcome species barriers and cause pandemics. Rapid and accurate IAV subtypes and host source prediction is crucial for effective surveillance and pandemic preparedness. Deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing viral genomic sequences, offering new ways to uncover hidden patterns associated with viral characteristics and host adaptation.Findings We introduce WaveSeekerNet, a novel deep learning model for accurate and rapid prediction of IAV subtypes and host source. The model leverages attention-based mechanisms and efficient token mixing schemes, including the Fourier Transform and the Wavelet Transform, to capture intricate patterns within viral RNA and protein sequences. Extensive experiments on diverse datasets demonstrate WaveSeekerNet’s superior performance to existing models that use the traditional self-attention mechanism. Notably, WaveSeekerNet rivals VADR (Viral Annotation DefineR) in subtype prediction using the high-quality RNA sequences, achieving the maximum score of 1.0 on metrics including the Balanced Accuracy, F1-score (Macro Average), and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC). Our approach to subtype and host source prediction also exceeds the pre-trained ESM-2 (Evolutionary Scale Modeling) models with respect to generalization performance and computational cost. Furthermore, WaveSeekerNet exhibits remarkable accuracy in distinguishing between human, avian, and other mammalian hosts. The ability of WaveSeekerNet to flag potential cross-species transmission events underscores its significant value for real-time surveillance and proactive pandemic preparedness efforts.Conclusions WaveSeekerNet’s superior performance, efficiency, and ability to flag potential cross-species transmission events highlight its potential for real-time surveillance and pandemic preparedness. This model represents a significant advancement in applying deep learning for IAV classification and holds promise for future epidemiological, veterinary studies, and public health interventions.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf089), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3:Weihua Li

      (1) In the abstract, the statement 'WaveSeekerNet achieves scores of up to the maximum 1.0 across all evaluation metrics, including F1-score (Macro Average)' appears to slightly deviate from the actual experimental results. (2) In data preprocessing, the reasoning behind selecting and keeping the earliest collected sequence when duplicate sequences are encountered should be explained. (3) Compared with Figure 4, Figure 5 demonstrates performance improvements in most cases, but why is this not observed for some results in Figure 4d? (4) Could the oversampling/undersampling methods employed in the study introduce any potential biases to the analysis? (5) Given that VADR can provide viral classification and annotation information—which serves as the benchmark in this study, what specific advantages does WaveSeekerNet offer for subtype classification? (6) The paper employs 10-fold cross-validation to assess generalizability, yet the data processing section describes a temporal split (pre-2020 for training). Could the "Model Training and Testing" section provide further clarification on this?

    2. AbstractBackground Influenza A virus (IAV) poses a significant threat to animal health globally, with its ability to overcome species barriers and cause pandemics. Rapid and accurate IAV subtypes and host source prediction is crucial for effective surveillance and pandemic preparedness. Deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing viral genomic sequences, offering new ways to uncover hidden patterns associated with viral characteristics and host adaptation.Findings We introduce WaveSeekerNet, a novel deep learning model for accurate and rapid prediction of IAV subtypes and host source. The model leverages attention-based mechanisms and efficient token mixing schemes, including the Fourier Transform and the Wavelet Transform, to capture intricate patterns within viral RNA and protein sequences. Extensive experiments on diverse datasets demonstrate WaveSeekerNet’s superior performance to existing models that use the traditional self-attention mechanism. Notably, WaveSeekerNet rivals VADR (Viral Annotation DefineR) in subtype prediction using the high-quality RNA sequences, achieving the maximum score of 1.0 on metrics including the Balanced Accuracy, F1-score (Macro Average), and Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC). Our approach to subtype and host source prediction also exceeds the pre-trained ESM-2 (Evolutionary Scale Modeling) models with respect to generalization performance and computational cost. Furthermore, WaveSeekerNet exhibits remarkable accuracy in distinguishing between human, avian, and other mammalian hosts. The ability of WaveSeekerNet to flag potential cross-species transmission events underscores its significant value for real-time surveillance and proactive pandemic preparedness efforts.Conclusions WaveSeekerNet’s superior performance, efficiency, and ability to flag potential cross-species transmission events highlight its potential for real-time surveillance and pandemic preparedness. This model represents a significant advancement in applying deep learning for IAV classification and holds promise for future epidemiological, veterinary studies, and public health interventions.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf089), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1:Will Dampier

      The manuscript presented by Nguyen et al. is well written, well researched, and well executed. The use of this new "wavelet style" neural network shows both an increased training efficiency and improved accuracy at detecting influenza subtypes for surveillance. However, I think their comparison to a 'plain' Transformer model does not take advantage of the improvements in pre-training and transfer-learning that have become standard practice in deep-learning. I have also included some stylistic suggestions to improve the figures as presented. After addressing these comments, I believe that this will become a very strong manuscript.

      Major Comments:

      The authors present a comparison between their new wavelet architecture and a standard transformer architecture using a one-hot encoded vector of amino-acids. I believe that this is the correct 'null model' to compare your wavelet architecture to, however, it does not represent the 'state of the art' in utilizing transformers for sequence analysis. As I'm sure the authors are aware, the disadvantage of transformers is that they take an extensive amount of training (they note the transformer only models take 2-4X more training epochs to converge). However, the advantage they bring is that they can be extensively trained for one task and then transfer that learning to another related task. A number of models have been pre-trained on giant collections of proteins Asgari et al, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141287 and Rives et al https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2016239118 which then allow one to transfer that knowledge to different domains with fewer examples such as demonstrated in Dampier et al https://doi.org/10.3389/fviro.2022.880618. It would be interesting to see whether your wavelet model defeats these pre-trained models with transfer learning. If you showed that, you could argue that there is no need for the extensive expense of 'foundational models'.

      The authors discuss that there is a significant imbalance in the training set and they used up-sampling and limiting to balance out the class representation. Since the classes are not equally represented, the model may not be equally able to predict each class. And the high metrics may only be a representation of its ability to predict the popular classes correctly. The authors should include an additional set of figures (supplemental is fine) that show the metrics broken out by Subtype. It would also be interesting to see a graph of the class-size (before up-sampling) vs F1-score (or another metric) on that class. This could provide lower-bounds for how many samples are needed to train the model.

      Minor Comments:

      Figures 3, 4, and 5: These would benefit from a linked y-axis. It is hard to compare across A/B/C/D when the axes have different y-limits.

    1. AbstractBackground Food contamination by pathogens poses a global health threat, affecting an estimated 600 million people annually. During a foodborne outbreak investigation, microbiological analysis of food vehicles detects responsible pathogens and traces contamination sources. Metagenomic approaches offer a comprehensive view of the genomic composition of microbial communities, facilitating the detection of potential pathogens in samples. Combined with sequencing techniques like Oxford Nanopore sequencing, such metagenomic approaches become faster and easier to apply. A key limitation of these approaches is the lack of accessible, easy-to-use, and openly available pipelines for pathogen identification and tracking from (meta)genomic data.Findings PathoGFAIR is a collection of Galaxy-based FAIR workflows employing state-of-the-art tools to detect and track pathogens from metagenomic Nanopore sequencing. Although initially developed to detect pathogens in food datasets, the workflows can be applied to other metagenomic Nanopore pathogenic data. PathoGFAIR incorporates visualisations and reports for comprehensive results. We tested PathoGFAIR on 130 samples containing different pathogens from multiple hosts under various experimental conditions. For all but one sample, workflows have successfully detected expected pathogens at least at the species rank. Further taxonomic ranks are detected for samples with sufficiently high Colony-forming unit (CFU) and low Cycle Threshold (Ct) values.Conclusions PathoGFAIR detects the pathogens at species and subspecies taxonomic ranks in all but one tested sample, regardless of whether the pathogen is isolated or the sample is incubated before sequencing. Importantly, PathoGFAIR is easy to use and can be straightforwardly adapted and extended for other types of analysis and sequencing techniques, making it usable in various pathogen detection scenarios. PathoGFAIR homepage: https://usegalaxy-eu.github.io/PathoGFAIR/

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf017), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Ann-Katrin Llarena

      Nasr and colleagues present an, at times, well-written manuscript with an interesting and robust pipeline that includes well-known softwares (you must make sure to cite the authors of these). However, the manuscript is, quote "...a collection of Galaxy-based FAIR workflows employing state-of-the-art tools to detect and track pathogens from metagenomic Nanopore sequencing". Its repeated how well it works, they even compare it to other software in table 1 (without proper benchmark). These initial statements are however not supported by the findings. The Salmonelal from the spiked samples are, as expected from food matrix present in low quantity), difficult to do more than state that the genus is present, and only a fraction of the samples can actually "complete" the entire pipeline. Also, the benchmarking is not really benchmarking (compare and measure this software against other competing software). No such comparison is done, and even though the intention of PathoGFAIR as stated throughout the paper, is detection and analysis of metagenomic samples, the benchmarking is done on isolate based wgs. It is also evident that the authors are not microbiologists as the manuscript is riddled with taxonomical misunderstandings about the vast genus Salmonella and when to use capital letters and italics. I am also lacking a proper discussion here on the results found in the spiking experiment in light of current EU legislation on Salmonella. Can this pipeline help in this regard? Sensitivity and specificity metrics are also lacking.

      Abstract: "foodborne pathogen data" / "metagenomic Nanopore pathogenic data" - suggest to rewrite, as what I think you are trying to say is " initially developed to detect foodborne pathogens from metagenomic nanopore data, the workflow can be used to detect any pathogen." "Colony-forming unit and Cycle Threshold values." rewrite sentence, I do not completely understand what you are trying to say. what is "sufficient colony forming units?" It will vary as well between pathogens (infection dose varies). You could rather state your sensitivity of the pipeline here - even though i think that sampling prep, library prep and seq influences that more than the bioinformatics. "In any sample": did you test all matrixes? "sample is isolated or incubated before seq" you cannot isolate a sample, but you isolate a bacteria from a sample. unprecise language.

      Introduction: In general, its well written, but a bit unprecise here and there. The authors also rely a lot on the following words: "rapid" "accurate". "outbreaks and epidemics" - rewrite, these are the same. "efforts to mitigate their spread and ensure food safety" again, complementary terms - rewrite. "global public health authorities" we do have everything from local to global food safety and public health authorities, I think one should highlight this. There is a difference between for instance EFSA and ECDC. "isolation can be complex"? do you mean complicated or work intensive? "The utilisation of Nanopore sequencing data, as exemplified in studies like [7]," citing practices like this is not really reader friendly. Suggest to write what they actually did in seven (as for instance the detection of blah in blah as shown in 7). "Once (meta)genomics data has been generated, bioinformatics approaches enable the rapid and accurate detection"; repetition of chapter above. You write in the former chapter that "the utilisation of nanopore data" which also includes bioinformatics of course. SURPI and Sunbeam is freely available? https://microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40168-019-0658-x https://chiulab.ucsf.edu/surpi/

      "PathoGFAIR: pathogen identification and tracking from metagenomics". Im not convinced that it can perform tracing in an outbreak where only a few SNPs are allowed. PathoGFAIR does not really speed up the process of sampling, does it. Actually, it takes more time to extract crude dna from a sample than to place it in a enrichment broth or do a dilution series, so the presteps are not really a part of this. "Tracking pathogens" - again, if species level is the lowest rank it can go to, its not enough to perform tracking.

      Overview chapter "input data is seq data generated w nanopore" basecalling is not included in the workflow? How is this performed? It affects the quality of the reads, so its nice to know what you did. The chapter is very wordy, and contains a lot of fill-words with salespitches almost. I would recommend rewriting it, for instance: Chapter that starts with subsequently and describes the different workflows and how they work together can be compressed. And the last three sections are salespitching.

      WF1: Preprocessing: How stringent filtering and quality control are implemented in the workflow? How good quality do you need for the wp2-4 to work sufficiently well? Did you test? Food vehicle animal? What is that - do you mean that if you extract dna from bovine meat, you map to bovine genome? "a tool ten times faster etc etc." is discussion and should be removed from what I think is materials and methods even though the title of the section is workflow 1. What is a food host? Kalamari database includes many foodborne pathogens, such as Shigella, E. coli, Campylobacter etc etc. how can you just remove all reads that match to this database? Table 1: Innuendo is based on isolate WGS, and not intended for WGS. Also, it has its own built in wgMLST schema employed using chewbbacca, so it definitely has allele-abased pathogen identification. Its intended for illumina data. Victors are strictly a platform to analyse virulence factors and not intended even for taxonomic profiling, and its webinterface doesn't work. IDseq has step-by-step guides available on their webpage, so I think that qualifies as a tutorial. You can also contact them (user support). I guess the same is true for OneCodex, as you actually pay for that one. So the table is unprecise at best and should be corrected (I didn't go through Submeam, SURPI or PAIPline specs to try to check if you got it correctly). Rewrite this. Further, I think you should only include systems / pipelines that are intended for metagenomics. You have a footnote * that I cannot see in the table as well.

      WF2 taxonomy profiling: The first sentence needs rewriting. Two sentences from "Although Kraken2 is a tool design…….." belongs in discussion. WF3: Medaka consensus pipeline : "This task is performed using neural networks applied from a pileup of individual sequencing reads against a draft assembly. " what draft assembly did you use here to create a consensus sequence? Actually, its not polishing contigs, its assemblying them? Again, there is some descriptions of the software which belongs in the discussion, say the perks one gets from using this tool over the other. I do not however get how screening for virulence genes = pathogen identification. The thing is that in a complex food matrix or faecal samples from animals, things like stx phages will also be present. These are not stec pathogens unless the phage is inside an e.coli. How do you make sure of the host for such mobile genetic elements as these virulence and amr genes often are located on? Seeing as this is the basis of your pathogen detection?

      WF4: A bit again on choosing software over the other that is discussion food. Wf4/wf5: I am worried about the reliance on snp based technics for nanopore reads. Is the quality good enough to achieve sufficiently robust results? Easily adaptable workflows Last section is repetition (about each wf operating independently) Use cases: Data generation: Please revise how to write Salmonella names correctly. They should be in italics for genus, species and subspecies names, while the serovar/serotype is non italic and capital letter. So the correct term would be: * Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Houtenae, or in short; Salmonella Houtenae. * The strain DSM554 is of serovar Typhimurium, and this should referenced like this: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium strain DSM 554 First two sentences are contradictory to eachother? Sentence starting "15 samples were incubated"; don't start sentence with number, it looks like 33.15 How much meat did you use? What CFU/g does these ct values translate too? Its important to know the sensitivity relative to legislation. The limit is zero in 100grams, but I don't assume you tested 100g? What does adaptive sampling mean? To exclude chicken DNA? The point v sentence under description of supplementary table t1 is a bit weird punctuation Gene-based pathogen identification: Working with meat to detect low abundance pathogenic bacteria is challenging without enrichment of the expected pathogen with selective methods. Just incubating it a x temperature might work for some bacteria, but others need special atmosphere (campylobacter, clostridia) and nutrients. How do you accommodate this? Figure 2 B: The grey bares samples ? why are they collapsed in the left corner? And shy are sdhA and mucD highlighted? Also, please put genes in italics. the grey bars on the right (y-axis) are not annotated? To which reference genome are the barplot in d referring to? I can see for instance in f that there is a number of snps or variants for the Houtenae and Typhimurium, but not Salamae, was the latter used as reference? "an AIDA autotransporter-like protein, only found in Enterica strain samples but not in samples spiked with Houtenae or Salamae strains." All these strains are of the subspecies enterica Figure 3: punctuations a bit off here and there. Why do you operate with cfu/ml? You added it to meat? It should be cfu/g? It would be nice with a presentation of the resistance panel of the three spiked strains before presenting the amr genes. "Similar but inverse relations are observed for CFU/mL value (Figure 3 C & D), with a threshold for VF and AMR gene detection at 106 ." cfu/ml of what? The rinse? Added ml? I don't even know how much meat were included in the dna extractions. "The further the samples are from these thresholds, the higher the number of VF genes and AMR genes identified. Indeed, the three top scattered dots with identified VF genes between 250 and 300 (Figure 3 A, C, E) are the samples with the highest number of reads, higher CFU/mL value, and a relatively lower Ct value compared to other samples." The tendency is ok, but not all. For instance, you have several exceptions here for both amr genes and vf genes. Maybe mark the dots after say spiked strain/enrichment or not?

      Discussion bit here : "enerally, allowing samples to incubate for a short period before se quencing enhances microbial growth, resulting in higher CFU/mL values and lower Ct values. This increase in microbial concentra tion improves the efficiency of direct sequencing by providing more genetic material for analysis, facilitating faster and more accurate pathogen detection. "

      Allele-based pathogen identification: "Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar typhimarium (NC_003197.2)": see earlier comment on writing correct taxonomically for Salmonella. "However, given the diversity among Salmonella subspecies in the samples, a high number of complex variants and SNPs were anticipated. " You only operate with ONE subspecies of Salmonella - S. enterica subsp. enterica. That's the relevant subspecies, and contains over 2500 serovariants. I don't understand this process; in an outbreak setting you are dependent on tracing, i.e. showing that you isolates are clonal. Pathogfair relies on mapping to a reference genome, but that again relies on isolation of suspected isolate and building a high quality assembly for the allel-based pathogen identification to work. Its not enough to just show that you have that or that serotype, you will have to show that they are clonal (i.e. separated by a limited number of SNPs, say max 20 snps over the full length of the chromosome). This method cannot do this. Samples with prior pathogen isolation: Do understand you correctly that you now exstract dna from isolates? Not whole samples matrix? If so, how is this benchmarking a pipeline intended for metagenomics sequencing? If you were to extract dna from feces/ food and then use your pipeline, that would be benchmarking. However, this doesn't prove that your pipeline works as you intend it to/or claim that it does. How were the samples prepared? If isolates, extraction method and sequencing techniques? Species name is written non-capitalized first letter, so Campylobacter jejuni. All gene names should be italicized. Suggest rewriting sentence: The wet lab procedures performed to isolate and prepare these samples for sequencing adhered to standard microbiological techniques, including cultivation, enrich ment, and isolation steps" to reflect actual sequel; enrichment, cultivation and isolation and verification." Conclusion: If for use for solely isolates, I think assemblies are a better way to go than this pipeline; its more reliable for clonality analysis needed in outbreaks. "We further supported the scientific community by introducing new 46 benchmark samples, making them publicly available. This demonstrates our significant investment of time and resources, providing valuable assets for future research." There are now 82000 c. jejuni just on ncbi, of which 600 are complete. Salmonella genomes are clocking on 524500 assemblies on enterobase. The contribution of these strains are not because they are new samples, but because your isolates represent data from an underrepresented region of the world, namely Palestine.

      Supplmentary figure s4 is cropped so that x-line annotation is not visible. SFigure 5 Midpoint root amr phylogenetic tree? Supplementary table 1: its unclear for me if you added this amount of bacteria or it was the result of after 1h or 24h enrichment. Also, I don't understand how much meat you used for the dna extraction. Same goes for ct values.

    2. AbstractBackground Food contamination by pathogens poses a global health threat, affecting an estimated 600 million people annually. During a foodborne outbreak investigation, microbiological analysis of food vehicles detects responsible pathogens and traces contamination sources. Metagenomic approaches offer a comprehensive view of the genomic composition of microbial communities, facilitating the detection of potential pathogens in samples. Combined with sequencing techniques like Oxford Nanopore sequencing, such metagenomic approaches become faster and easier to apply. A key limitation of these approaches is the lack of accessible, easy-to-use, and openly available pipelines for pathogen identification and tracking from (meta)genomic data.Findings PathoGFAIR is a collection of Galaxy-based FAIR workflows employing state-of-the-art tools to detect and track pathogens from metagenomic Nanopore sequencing. Although initially developed to detect pathogens in food datasets, the workflows can be applied to other metagenomic Nanopore pathogenic data. PathoGFAIR incorporates visualisations and reports for comprehensive results. We tested PathoGFAIR on 130 samples containing different pathogens from multiple hosts under various experimental conditions. For all but one sample, workflows have successfully detected expected pathogens at least at the species rank. Further taxonomic ranks are detected for samples with sufficiently high Colony-forming unit (CFU) and low Cycle Threshold (Ct) values.Conclusions PathoGFAIR detects the pathogens at species and subspecies taxonomic ranks in all but one tested sample, regardless of whether the pathogen is isolated or the sample is incubated before sequencing. Importantly, PathoGFAIR is easy to use and can be straightforwardly adapted and extended for other types of analysis and sequencing techniques, making it usable in various pathogen detection scenarios. PathoGFAIR homepage: https://usegalaxy-eu.github.io/PathoGFAIR/

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf017), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Federico Zambelli

      The authors present PathoGFAIR, a set of Galaxy workflows for the metagenomic analysis of shotgun Nanopore sequencing from isolated and non-isolated pathogens in contaminated food samples. They complement their work by analysing and releasing two datasets, one from isolated and the other from non-isolated samples, with the primary objective of illustrating the potentiality of the workflows. These datasets could also be used as benchmarks for future works.

      The manuscript is generally well-written, and the authors highlight the advantages of the proposed workflows in Table 1 by comparing them to similar solutions. The workflows are well integrated into the Galaxy network, are available on the three main usegalaxy instances, and provide a thorough tutorial through the Galaxy training platform. A notable advantage of PathoGFAIR over similar workflows is that, thanks to Galaxy, the final user can easily tailor them by replacing any tool in the workflow with others available in the Galaxy ecosystem. This also allows easy updates for the tools in the workflows.

      A few minor points that, if addressed, in my opinion, could further strengthen the manuscript:

      1 - The rationale behind the tool selection in each of the four workflows is not always clear. While insights are present for workflows 1 and 4, this is not true for workflows 2 and 3. The reader would benefit from understanding why one tool has been preferred over another for the same task, even more so, given the possibility to modify the workflows easily, when this preference could be the other way around in particular use cases or conditions.

      2—One of the main factors for a successful metagenomic analysis is the correctness, completeness, and up-to-dateness of the reference data. The authors should briefly describe how PathoGFAIR addresses this in Galaxy.

      3—While this workflow is clearly stated to be tailored for shotgun metagenomic sequencing, the authors contrast this approach only with targeted sequencing. Instead, they should also discuss the 16s rRNA metagenomic approach, for which Nanopore kits are available, and why PathoGFAIR has been limited to the analysis of shotgun data.

    1. Synthèse de l'Audition de la Défenseure des droits sur la Santé Mentale et le Handicap

      Résumé

      L'audition de la Défenseure des droits devant la commission d'enquête de l'Assemblée nationale dresse un tableau alarmant des défaillances systémiques dans la prise en charge de la santé mentale et du handicap en France.

      Le handicap constitue le premier motif de saisine pour discrimination (22 % des réclamations en 2024), soulignant un écart persistant entre les droits annoncés et leur effectivité.

      Les politiques de santé mentale sont jugées gravement insuffisantes, tant pour les majeurs que pour les mineurs.

      La situation est particulièrement critique en milieu carcéral, où la surreprésentation des troubles mentaux, conjuguée à la surpopulation et au manque de soins, conduit à des traitements qualifiés d'inhumains.

      Pour les jeunes, les données sont alarmantes (25 % souffrent de dépression), mais les services de pédopsychiatrie sont saturés, avec des délais d'attente dépassant un an, et un manque criant de données fiables pour piloter les politiques publiques.

      Le recours abusif à l'isolement et à la contention, notamment sur des mineurs hospitalisés en services pour adultes sans contrôle judiciaire, constitue une atteinte grave aux droits fondamentaux.

      Concernant le handicap, la loi de 2005, bien qu'ayant permis des avancées, est loin d'être intégralement appliquée.

      L'éducation inclusive reste un défi majeur, marqué par un manque d'AESH, des difficultés d'aménagement des examens et une absence de données précises sur le temps de scolarisation réel.

      L'emploi demeure le premier domaine de discrimination, et l'accessibilité (transports, logement, numérique) accuse un retard considérable. Les aides à l'autonomie sont insuffisantes et inégalitaires, notamment en raison du maintien d'une barrière d'âge à 60 ans.

      La Défenseure des droits insiste sur le fait que le non-respect des droits fondamentaux représente un coût social et économique élevé à terme, bien supérieur à celui d'un investissement dans la prévention et une prise en charge effective.

      L'urgence est de commencer par appliquer les textes existants et de prendre conscience de la détresse de la jeunesse.

      Introduction : Rôle et Observations du Défenseur des droits

      L'institution du Défenseur des droits est un observateur privilégié des carences des politiques publiques, car la question des droits des personnes handicapées traverse l'intégralité de ses cinq missions :

      • 1. Droits des usagers des services publics

      • 2. Lutte contre les discriminations

      • 3. Protection des droits des enfants

      • 4. Déontologie des forces de sécurité

      • 5. Protection des lanceurs d'alerte

      L'institution est également chargée du suivi de l'application de la Convention internationale relative aux droits des personnes handicapées (CIDPH), ratifiée par la France en 2019.

      Le Handicap : Premier Motif de Discrimination

      Depuis plusieurs années, le handicap est le premier motif de saisine en matière de discrimination. Cette constance révèle une problématique structurelle profonde.

      Année

      Nombre total de saisines (Discrimination)

      Part relative au handicap

      Nombre de réclamations (Handicap)

      2024

      5 679

      22%

      1 249

      Ces discriminations s'exercent dans de multiples domaines, incluant l'emploi, la scolarisation, la santé, la justice, les loisirs, le sport et la culture. L'institution se positionne comme un "très bon observatoire de ce qui ne va pas", mettant en lumière l'écart entre le droit annoncé et son effectivité sur le terrain.

      L'Argument Central : Le Coût du Non-Respect des Droits

      La Défenseure des droits conteste fermement l'idée que l'application des droits fondamentaux représenterait un coût financier trop important.

      Elle soutient au contraire que "c'est le non-respect des droits fondamentaux qui entraînera à terme un coût élevé pour la société", un argument particulièrement pertinent en période d'incertitude budgétaire.

      Les Défaillances dans la Prise en Charge de la Santé Mentale

      La Situation des Personnes Majeures

      La réponse des pouvoirs publics à la crise de la santé mentale, aggravée par la pandémie de Covid-19, reste insuffisante. Un Français sur trois sera confronté à un trouble psychiatrique au cours de sa vie. Les défaillances sont multiples :

      Quantitatives : Offres de soins trop faibles, capacités d'hospitalisation limitées, déserts médicaux.

      Organisationnelles : Système mal organisé et cloisonné entre le sanitaire et le médico-social.

      Humaines : Le secteur de la psychiatrie peine à recruter alors que les besoins augmentent.

      Ces carences entraînent des atteintes graves et répétées aux droits fondamentaux, notamment le droit à la santé, avec des délais d'attente excessifs, des ruptures de soins et des inégalités territoriales criantes qui pénalisent les plus précaires.

      Cas Spécifique : La Santé Mentale des Personnes Détenues

      La santé mentale des personnes détenues se dégrade faute d'un accompagnement adapté.

      Statistiques : Entre juillet 2024 et juillet 2025, la plateforme d'appel pour les détenus (3141) a reçu 1 065 appels (7,6%) pour des difficultés d'accès aux soins et 106 appels spécifiques pour un risque suicidaire.

      Causes de la surreprésentation des troubles mentaux :

      • 1. Une politique de désinstitutionnalisation qui a réduit les lits en psychiatrie sans développer de services de proximité en relais.  
      • 2. Une diminution du nombre de personnes déclarées pénalement irresponsables, qui se retrouvent de ce fait en prison.

      Conséquence juridique : Maintenir en détention une personne nécessitant une prise en charge médicale revient à lui infliger des "traitements inhumains", comme l'a souligné la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme (arrêt GC c. France, 2012).

      Facteurs aggravants : La surpopulation carcérale et l'absence de continuité des soins à la sortie, qui augmente le risque de récidive.

      La Situation des Mineurs

      Les résultats d'une étude de 2025 (Institut Montaigne, Mutualité française, Institut Teram) sont jugés alarmants :

      25% des jeunes (15-29 ans) souffrent de dépression.

      • Ce chiffre atteint 39% dans les outre-mer, avec des pics à plus de 50% en Guyane, 44% en Martinique et 43% à Mayotte.

      Problèmes Structurels Identifiés

      1. Manque de données fiables : L'absence de données agrégées au niveau national sur le nombre d'enfants en attente de prise en charge fragilise le pilotage des politiques publiques.

      Le rapport de la Cour des comptes de 2023 sur la pédopsychiatrie estime que sur 1,6 million d'enfants avec un trouble psychique, seuls 50 à 53% bénéficient de soins.

      2. Inégalités territoriales et pénurie de médecins : La politique du "virage ambulatoire" a renforcé le rôle des Centres Médico-Psychologiques (CMP), mais leur répartition est inégale (10 par département en moyenne, avec de fortes disparités).

      Les délais pour obtenir un premier rendez-vous dépassent souvent un an, ce qui est incompatible avec la nécessité d'une intervention rapide.

      3. Prise en charge inadaptée : Une source d'inquiétude majeure est l'hospitalisation d'enfants et d'adolescents au sein de services psychiatriques pour adultes, souvent par défaut de solutions dans le secteur médico-social ou en protection de l'enfance.

      Mesures d'Isolement et de Contention : Des Pratiques Abusives

      Le manque d'effectifs conduit trop souvent à des restrictions injustifiées des libertés, telles que des mesures d'isolement et de contention.

      Pour les majeurs : Le contrôle systématique par un juge des libertés et de la détention (JLD) pour les hospitalisations sans consentement est jugé peu efficace.

      Il repose principalement sur l'avis médical, et seules 10% des décisions aboutissent à une levée de la mesure. De plus, aucun contrôle judiciaire n'est prévu pour les soins ambulatoires sans consentement.

      Pour les mineurs : La situation est encore plus préoccupante. Un mineur hospitalisé à la demande de ses parents est placé sous le régime de "soins libres" et ne bénéficie d'aucun contrôle du JLD, même en cas d'isolement ou de contention.

      Ce vide juridique constitue une atteinte grave à leurs droits fondamentaux.

      Cas emblématique

      Une adolescente de 15 ans, atteinte d'autisme sévère, a été hospitalisée pendant plus de deux ans dans un service psychiatrique pour adultes, faute de place en structure médico-sociale. Durant cette période, elle a été :

      • Confinée dans une chambre d'isolement verrouillée plus de 20 heures par jour.

      • Déscolarisée.

      • Privée de soins somatiques essentiels (ex: soins dentaires). Cette situation, loin d'être un cas isolé, illustre les conséquences dramatiques du manque de solutions adaptées.

      Les Lacunes des Politiques Publiques Relatives au Handicap

      Éducation : Un Droit Garanti mais un Accès Difficile

      La loi de 2005 a permis une impulsion mais n'est toujours pas intégralement appliquée.

      Statistiques : 30% des saisines relatives aux droits de l'enfant concernent la scolarisation d'enfants en situation de handicap.

      Obstacles persistants : Inadaptation des locaux et du matériel, rigidité des programmes, formation insuffisante des professionnels.

      Accompagnement (AESH) : Malgré la création de postes, le manque persiste. La loi du 27 mai 2024 prévoyant la prise en charge de l'accompagnement sur le temps méridien par l'État est "très loin d'être effective" en raison de blocages entre les collectivités et les académies.

      Aménagements des examens : Une augmentation inquiétante des réclamations a été constatée en 2024 concernant des refus d'aménagement pour des élèves ou étudiants, parfois au prétexte paradoxal que leurs résultats scolaires étaient bons.

      Emploi : Premier Domaine de Discrimination

      L'emploi est le domaine où s'exercent le plus de discriminations liées au handicap. Sur les 1 249 réclamations de 2024, 21% concernent l'emploi privé et 24% l'emploi public. L'obligation d'emploi de 6% ne suffit pas à garantir l'égalité de traitement.

      Difficultés récurrentes :

      ◦ Aménagement tardif du poste de travail.    ◦ Non-respect par l'employeur des préconisations du médecin du travail.    ◦ Difficultés de maintien dans l'emploi, menant à des licenciements ou des démissions forcées.

      Accessibilité : Un Retard Important et Persistant

      L'accessibilité est une condition essentielle à la participation sociale et à la jouissance des droits.

      Transports : La loi a été modifiée pour ne concerner que les "points d'arrêt prioritaires", ce qui est jugé insuffisant.

      Logement : L'assouplissement des règles via la loi ELAN est une source d'inquiétude.

      Accessibilité numérique : La dématérialisation a des effets ambivalents. Selon l'ARCOM, peu de sites publics atteignent 50% d'accessibilité et seulement 5% sont totalement conformes. L'ordonnance de septembre 2023 renforçant les sanctions est saluée, mais elle doit s'accompagner du maintien d'accueils physiques accessibles.

      Aides à l'Autonomie : Insuffisantes et Inégales

      Vingt ans après la loi de 2005, le droit à la compensation du handicap présente des limites flagrantes.

      Barrière de l'âge : Une différence de traitement persiste selon que le handicap survient avant ou après 60 ans. La fusion des régimes, prévue pour 2010, n'a pas eu lieu.

      Prestation de Compensation du Handicap (PCH) :

      ◦ L'aide humaine est limitée aux besoins essentiels, excluant la vie sociale.    ◦ Les aides techniques sont sous-financées.    ◦ La PCH parentalité (2021) est critiquée pour ses critères restrictifs et son forfait inadapté.

      Conclusion et Recommandations Principales

      La Défenseure des droits conclut en réaffirmant l'engagement de son institution et formule plusieurs pistes d'action prioritaires :

      1. Application des textes existants : La première urgence, notamment pour le handicap, est "l'application pure et simple des textes votés par le parlement" et la publication des décrets d'application en attente.

      2. Priorité à la jeunesse : La santé mentale, grande cause nationale en 2025, doit se traduire par une "véritable prise de conscience collective", en particulier pour les jeunes qui ne peuvent être laissés sans réponse. L'investissement dans les CMP et le dépistage précoce est essentiel.

      3. Nécessité de données fiables : Il est impératif de collecter et d'agréger des données précises (ex: nombre d'heures de scolarisation effectives, nombre d'enfants en attente de place en IME) pour permettre un pilotage éclairé des politiques publiques.

      4. Formation des acteurs : Une meilleure formation des employeurs sur "l'aménagement raisonnable", des enseignants et des professionnels de santé est indispensable pour faire évoluer les pratiques.

      5. Abaisser la barrière d'âge de 60 ans : Il est nécessaire de mettre fin à cette distinction qui crée des inégalités de traitement injustifiées.

      6. Décloisonner les systèmes : Améliorer l'articulation entre les secteurs sanitaire, médico-social et éducatif est crucial pour assurer une fluidité des parcours et éviter les ruptures de prise en charge.

    1. Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata) is a colonial chordate that has long been studied for its multiple developmental pathways and regenerative abilities and its genetically determined allorecognition system based on a polymorphic locus that controls chimerism and cell parasitism. We present the first chromosome-level genome assembly from an isogenic colony of B. schlosseri clade A1 using a mix of long and short reads scaf-folded using Hi-C. This haploid assembly spans 533 Mb, of which 96% are found in 16 chromosome-scale scaffolds. With a BUSCO completeness of 91.2%, this complete and contiguous B. schlosseri genome assembly provides a valuable genomic resource for the scientific community and lays the foundation for future investigations into the molecular mechanisms underlying coloniality, regeneration, histocompatibility, and the immune system in tunicates.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf097), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3: Cristian Canestro

      TO THE AUTHORS

      In this MS entitled 'First chromosome-level genome assembly of the colonial chordate model Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata)', Olivier De Thier and colleagues report the first chromosome-scale assembly of this colonial ascidian specie, paying special attention to differences with previous published assemblies and importantly between haplotypes. The MS is very well written, very easy and pleasant to read. This provides data of great quality and very relevant not only for the ascidian/tunicate community, but to the field of genome structural evolution. I firmly recommend it for publication, although I think that the authors could discuss it in deeper detail. Specially, I miss for instance a more elaborate discussion of the results in our understanding of the similarities and differences between clades that have been published in the last years (I have not been able to find some relevant articles in this regard cited in the bibliography). I also feel that a deeper analysis of the differences between haplotypes could be very interesting, unless they are artifactual effects of the assemblies. As mentioned below, unless this is part of a longer story for a different MS beyond the scope of this one, I encourage the authors to validate some of the differences they find between haplotypes, and try to correlate the structural variations, with differences in gene counts between haplotypes, and to explore whether these differences could be correlated with aspects of biological relevance. I miss, for instance, Venn diagrams with gene contents between previous assemblies, and the haplotypes/haploid genome here reported. In any case, I firmly recommend this MS for publications, since most of my suggestions are not intended to interrogate the results of the MS, but to improve it, but I also understand that some may go beyond the scope of this MS.

      Minor points: Introduction Page 1: "the basic body plan of adult tunicates is highly conserved across the entire subphylum [3]". This sentence, which could be OK for ascidians, probably provides a highly simplified vision of Tunicate adult morphologies, specially comparing the divergent morphologies of Thaliaceans and Appendicularians. Please, elaborate the sentence.

      To understand the comparisons between the data of this MS and previously reported genomes, it seems crucial to understand well the meaning of the "clades and subclades". Please, include in the introduction (or where needed), how are defined those clades, which are their origins and biological/geographical differences, … and all the critical information that will specially help non-tunicate readers to understand the results.

      Results: The authors refer to the presence of large-scale genomic palindromes in Bs1 and Bs3. But it is unclear what are these structures. I suggest to please provide some more detailed explanation about the palindromic nature of these regions.

      The data of haplotype-resolved assemblies is very interesting. I wonder if it is possible to somehow measure the amount of heterozygosity between haplotype 1 and 2, and those versus the previous versions of the genome, to better understand intra and inter-variation between subclades? The differences of the size of some regions between Colombera and this study, and even between haplotypes 1 and 2, are very interesting. I would find more informative to merge the three graphs of Figure S9 into one single graph, so we can also easily compare the different in sizes of the haplotypes with the haploid. If some of those differences are actually due to deletions, that would deserve further analysis. If this analysis is not part of another ongoing project that will be published somewhere else, I suggest identifying with a dot-plot some of those differences, specially between haplotypes, and validate with long-reads crossing those regions whether some of the deletions are real or artifactual. Please, include the dotplot graph together with the two haplotypes in figure S10. In those cases that could be real, it would be very interesting what genes are gone, and if those are not placed somewhere else in the genome as result of translocations, or those genes are actually gone and could explain some of the differences reported in the gen count between haplotypes.

      The authors mentioned the presence of multiple structural variations, although some of which could be artifactual of miss-assemblies. Interestingly, the plot of the synteny blocks between the two haplotypes in figure S11 shows some of those structural variations, including cases of: - deletions: for instance, there are "blank" regions in Bs1A and Bs3A with no lines, which may reflect areas that are not present in the haplotype B. - duplications and translocations within chromosomes or between chromosomes of different haplotypes. Just looking to this plot, I wonder how the distribution of chromosomes between haplotypes is done. For instance, I see that Bs7B shares a duplicated synteny block with chromosomes Bs10B and Bs14B, but not with Bs10A and Bs10B, which means that the duplications are intra-haplotype present in B but not in A. But I wonder if it is possible that Bs10B and Bs14B could be in fact switched to haplotype A, and therefore there would be no duplication nor deletion in one of the haplotypes, just a simple translocation. I may be wrong in the interpretation, but I'm curious to understand the graph. In any case, again, as mentioned above, it would be worthy to validate some of those variations with long reads, which could illuminate the biological relevance between the haplotypes and discard potential artifactual errors of the assemblies.

      I notice that in figures 7 and S13, some lines are thicker than others. Is this because many "thin" lines are overlapped, and they look like a "thick" line. Otherwise, the visual effect of different thicknesses could be misleading. Please, clarify.

      In the analysis of the Hox cluster the authors say "[…] our new assembly revealed that B. schlosseri's Hox genes are not scattered. Instead, eight of them were clustered on the second largest scaffold (Bs2), whereas two other ones are found on the 15th largest scaffold (Bs15)." Generally, the description of the Hox gene in a cluster refers to the fact they are in the vicinity, with near not many other genes in between Hox genes. Therefore, I would not describe that eight Hox genes are clustered by the simple fact that they are in the same chromosome (maybe even in different arms).

    2. AbstractBotryllus schlosseri (Tunicata) is a colonial chordate that has long been studied for its multiple developmental pathways and regenerative abilities and its genetically determined allorecognition system based on a polymorphic locus that controls chimerism and cell parasitism. We present the first chromosome-level genome assembly from an isogenic colony of B. schlosseri clade A1 using a mix of long and short reads scaf-folded using Hi-C. This haploid assembly spans 533 Mb, of which 96% are found in 16 chromosome-scale scaffolds. With a BUSCO completeness of 91.2%, this complete and contiguous B. schlosseri genome assembly provides a valuable genomic resource for the scientific community and lays the foundation for future investigations into the molecular mechanisms underlying coloniality, regeneration, histocompatibility, and the immune system in tunicates.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf097), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Tilman Schell

      Review of

      First chromosome-level genome assembly of the colonial chordate model Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata)

      from

      Olivier De Thier, Marie Lebel, Mohammed M. Tawfeeq, Roland Faure, Philippe Dru, Simon Blanchoud, Alexandre Alié, Federico D. Brown, Jean-François Flot and Stefano Tiozzo

      Comments to the authors

      De Thier et al. present a high-quality chromosome scale de novo assembly of the tunicate Botryllus schlosseri from mainly PacBio HiFi and Arima Hi-C reads. Further WGS Illumina and ONT data was applied to resolve assembly errors or support the correctness of the assembly structure. Structural and functional annotations are conducted thoroughly. Downstream analyses include a synteny comparison of different Tunicata based on ancestral linkage groups and Hox genes.

      The manuscript is well written and methods are mostly described to ensure reproducibility. Despite the good shape of the manuscript, I would like to give some remarks, which should be addressed in a revised manuscript before publication.

      General remarks

      I like the quote in the beginning of the introduction.

      The authors conducted downstream analyses with different related tunicate genome assemblies on chromosome level. For assembly metrics, there is a comparison regarding BUSCO assessment only. I would point out the high quality of the B. schlosseri assembly in Table 2 and 4 by comparison with the other chromosome level and annotated tunicate genome assemblies as well.

      I am not an expert regarding tunicates, so please excuse my basic, curiosity driven question: In the results section "The laboratory model Sub-clade A1" you state that a part of COI is used as a barcode to differentiate ascidian species. In the introduction you state that wild colonies are able to fuse resulting in mixed genotypes. Since sample E derived from the wild at some point, it might be theoretically possible to have not only mixed nuclear genotypes but mixed mitotypes too. Depending on how old sample E is and how fast fixation of a mitotype can happen within a colony, this might be reflected in your data. Furthermore, this thought could be expanded to nuclear genotypes, which could hamper scientific findings.

      Contamination filtering was based on a sequence similarity search and taxonomic assignment of blobtools only. Despite blobtools/blobtoolkit was applied I was not able to find a blobplot in the supplemental files. I would like to encourage the authors to add blobplots before and after contamination filtering at least to the supplement. In my opinion, blobplots are most powerful when considering GC content and coverage in the first place - especially, when dealing with taxa, which are underrepresented in public databases. Therefore, using taxonomic assignment only for contamination filtering might generate false positives (e.g. conserved sequences across the tree of life with taxonomic assignment different than Chordata but with similar GC and coverage as the target) and false negatives (e.g. short sequences of the assembly, which couldn't be assigned with different GC and coverage as the target).

      In the paragraphs "Results and Discussion" (Haplotype-resolved assembly) as well as in "Methods" (Haploid genome assembly) you use the term "haploid assembly" multiple times. I find this term misleading, since the genome is not haploid and the assembly represents both haplotypes at the same time. I assume that primary contigs from hifiasm were used to generate this assembly. Therefore, I would suggest to e.g. call this assembly "based on primary contigs", "non phased", "haplotype mixed" or "haplotype unresolved" (as opposite to "haplotype resolved").

      Particular remarks

      Results and Discussion

      Sequencing and genome size estimation

      Table 1 Please specify what "round 1" and "round 2" are referring to. Was one library sequenced twice or were two different libraries created and sequenced?

      Haploid genome assembly

      "We identified 28 contigs that belong to spore-forming unicellular parasites of the microsporidia group [32]. This represents the first report of this fungal group in a tunicate species." Is this identification based on blobtools taxonomic assignment? This is not described in the methods. Furthermore, can you rule out that identification or taxonomic assignment is false positive? If not you should tune down the second sentence and maybe discuss this.

      "We then performed Hi-C scaffolding using YaHS [34], which reduced the number of contigs to 256, before [...]" Technically, scaffolding with yahs can only increase the number of contigs because original (hifiasm) contigs are split because of the Hi-C signal (at least as long the option --no-contig-ec isn't applied). I would substitute "contigs" with "sequences".

      "Finally, a manual curation was performed, resulting in an assembly made up of 16 major scaffolds [...]" Is there any previous study on the karyotype of B. schlosseri? If so, citing it here would strengthen your results. Otherwise, I would recommend to state the karyotypes or the number of chromosome scale scaffolds of other tunicates here and discuss, if your findings are in line.

      Table 2 Please substitute "No. of scaffolds" with "No. of sequences". Please add the contig N50 values. As pointed out above, I would like to see a comparison to the other chromosome level tunicate genome assemblies here, instead of showing basically the same stats twice.

      "[…] highlighted the presence of two large-scale genomic palindromes located within Bs1 and a smaller one in Bs3 (Figure 3)." The figure shows the presence but maybe you can highlight them in the figure and the caption even more?

      "To find out whether these palindromes may result from assembly artifacts [40], we checked the localization of the duplicated BUSCO genes along the chromosomes and did another run of CRAQ [...]" You could support your findings by showing an even coverage distribution within the palindromes, which is similar to the coverage distribution of whole assembly. Either as a histogram or a zoomed in version of the read coverage across reference as in the outer layer of the circos plot could show this nicely.

      Methods

      Sampling, DNA isolation, and sequencing

      "HiFi PacBio long reads" Please provide more details on how PacBio libraries (was it actually one library sequenced twice or two different libraries?) were created and sequenced. Were low or ultra-low protocols used? On which machine was sequencing conducted?

      RNA-seq data

      Is downloading public data a method? In any case you should cite the original papers and provide a list of accession numbers (supplement) but I would remove this paragraph and add the information to the paragraph "Genome annotation", e.g. "Public available RNA-seq reads [23, 25, 8] were aligned to the soft-masked assemblies [...]"

      Data preprocessing

      Depending on how the PacBio libraries were created and which PacBio machine was utilized for sequencing, you should state how HiFi calling was conducted (e.g. Sequel II) and how PCR adapter and duplicates were filtered out (e.g. ultra-low).

      Haploid genome assembly

      "To this aim, contigs were aligned to the NCBI nucleotide database (accessed 2023 March 18) using BLAST+ [78]" Please state the version of BLAST+.

      "Finally, a BLASTN search for fragments of the mitochondrial genome among the contigs was performed using the published complete mitochondrial genome of B. schlosseri (RefSeq NC_021463.1) [28]." Were the fragments filtered out based on the blast search? Please explain what was done in detail. Which hits were considered (e.g. cutoffs)? The mitochondrial genome of E was assembled with NOVOPlasty, which is by the way not stated in the methods but in the results only. Was the assembled mt genome of E added to the assembly, once the fragments were filtered out?

      Haplotype-resolved assembly

      If I understand correctly, the rapid curation pipeline was applied but no dual-curation was conducted. When aiming for haplotype-resolved assemblies, I would recommend to apply this method, e.g. concatenating both haplotypes and creating a combined contact map of haplotype 1 and 2, which can be curated as usual, with the advantage of being able to exchange (parts of) sequences between the haplotypes. In some cases phasing from hifiasm is not correct and can be easily corrected with this approach.

    1. Synthèse de l'Audition de Claire Hédon, Défenseure des droits

      L'audition de Claire Hédon, Défenseure des droits, a été l'occasion de présenter le rapport annuel d'activité de son institution, soulignant son rôle crucial dans la protection et la promotion des droits et libertés en France.

      Elle a exprimé une vive inquiétude face à la fragilisation des droits, exacerbée par un discours qui les présente comme des obstacles, ainsi que par la dématérialisation excessive des services publics et le désengagement de l'État dans les territoires.

      Deux alertes majeures ont été mises en lumière : l'ampleur croissante des discriminations et les défaillances de l'administration numérique, notamment pour les étrangers.

      1. Mission et Cadre d'Action de l'Institution

      La Défenseure des droits a rappelé que son institution, inscrite dans la Constitution, a pour mission de "veiller au respect des droits et des libertés". Ses cinq domaines de compétence sont :

      • La défense des droits des usagers dans leurs relations avec les services publics.
      • La défense et la promotion des droits de l'enfant et de l'intérêt supérieur de l'enfant.
      • La lutte contre les discriminations et la promotion de l'égalité.
      • Le respect de la déontologie des forces de sécurité.
      • L'information, l'orientation et la protection des lanceurs d'alerte.
      • L'institution, forte de 256 agents professionnels du droit et de 620 délégués bénévoles répartis sur tout le territoire, a traité près de 141 000 réclamations en 2024. Hédon a souligné l'efficacité de la médiation, avec 80 % des réclamations traitées par cette voie et les trois quarts aboutissant à un règlement amiable, permettant d'éviter la judiciarisation des conflits. Elle a insisté sur l'indépendance de son rôle, qui lui permet de "dire et d'obtenir des avancées" et de "faire émerger des sujets dans le débat public".

      2. Une Inquiétante Fragilisation des Droits

      Claire Hédon a exprimé une profonde inquiétude quant à la "fragilisation et l'éloignement des services publics liés à une dématérialisation excessive, un désengagement de l'État dans les territoires", ce qui "conduisent immanquablement à une fragilisation et à un éloignement des droits".

      Cette dynamique "mine l'effectivité des droits, génère d'ailleurs du ressentiment contre les institutions, génère aussi des tensions dans la société et abîme le sentiment d'appartenance à la République".

      3. L'Ampleur Croissante des Discriminations

      Les discriminations sont un "phénomène très préoccupant" dont l'ampleur "inquiète à la mesure d'ailleurs du non recours en la matière".

      Elle a fourni des chiffres éloquents :

      • 18 % de la population de 18 à 49 ans déclarait avoir été discriminée en 2020, contre 14 % en 2008.
      • Un jeune sur trois (18-34 ans) a été victime de discrimination, selon le 14ème baromètre avec l'OIT.
      • Hausse de 52 % du nombre de victimes de discrimination entre 2021 et 2022.

      • Malgré ces chiffres, les réclamations auprès de l'institution ont baissé de 15 % en 2024, ce qui interpelle la Défenseure. Le "non recours" s'explique par la "peur des représailles, le sentiment d'inutilité, le découragement, les difficultés à établir les faits [et la] méconnaissance des droits".

      Les discriminations liées à l'origine (cumulées avec nationalité, apparence physique et conviction religieuse) représentent 25 % des réclamations, avec un pic d'appels (+53%) en mai-juin 2024 pour des propos haineux.

      Claire Hédon regrette un "essoufflement des politiques publiques" et que la "non-discrimination comme objectif politique a pratiquement disparu du débat public et des discours des décideurs qui préfèrent parler de diversité de lutte contre les discours de haine".

      Elle a insisté sur l'importance de faire appliquer le droit existant plutôt que d'ajouter de nouveaux critères.

      Des exemples concrets de médiations réussies ont été cités, comme l'accès à un logement décent ou le non-renouvellement de CDD lié à un état de grossesse.

      4. Défaillances de la Dématérialisation et Droits des Étrangers

      • Le deuxième point d'alerte concerne les "atteintes aux droits causées par la fragilisation du service public dématérialisé", en particulier le cas de l'Administration Numérique des Étrangers en France (ANEF).

      Les réclamations concernant les relations avec les services publics représentent 90 % des saisines, dont 37 % pour les droits des étrangers en 2024 (contre 10 % en 2019 et un quart en 2023).

      La "multiplication des dysfonctionnements de l'administration numérique des étrangers en France prive trop souvent les personnes étrangères de la possibilité même de formuler une telle demande".

      Ces défaillances touchent majoritairement des personnes déjà intégrées, les plaçant en situation irrégulière et leur faisant perdre emploi et droits.

      Les recommandations incluent la reconnaissance du droit à un accès multicanal, la modification du téléservice pour permettre plusieurs démarches simultanées, la facilitation du renouvellement des attestations de prolongation d'instruction (API), et le renforcement des moyens humains dans les préfectures.

      Claire Hédon a réaffirmé que, contrairement aux dires du Ministre de l'Intérieur, les dysfonctionnements de l'ANEF n'ont pas diminué.

      5. Autres Domaines de Compétence

      • Droits de l'Enfant : Le rapport 2024 a porté sur le droit à un environnement sain.

      Les 3073 réclamations en 2024 alertent sur les difficultés scolaires des enfants handicapés (manque d'accompagnement), le problème des "lycéens sans lycée" (plus de 23 600 en 2024), et les "violences éducatives au sein d'établissements scolaires".

      La Défenseure a plaidé pour un contrôle renforcé des établissements et un suivi rigoureux des professionnels.

      • Déontologie des Forces de Sécurité : Sur 2434 saisines en 2024, des "défaillances dans le contrôle hiérarchique" et des "rapports incomplets, erronés ou minimisant les incidents" ont été constatés.

      Une décision de décembre 2024 sur la prise en charge d'une femme sous "soumission chimique" a mis en lumière la difficulté à distinguer cet état de l'alcoolisation, appelant à l'amélioration des techniques de détection et à la formation des forces de l'ordre.

      • Protection des Lanceurs d'Alerte : Le nombre de saisines a significativement augmenté, passant de 134 en 2022 à 519 en 2024 (soit une hausse de 70 % en 2024). Un pôle spécialisé a été créé. Les lanceurs d'alerte, souvent confrontés à des représailles, sont des "vigies de l'intérêt général".

      Les recommandations incluent l'amélioration de la communication autour du dispositif légal, le soutien financier et psychologique, et la réévaluation du périmètre des autorités externes de recueil des signalements (ex: inclure les ARS).

      6. Enjeu Prospectif : L'Intelligence Artificielle

      • L'IA est une "source de progrès indéniable mais aussi de menaces sur les droits et libertés", notamment par le biais d'algorithmes utilisés dans le recrutement, la gestion des ressources humaines, l'accès aux biens et services, et la lutte contre la fraude.

      Le recours au data mining dans la lutte contre la fraude présente des "risques de biais discriminatoires", touchant particulièrement les populations précaires.

      Un travail est en cours pour garantir une "action humaine" dans les procédures d'affectation scolaire (Parcoursup, Affelnet).

      7. Échanges avec les Parlementaires

      Les députés ont posé des questions variées, reflétant les préoccupations locales et nationales :

      • Antisémitisme : Bien que l'institution ne soit compétente que sur les discriminations et non les propos, Claire Hédon a noté une augmentation des actes antisémites et des appels au 3928 liés à des propos haineux en général. Elle a insisté sur l'absence de saisines spécifiques pour discrimination antisémite, mais un lien est fait avec le CRIF pour aborder les situations de harcèlement discriminatoire.
      • Discrimination liée à la grossesse : Claire Hédon a jugé la loi actuelle "très protectrice" et s'est dite "excessivement inquiète" du nombre de cas, notamment dans la fonction publique et le secteur privé, où des femmes sont poussées à la démission après un congé maternité.
      • Services Publics et Dématérialisation : Elle a réaffirmé que le problème n'est pas la dématérialisation en soi, mais le fait d'en faire la "seule porte d'entrée". Elle a appelé à la possibilité de déposer des dossiers papier et à renforcer le contact humain, saluant les initiatives comme la "pirogue France Service" en Guyane.
      • Droits des Étrangers : Les parlementaires ont confirmé les difficultés de leurs administrés. Claire Hédon a souligné que les atteintes aux droits des étrangers sont un "marqueur essentiel du niveau de protection plus généralement accordé aux droits et aux libertés dans notre pays". Elle a insisté sur la nécessité du renouvellement automatique des API pour désengorger les préfectures.
      • Discrimination des Seniors : Les chiffres du baromètre OIT montrent qu'un quart des seniors a subi une discrimination liée à l'âge, et un sur deux a connu des relations de travail dévalorisantes. Les seniors "non blancs" ou en mauvaise santé sont particulièrement touchés. Des recommandations incluent la sensibilisation, la formation des employeurs et l'anticipation des fins de carrière.
      • Refus de Soins Discriminatoires : Un rapport récent a mis en lumière l'ampleur du phénomène, avec des refus de rendez-vous et des minimisations de la douleur. Des "15 500 récits" de patients et soignants ont été reçus. Les recommandations visent à élaborer une stratégie nationale, faciliter les recours et prononcer des sanctions effectives.
      • Refus de Dépôt de Plainte : La persistance de refus de dépôt de plainte, particulièrement pour les femmes victimes de violence ou les personnes vulnérables (gens du voyage, handicapés), est une préoccupation.

      Bien que les délégués puissent intervenir, il est préférable d'éviter ce refus initial.

      • Accès à l'Éducation en Détention : L'institution est "excessivement inquiète" de la situation dans les établissements pour mineurs (EPM), notamment à Marseille, où les enfants sont confrontés à des heures d'éducation insuffisantes et un manque d'activités sportives. Les délégués de la Défenseure sont présents dans les lieux de détention et constatent ces entraves aux droits.
      • Statistiques par Sexe : Les statistiques sont disponibles et montrent des différences notables : les femmes saisissent majoritairement sur les droits des enfants, les hommes sur la déontologie des forces de sécurité.
      • En conclusion, Claire Hédon a rappelé que la défense des droits et libertés est une "nécessité pour les personnes concernées" et contribue à une "société plus apaisée et plus juste".

      Elle a souligné le rôle de son institution comme "pôle de stabilité et de permanence" dans un contexte où les droits sont fragiles, appelant à travailler sur l'effectivité du droit existant plutôt que d'en rajouter.

      Elle a enfin mis en garde contre le fait de "monter les populations les unes contre les autres", estimant que cela n'est bénéfique pour personne.

    1. AbstractBackground Reference genomes for the entire sea turtle clade have the potential to reveal the genetic basis of traits driving the ecological and phenotypic diversity in these ancient and iconic marine species. Furthermore, these genomic resources can support conservation efforts and deepen our understanding of their unique evolution.Results We present haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level reference genomes and high-quality gene annotations for five sea turtle species. This completes the catalog of reference genomes of the entire sea turtle clade when combined with our previously published reference genomes. Our analysis reveals remarkable genome synteny and collinearity across all species, despite the clade’s origin dating back more than 60 million years. Regions of high interspecific genetic distance and intraspecific genetic diversity are consistently clustered in genomic hotspots, which are enriched with genes coding for immune response proteins, olfactory receptors, zinc fingers, and G-protein-coupled receptors. These hotspot regions may offer insights into the genetic mechanisms driving phenotypic divergence among species, and represent areas of significant adaptive potential. Ancient demographic analysis revealed a synchronous population expansion among sea turtle species during the Pleistocene, with varying magnitudes of demographic change, likely shaped by their diverse ecological adaptations, and biogeographic contexts.Conclusions Our work provides genomic resources for exploring genetic diversity, evolutionary adaptations, and demographic histories of sea turtles. We outline genomic regions with increased diversity, linked to immune response, sensory evolution, and adaptation to varying environments that have historically been subject to strong diversifying selection, and likely will underpin sea turtle’s responses to future environmental change. These reference genomes can assist conservation by providing insights into the demographic and evolutionary processes that sustain and threaten these iconic species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf105), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3: Xiaoli Liu

      (1)It is recommended to add keywords such as "conservation genomics" or "adaptive evolution" to better align with the content. (2)In the background section, after discussing the current status of sea turtles and existing genomic research, the study's content is introduced directly without adequately explaining why it is necessary to sequence the genomes of the remaining five species of sea turtles on top of the existing partial genomic data. The introduction of the research objectives appears somewhat abrupt. (3)Last line of page four"Previous analyses in particular of the……within this ancient clade [34,38]":When introducing the broad context of genomics and biodiversity conservation, it is important to provide detailed explanations for key concepts such as 'genomic synteny' and 'colinearity'. Although these concepts are covered later in the analysis of the turtle genome, providing initial elaboration can help readers better understand subsequent content. (4)Page 6 Section 2.2:The range of this quality value, 38.7, is incorrect. Please verify carefully. (5)Result 3.1:High conservation at the chromosomal level is supported, but repetitive sequences must be excluded from synteny analysis. (6)Section 3.4, Second Paragraph:The reliability of PSMC in low-diversity species, such as N. depressus, may be limited; it is recommended to validate findings with other methods, such as MSMC2. (7)It is recommended to include a detailed description of sample selection in the methods section, covering aspects such as geographic distribution, population size, and sample collection methods, to demonstrate the representativeness and reliability of the selected samples.

    2. AbstractBackground Reference genomes for the entire sea turtle clade have the potential to reveal the genetic basis of traits driving the ecological and phenotypic diversity in these ancient and iconic marine species. Furthermore, these genomic resources can support conservation efforts and deepen our understanding of their unique evolution.Results We present haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level reference genomes and high-quality gene annotations for five sea turtle species. This completes the catalog of reference genomes of the entire sea turtle clade when combined with our previously published reference genomes. Our analysis reveals remarkable genome synteny and collinearity across all species, despite the clade’s origin dating back more than 60 million years. Regions of high interspecific genetic distance and intraspecific genetic diversity are consistently clustered in genomic hotspots, which are enriched with genes coding for immune response proteins, olfactory receptors, zinc fingers, and G-protein-coupled receptors. These hotspot regions may offer insights into the genetic mechanisms driving phenotypic divergence among species, and represent areas of significant adaptive potential. Ancient demographic analysis revealed a synchronous population expansion among sea turtle species during the Pleistocene, with varying magnitudes of demographic change, likely shaped by their diverse ecological adaptations, and biogeographic contexts.Conclusions Our work provides genomic resources for exploring genetic diversity, evolutionary adaptations, and demographic histories of sea turtles. We outline genomic regions with increased diversity, linked to immune response, sensory evolution, and adaptation to varying environments that have historically been subject to strong diversifying selection, and likely will underpin sea turtle’s responses to future environmental change. These reference genomes can assist conservation by providing insights into the demographic and evolutionary processes that sustain and threaten these iconic species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf105), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Brendan Reid

      The authors of this work provide a fantastic addition to the genomic resources currently available for marine turtles with five new, apparently high-quality reference genomes. These new resources enable a number of interesting cross-species analyses in this group, including phylogenetic reconstruction, inference of demographic history, and identification of hotspots of diversity and divergence. I though this paper was quite clearly written and easy to read overall, and I have one major and a few more minor comments/suggestions.

      Major comment: there is an extensive literature on hybridization among marine turtle lineages (see Vilaca et al. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16113, for a recent genomic example), with lots of evidence for ancient gene flow after initial lineage divergence as well as recent hybridization. The authors do not really mention this phenomenon at all, and since I think it has a lot of bearing on all of the results it would make sense to re-think your findings in light of the fact that some level of gene flow has occurred. Would extensive synteny/lack of genomic rearrangements potentially enable hybridization? Is overall low divergence among lineages potentially a function of gene flow? Are regions of high divergence the result of selection (as you suggest), or could these regions potentially be resistant to gene flow? I believe that IQtree assumes a strictly bifurcating tree, and gene flow can influence PSMC inferences (see Mazet et al. 2016, https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2015.104) - how would gene flow among lineages affect your inference of divergence dates and demographic histories?

      MInor commentsL [note - line numbers would have been helpful for providing comments on specific items! I will refer to the lower-left page numbers and paragraph instead]:

      page 3, paragraph 2: Some of the applications you refer to here don't seem terribly germane to the relevance of "genomic resources" in management and conservation per se, and several are just methods using some kind of genetic data ... e.g., "abundance"/close-kin mark recapture doesn't require full genomes (and the reference you cite used microsat data), and the "community"/eDNA applications don't generally rely on genomes but instead on databases of a few (usually mitochondrial) genes. Either include methods that truly benefit from the development of high-quality reference genomes or broaden this to something like "growth in molecular ecology techniques".

      page 4, paragraph 2: last sentence is a bit of a run-on, could break this up a bit.

      page 10, paragraph 3: for me, the ROH methods need some additional explanation and interpretation. The more detailed methods indicate that the ROH were identified on the basis of lower-than-average heterozygosity rather than true homozygosity - I can understand why this might have been done (since the baseline level of heterozygosity varies across species) but it still seems a bit arbitrary and could risk mistaking stretches with simply low variation for IBD tracts. I wonder if a ROH-detection method like ROHan that explicitly incorporates baseline genomic heterozygosity into its model would be more appropriate for comparing results across species and could give different results. I also question a bit the interpretation of these low-diversity tracts as evidence of inbreeding per se. The authors do not comment much on the length distributions of these ROH - given that many of them are quite short I would expect that if there was mating between close kin it probably happened far back in the past and the IBD tracts have been broken up by recombination.

      page 11, paragraph 2: for PSMC analyses it is important to note the method assumes that differences in coalescence time/Ne across the genome result from demography alone. If portions of the genome are under balancing/diversifying selection (such as the areas of high diversity that you detect in this study), the local Ne for inferred these regions would be expected to be larger than the rest of the genome, which could lead to the spurious detection of population expansion or contraction (more likely a contraction for balancing selection). See Boitard et al. 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyac008) for a more detailed treatement. I would try excluding the regions putatively under diversifying selection and re-run PSMC to see if your inferences change.

    3. AbstractBackground Reference genomes for the entire sea turtle clade have the potential to reveal the genetic basis of traits driving the ecological and phenotypic diversity in these ancient and iconic marine species. Furthermore, these genomic resources can support conservation efforts and deepen our understanding of their unique evolution.Results We present haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level reference genomes and high-quality gene annotations for five sea turtle species. This completes the catalog of reference genomes of the entire sea turtle clade when combined with our previously published reference genomes. Our analysis reveals remarkable genome synteny and collinearity across all species, despite the clade’s origin dating back more than 60 million years. Regions of high interspecific genetic distance and intraspecific genetic diversity are consistently clustered in genomic hotspots, which are enriched with genes coding for immune response proteins, olfactory receptors, zinc fingers, and G-protein-coupled receptors. These hotspot regions may offer insights into the genetic mechanisms driving phenotypic divergence among species, and represent areas of significant adaptive potential. Ancient demographic analysis revealed a synchronous population expansion among sea turtle species during the Pleistocene, with varying magnitudes of demographic change, likely shaped by their diverse ecological adaptations, and biogeographic contexts.Conclusions Our work provides genomic resources for exploring genetic diversity, evolutionary adaptations, and demographic histories of sea turtles. We outline genomic regions with increased diversity, linked to immune response, sensory evolution, and adaptation to varying environments that have historically been subject to strong diversifying selection, and likely will underpin sea turtle’s responses to future environmental change. These reference genomes can assist conservation by providing insights into the demographic and evolutionary processes that sustain and threaten these iconic species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf105), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Laura Caquelin

      1. Summary of the Study The authors aimed to create high-quality reference genomes for five sea turtle species to better understand their genetic diversity, evolutionary adaptations, and ecological traits. They used haplotype-resolved, chromosome-level reference genomes and gene annotations to reveal conserved genome structures, genetic hotspots linked to immune response and sensory evolution, and patterns of demographic expansion. Their findings highlight areas of genetic diversity critical for adaptation and conservation efforts.

      2. Scope of reproducibility

      According to our assessment the primary objective is: Investigation of multi-copy gene family enrichment in genomic hotspots of sea turtles.

      • Outcome: Significant enrichment of "MHC", "Immunology-related", "G-Protein Coupled Receptor" (GPCR), "Olfactory Receptor" or "Zinc-Finger" in genomic hotspots with high genetic divergence, diversity, and gene density.
      • Analysis method outcome: Fisher's exact test followed by Benjamini-Hochberg correction
      • Main result: "Following functional annotation of the genes found in these hotspots, we found enrichment for multi-copy gene families coding for proteins with functions in immune response, olfactory receptors (ORs), zinc fingers, and G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs_ (Fig 4c, Tables S6 & S7). This included enrichment of immunology-related genes, GPCRs, ORs, and Zinc-finger genes in chromosome 13 (adjusted p < 10-42, 10-47, 10-79, 0.01, respectively), MHC genes, Immunology-related genes, GPCRs, ORs, and Zinc-finger genes in chromosome 14 (adjusted p < 10-24, 10-6, 10-2, 10-10, 10-52, respectively) and Immunology-related genes and GPCRs in chromosome 24 (adjusted p < 10-3 and 10-3, respectively)." (page 10).

      • Availability of Materials a. Data

      • Data availability: Open
      • Data completeness: Complete
      • Access Method: Repository
      • Repository: https://git.imp.fu-berlin.de/begendiv/sea_turtlegenomes
      • Data quality: The data files have been shared and appear sufficient for running the analyses. However, no metadata is provided to describe the content, structure, or origin of the files which limits interpretability and reusability. b. Code
      • Code availability: Open
      • Programming Language(s): R (for the enrichment test)
      • Repository link: https://git.imp.fu-berlin.de/begendiv/sea_turtlegenomes
      • License: MIT license
      • Repository status: Public
      • Documentation: Short README, describe only the presentation of the directory.

      • Computational environment of reproduction analysis

      • Operating system for reproduction: MacOS 14.7.4

      • Programming Language(s): R
      • Code implementation approach: Using shared code
      • Version environment for reproduction: R version 4.4.1/RStudio 2024.09.0

      • Results

      5.1 Original study results

      Results 1: The main results are presented in Figure 4 and the numerical p-values are available on supplementary table 6 and table 7.

      5.3 Steps for reproduction -> Run the code "enrichment_test.R" shared on Git - Issue 1: Files needed to run the code are not shared in the Git repository: "GCF_009764565.3_rDerCor1.pri.v4_genomic.longest.aa.tsv", "hotspots_chr13.longest.aa.tsv", "hotspots_chr14.longest.aa.tsv", "hotspots_chr24.longest.aa.tsv". -- Resolved: These analysis data are not shared in the internal Gigascience FTP server or the Git repository. After request, the authors uploaded all the files into the Git repository.

      5.4 Statistical comparison Original vs Reproduced results - Results: The table S6 and S7 was reproduced: -- Supplementary table S6: see screenshot from R console -- Supplementary table S7: see screenshot from R console

      • Comments: The original R code "enrichment_test.R" simply stored the p-values results in a value object. To simplify the comparison process, directly obtain the final table, and ensure reproducibility while minimizing errors, we implemented the creation of the table.

      ------------------ Start of R code ------------------ Creating final tables Corresponding to supplementary table S6 table_S6 <- data.frame( enrichment = c("MHC", "Immunology", "GPCR", "Olfactory", "Zinc-finger"), Chr13 = c(p_mhc13, p_immune13, p_gpcr13, p_or13, p_zinc13), Chr14 = c(p_mhc14, p_immune14, p_gpcr14, p_or14, p_zinc14), Chr24 = c(p_mhc24, p_immune24, p_gpcr24, p_or24, p_zinc24))

      Corresponding to supplementary table S7 Create a vector of names for rows and columns ( ! warning the pvalues in fdrs are not in the same order as the table S7) enrichment <- c("MHC", "Olfactory", "GPCR", "Immunology", "Zinc-finger") chromosomes <- c("Chr13", "Chr14", "Chr24")

      Reorganizing fdrs in a matrix table_S7 <- matrix(fdrs, nrow = length(enrichment), byrow = TRUE) rownames(table_S7) <- enrichment colnames(table_S7) <- chromosomes

      Organizing rows as the original table S7 library(dplyr) table_S7 <- as.data.frame(table_S7) # Convert matrix to data frame table_S7 <- table_S7 %>% slice(match(c("MHC", "Immunology", "GPCR", "Olfactory", "Zinc-finger"), enrichment)) ------------------- End of R code -------------------

      • Errors detected: The statement "MHC genes, Immunology-related genes, GPCRs, ORs, and Zinc-finger genes in chromosome 14 (adjusted p < 10^-24, 10^-6, 10^-2, 10^-10, 10^-52, respectively)" (page 10) appears to contain an error. Specifically, the p-value for Olfactory Receptors (5.583367e-10) is greater than the threshold of 10^-10, suggesting that this value should instead be below 10^-9. Therefore, the threshold for Olfactory Receptors should be revised to 10^-9.

      • Statistical Consistency: The p-values are consistent (see screenshot from R console).

      • Conclusion

      • Summary of the computational reproducibility review The inferential statistics for the objective "Investigation of multi-copy gene family enrichment in genomic hotspots of sea turtles" were successfully reproduced using the original analysis code provided by the authors. The input data needed to run the code were initially unavailable but were subsequently shared through the Git repository. An inconsistency was noted in the text of the manuscript reporting a threshold for Olfactory Receptors, where the stated 10^-10 should be revised to 10^-9 based on the observed p-value (5.583367e-10).

      • Recommendations for authors While the original analysis code was successfully used to reproduce the results, we recommend improving the documentation to enhance clarity and reproducibility. In particular: -- Code annotation: The scripts would benefit from more detailed comments within the code to clarify the logic of each step. This would greatly help users follow the analyses more easily and understand the purpose of specific commands or operations. -- README file: The current README provides only a general overview. We suggest expanding it to include: --- A brief description of each script or analysis pipeline. --- An indication of which figure, table, or result in the manuscript each script corresponds to. --- Clear instructions on how to execute the analyses in the correct order, if applicable. -- Metadata: For the datasets used or generated by the scripts, it would be helpful to include accompanying metadata files that explain: --- The definition of each variable name. --- The origin of each dataset (raw, processed, etc). --- Any preprocessing steps applied before analysis. -- Data availability: At this stage, we have only verified the reproducibility of one part of the study. To facilitate full reproducibility of the entire study, we recommend sharing all necessary data files required to run every script present in the repository.

      These improvements would make the repository significantly more user-friendly and would strengthen the reproducibility of the study.

    1. Synthèse de l'Audition de la CNAF sur la Santé Mentale et le Handicap

      Résumé

      L'audition de la Caisse Nationale des Allocations Familiales (CNAF) devant la commission d'enquête a mis en lumière son rôle substantiel, bien que souvent discret, dans la prise en charge du handicap et de la santé mentale en France.

      L'intervention de la CNAF s'articule autour de deux axes majeurs : le versement de prestations financières (légales et pour le compte de tiers) et le financement de services aux familles via sa politique d'action sociale.

      Les points critiques à retenir sont les suivants :

      1. Gestion de Prestations Financières Clés : La CNAF gère des allocations majeures telles que l'Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés (AAH), représentant 13,8 milliards d'euros pour 1,3 million de bénéficiaires en 2024, et l'Allocation d'Éducation de l'Enfant Handicapé (AEEH), s'élevant à 1,6 milliard d'euros pour 500 000 bénéficiaires.

      2. Impact de la Déconjugalisation de l'AAH : La réforme de la déconjugalisation, effective depuis novembre 2023, est un succès opérationnel.

      Elle a bénéficié à 66 000 allocataires avec une hausse moyenne de 400 € par mois, incluant 22 300 nouveaux bénéficiaires. Un système parallèle est maintenu pour 31 000 personnes afin d'éviter toute perte de droits.

      3. Promotion de l'Inclusion en Milieu Ordinaire : La CNAF promeut activement l'inclusion des enfants en situation de handicap dans les structures de droit commun (crèches, accueils de loisirs) via des "bonus inclusion handicap".

      Le succès de ce dispositif pour les accueils de loisirs est notable, avec des dépenses en 2024 ( 53 millions d'euros) dépassant déjà plus du double de l'objectif initial pour 2027.

      4. Santé Mentale des Jeunes : La CNAF finance 200 Points Accueil Écoute Jeunes (PAEJ), des structures de première ligne pour les adolescents en difficulté, et travaille à un accord-cadre avec le ministère de la Santé pour mieux articuler ces dispositifs au sein de l'écosystème de santé mentale.

      5. Relation avec les MDPH : Bien que des progrès significatifs aient été réalisés grâce à la dématérialisation des flux, les délais de traitement des dossiers par les Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH) demeurent un enjeu majeur, obligeant les CAF à mettre en place des procédures de prolongation de droits pour éviter les ruptures de versement.

      6. Complexité de l'AAH : Un axe d'amélioration majeur identifié est la simplification de l'AAH. Sa complexité actuelle, notamment pour les bénéficiaires qui travaillent, peut créer des freins à l'emploi et générer des situations d'incompréhension.

      La CNAF suggère d'intégrer cette prestation dans le mouvement global de modernisation et de simplification des aides sociales.

      Interventions de la CNAF : Un Double Axe d'Action

      La CNAF structure son action en faveur des personnes en situation de handicap et de leurs familles autour de deux piliers fondamentaux, inscrits dans sa Convention d'Objectifs et de Gestion (COG) 2023-2027 avec l'État.

      1. Versement de Prestations Légales

      La CNAF est l'opérateur de versement pour plusieurs prestations essentielles, certaines financées par la branche Famille, d'autres gérées pour le compte de l'État ou de la branche Autonomie. Ce rôle s'effectue en partenariat étroit avec les MDPH, qui sont en charge de l'évaluation médicale et de la détermination des taux d'incapacité.

      Prestation

      Description

      Chiffres Clés (2024)

      Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés (AAH)

      Assurer un revenu minimal aux personnes en situation de handicap de plus de 20 ans.

      13,8 milliards € versés à 1,3 million de bénéficiaires.

      Allocation d'Éducation de l'Enfant Handicapé (AEEH)

      Compenser les dépenses liées au handicap d'un enfant de moins de 20 ans.

      1,6 milliard € versés à 500 000 bénéficiaires.

      Allocation Journalière de Présence Parentale (AJPP)

      Compenser la perte de revenus pour un parent cessant son activité pour s'occuper d'un enfant malade ou handicapé.

      2 848 bénéficiaires (au 30 juin), coût de 261 millions €.

      Allocation Journalière du Proche Aidant (AJPA)

      Compenser la perte de revenus pour un proche aidant cessant son activité ponctuellement.

      1 652 bénéficiaires (au 30 juin), coût de 11 millions €.

      2. Financement de Services aux Familles via l'Action Sociale

      Le second pilier est financé par le Fonds National d'Action Sociale (FNAS) et vise à rendre les services de droit commun accessibles aux familles concernées par le handicap, promouvant ainsi une politique d'inclusion active.

      Inclusion dans la Petite Enfance (Crèches) :

      • ◦ Un bonus "inclusion handicap" majore le financement des crèches qui accueillent des enfants en situation de handicap.   
      • ◦ En 2023, 25 millions d'euros ont été dépensés à ce titre.  
      • ◦ Près de 50 % des crèches en France bénéficient de ce bonus, témoignant de son adoption massive.

      L'objectif est de favoriser une inclusion précoce pour fluidifier le parcours ultérieur, notamment la scolarisation.

      Inclusion dans les Accueils de Loisirs (Périscolaire et Extrascolaire) :

      • ◦ Généralisé en 2024, un bonus similaire existe pour les Accueils de Loisirs Sans Hébergement (ALSH).  
      • ◦ Le dispositif a rencontré un succès immédiat et supérieur aux prévisions : 53 millions d'euros ont été engagés en 2024, soit plus du double de l'estimation pour toute la durée de la COG (jusqu'en 2027).  
      • ◦ Cela indique une forte mobilisation des collectivités pour adapter leurs offres et garantir une continuité de prise en charge après l'école.

      Soutien au Répit Familial et aux Vacances :

      ◦ Les CAF mènent une politique active de soutien au départ en vacances, avec des dispositifs et financements spécifiques pour les familles concernées par le handicap (enfants ou parents).    ◦ Le dispositif VACAF permet de faire partir environ 500 000 personnes chaque année.    ◦ Des offres spécifiques (séjours passerelles) existent pour les familles nécessitant un accompagnement renforcé.

      Pôles de Ressources Handicap :

      ◦ La CNAF finance, à l'échelle départementale, des pôles de ressources visant à faciliter la connexion entre les familles et les structures d'accueil de droit commun (crèches, ALSH), levant ainsi les obstacles pratiques et informationnels.

      Enjeux et Réformes Clés

      La Déconjugalisation de l'Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés (AAH)

      Mise en œuvre le 1er novembre 2023, cette réforme très attendue visait à individualiser l'AAH sans tenir compte des revenus du conjoint.

      Un bilan quantitatif significatif :

      • 66 000 allocataires ont bénéficié de la réforme, avec une hausse moyenne de 400 € par mois.   
      • ◦ Parmi eux, 44 000 étaient déjà allocataires et ont vu leur AAH augmenter de 327 €/mois en moyenne. 
      • 22 300 nouvelles personnes, auparavant inéligibles à cause des revenus de leur conjoint, sont entrées dans le dispositif avec un gain mensuel moyen de 554 €.

      Une réforme "sans perdant" :

      • ◦ Pour les 31 000 personnes pour qui le nouveau mode de calcul aurait été désavantageux, l'ancien système est maintenu.  
      • ◦ Cela conduit à la coexistence de deux systèmes de calcul de l'AAH, qui perdurera plusieurs décennies.

      Articulation avec les MDPH : Fluidité et Prévention des Ruptures

      La qualité des échanges d'information avec les MDPH est cruciale pour le versement des prestations.

      Progrès et défis : La dématérialisation des flux a considérablement amélioré et sécurisé les échanges par rapport à la situation d'il y a cinq ans, où les flux papier étaient encore nombreux.

      Gestion des délais : Les délais d'instruction longs au sein des MDPH restent une difficulté majeure.

      Pour éviter les ruptures de droits, notamment lors des renouvellements, les CAF pratiquent la prolongation des droits en attendant la décision de la MDPH.

      Cette pratique, bien que créant un risque financier (génération d'indus si le droit n'est pas renouvelé), est jugée préférable pour ne pas précariser les familles.

      La Santé Mentale des Jeunes : Le Rôle des Points Accueil Écoute Jeunes (PAEJ)

      La CNAF a repris le financement des PAEJ, qui constituent une offre de première ligne pour les jeunes en difficulté psychologique.

      Un maillage territorial : 200 structures ont été financées en 2023 sur tout le territoire.

      Un rôle de pivot : Les PAEJ travaillent en réseau, en amont avec le milieu scolaire pour le repérage, et en aval en orientant vers des structures de soin (CMP, Maisons des Adolescents) lorsque nécessaire.

      Vers un cadre national : Des discussions sont en cours avec le ministère de la Santé pour établir un accord-cadre national afin de clarifier les rôles et d'assurer la complémentarité des dispositifs, notamment face au risque de désengagement de certains co-financeurs comme les Agences Régionales de Santé (ARS).

      Lutte contre les Erreurs et Gestion des Indûs

      La CNAF utilise un algorithme de "datamining" depuis 2011 pour cibler ses contrôles, non pas sur des populations, mais sur des risques d'erreur pouvant générer des versements indus.

      Logique du ciblage : Le système identifie les situations où le risque d'erreur déclarative est le plus élevé.

      Il s'agit principalement des prestations sensibles aux variations de revenus déclarées trimestriellement (RSA, Prime d'activité).

      Cas de l'AAH : Les bénéficiaires de l'AAH ne sont pas plus contrôlés en tant que tels. Le risque est plus élevé pour la population spécifique des bénéficiaires de l'AAH qui travaillent, en raison de la complexité des règles de cumul et de la variabilité des revenus à déclarer.

      Solution à la source : La réforme de la "solidarité à la source" est présentée comme la solution principale.

      En instaurant des déclarations pré-remplies pour le RSA et la Prime d'activité, elle vise à réduire drastiquement les erreurs à la base et, par conséquent, les contrôles a posteriori et les indus.

      L'extension de ce principe à la partie "activité" de l'AAH est une piste de réflexion.

      Perspectives et Axes d'Amélioration

      Interrogée sur les pistes d'amélioration du système, la CNAF a souligné plusieurs points :

      1. Moderniser et Simplifier l'AAH : L'AAH est décrite comme une prestation d'une "grande complexité", qui s'est "hybridée" avec la déconjugalisation (à la fois minimum social et prestation plus large).

      Cette complexité peut être un frein à l'emploi et fragiliser les bénéficiaires.

      La CNAF plaide pour que l'AAH soit intégrée au mouvement global de simplification des prestations sociales, afin d'améliorer la lisibilité et de ne pas décourager le travail.

      2. Reconnaître les Coûts de l'Inclusion : Une étude financée par la CNAF a mis en évidence les "coûts très importants de l'inclusion" scolaire, largement portés par les mères, avec des conséquences parfois lourdes sur leur vie professionnelle (jusqu'à l'arrêt de l'activité).

      Cet enjeu justifie les efforts financiers importants des CAF pour soutenir la prise en charge périscolaire.

      3. Renforcer le Soutien sur les Temps Périscolaires : La CNAF a intensifié son soutien financier aux ALSH et a étendu depuis 2024 son financement à la pause méridienne.

      L'effort financier est considérable : un enfant en situation de handicap en ALSH est financé par la CAF à hauteur de 4,50 € de l'heure, contre 0,60 € pour un autre enfant.

      Ce soutien est essentiel pour permettre le maintien dans l'emploi des parents.

    1. AbstractThe vast majority of cancers exhibit Somatic Copy Number Alterations (SCNAs)—gains and losses of variable regions of DNA. SCNAs can shape the phenotype of cancer cells, e.g. by increasing their proliferation rates, removing tumor suppressor genes, or immortalizing cells. While many SCNAs are unique to a patient, certain recurring patterns emerge as a result of shared selectional constraints or common mutational processes. To discover such patterns in a robust way, the size of the dataset is essential, which necessitates combining SCNA profiles from different cohorts, a non-trivial task.To achieve this, we developed CNSistent, a Python package for imputation, filtering, consistent segmentation, feature extraction, and visualization of cancer copy number profiles from heterogeneous datasets. We demonstrate the utility of CNSistent by applying it to the publicly available TCGA, PCAWG, and TRACERx cohorts. We compare different segmentation and aggregation strategies on cancer type and subtype classification tasks using deep convolutional neural networks. We demonstrate an increase in accuracy over training on individual cohorts and efficient transfer learning between cohorts. Using integrated gradients we investigate lung cancer classification results, highlighting SOX2 amplifications as the dominant copy number alteration in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf104), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3: Sampsa Hautaniemi

      Streck and Schwarz present a method, CNSintent, for consistent segmentation of copy-number data. The utility of the tool is demonstrated using three large cancer cohorts and a neural network classifier built upon the consistently segmented data. CNSintent can facilitate solving an important biomedical problem: the advanced analysis of copy-number data. The authors are lauded for their excellent Python code and thorough documentation. While the contribution is timely and likely important, there are several areas for improvement.

      The manuscript's readability could be better. There are typos, textual errors, and inconsistencies in figure captions, such as incorrect figure references or mismatched values between the text and figures. The "Consistent Segmentation" section is difficult to follow. It is unclear whether this step involves merging pre-existing breakpoints in the data to produce new, longer segments or if larger segments, such as whole chromosomes, are split into smaller, constant-sized segments. The writing suggests that segments are first merged and then split; however, later in the manuscript, they appear to be used separately. In our testing, combining these approaches did not yield meaningful results. Since consistent segmentation is the method's most critical step, we strongly suggest clarifying this section.

      The manuscript is unbalanced in its content, with excessive focus on the tool's application and the discoveries derived from it, rather than on the tool itself. This reduces the clarity of the key message. We recommend compressing the application section (deep learning in cancer classification) while expanding the tool description with additional explanations.

      It is also unclear what type of data the authors are using in the cancer classification section. To improve clarity, this information should be explicitly included in the methods section, detailing the sequencing strategy and copy-number tools used for each cohort.

      The methods section would benefit from a more detailed explanation of the CNSintent steps. Both Figure 1 and the text leave some parts unclear, particularly in the "Consistent Segmentation" section. Additionally, methods such as random forest and UMAP are only briefly mentioned in a supplementary figure rather than being described in the methods section. Moving these descriptions to the methods section would improve clarity.

      Figures are generally clear, but improving color differentiation would be beneficial. For example, in Figure 1, the dark red and dark orange shades are too similar, making them difficult to distinguish. A more optimized color scheme with slightly lighter tones (i.e., increased luminance) would enhance readability.

      The introduction promotes copy-number signatures; however, these signatures rely on segment lengths and unique breakpoints, which vary between samples. Since this method enforces consistent segmentation and breakpoints across all samples, its applicability to copy-number signatures is unclear. This should be discussed in the Discussion section or removed from the introduction.

      Out of curiosity: Is it possible to prioritize one type of segmentation over another? For instance, if both WGS and WES data are available, can CNSintent be configured to prioritize WGS calls? Similarly, some tools provide highly precise breakpoint calls that are valuable for detecting fusion genes or rearrangements. In such cases, it would be useful to prioritize these calls and harmonize results from other tools accordingly.

      Terminology Clarifications:

      Blacklist, blacklisted regions, gap regions, mask: These terms should be used consistently, particularly since blacklists can be applied at different processing stages. Notably, PCAWG blacklists samples, not regions. Segmentation: The term is commonly used in CNV analysis to refer to inferring continuous genomic segments from raw read counts or probe intensities. Here, it has a slightly different meaning—computing consistent breakpoints across all samples—so a more explicit definition would be helpful. Breakpoint merging/clustering: If these terms are synonymous, choosing one would improve readability. Coverage: Since "coverage" often refers to sequencing depth, a critical quality metric in DNA sequencing, it might be clearer to use "copy-number coverage" or a similar term. For example, the sentence "Next, samples with low coverage were removed using the…" could be ambiguous if read without context.

      At the end of the subsection "Explainability and the Effect of SOX2 Gene," the phrase "which exhibits significant local amplification in LUSC" should be revised to "which exhibits significant focal amplification in LUSC." The correct terminology is "focal" rather than "local," as established in Beroukhim et al. (2010).

    2. AbstractThe vast majority of cancers exhibit Somatic Copy Number Alterations (SCNAs)—gains and losses of variable regions of DNA. SCNAs can shape the phenotype of cancer cells, e.g. by increasing their proliferation rates, removing tumor suppressor genes, or immortalizing cells. While many SCNAs are unique to a patient, certain recurring patterns emerge as a result of shared selectional constraints or common mutational processes. To discover such patterns in a robust way, the size of the dataset is essential, which necessitates combining SCNA profiles from different cohorts, a non-trivial task.To achieve this, we developed CNSistent, a Python package for imputation, filtering, consistent segmentation, feature extraction, and visualization of cancer copy number profiles from heterogeneous datasets. We demonstrate the utility of CNSistent by applying it to the publicly available TCGA, PCAWG, and TRACERx cohorts. We compare different segmentation and aggregation strategies on cancer type and subtype classification tasks using deep convolutional neural networks. We demonstrate an increase in accuracy over training on individual cohorts and efficient transfer learning between cohorts. Using integrated gradients we investigate lung cancer classification results, highlighting SOX2 amplifications as the dominant copy number alteration in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf104), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Ellen Visscher

      The paper introduces a python package for imputation, filtering, segmentation, feature extraction and visualisation of CNA profiles. It explains some of the elements of the package, and then demonstrates how data from multiple cohorts can be processed and combined using the package preprocessing pipeline. The authors then use processed data from 3 different cohorts to perform cancer type prediction using a CNN. From this, they get an interesting result to find a biomarker that differentiates two different lung cancers. Throughout, they show visualisations using their package. The package itself seems well documented and designed to be used. There is some clarification required in the methods section specifically around the CNN training and the models therein. There is also one major question of whether all the preprocessing steps are actually required for the downstream CNN analysis. Overall, however, this is a well written manuscript, providing a useful software tool for further analysis of CNA data.

      Major comments: - CNN section- how are the segments decided- is it based on all the training data, or just data in a batch? - Throughout the results pertaining to figure 3A-C, you call it test accuracy- to be clear is this is based on your CV hold outs? This should be reworded everywhere to reflect this. As cross validation indicates, this is not a test set and is a validation set- which is also the way you use it. - Regarding the above, you have a comment saying: "the best test accuracy without cross-validation was 92.34%". Could you please clarify what you mean by this. Only in the CNN section do you describe your training approach, which does not mention a test or separate validation set. - It reads slightly unclearly- you have a section called "model transfer", but are you training 3 different models- one per dataset? You only have one figure for training results which suggests one dataset, but then you have this section called model transfer? - Re all the above, please dedicate a small subsection in methods making this clearer. Are there dedicated test sets? If your main results are for aggregated data, then what are you testing on to ensure generalisability? What is the point of training the 3 different models on 3 different datasets? Perhaps it would make more sense to hold one dataset out as your test set. In some ways, that is what the model transfer is showing, but it would be less confusing to clarify that aim instead of suddenly introducing 3 models. - If the CNN architecture is essentially the same as in Attique et. al., the performance is basically the same and they use only CNs a gene locations- how does this demonstrate that the preprocessing from CNSistent is necessary or advantageous for this task? Maybe having a result which combines CN calls naively over gene locations and comparing to this across the aggregate datasets would be a good way of comparing? I.e showing that preproccessing does offer an advantage when combining different datasets together? Also because this is what you argue in your abstract. For this analysis you would have to make sure you also compare across the same samples to differentiate between filtering/other preprocessing steps. - In Figure 3I, you say "notice the similarity of chromosome 3 pattern for the correctly classified LUSC samples (red) and the misclassified ones (orange)". This is confusing because the orange and red are not similar. In fact for this whole section, it seems that figure 3I does not align with what you are saying?

      Minor comments/errors: - Clarification on why CNSistent needs a reference genome if it's dealing with segments? How is this information used- is it just for the known gaps? - Your caption of Supplementary Figure 1 has a typo about a breakpoint at 16 instead of 14. - You do not explain how you use the knee pt to filter (i.e is it samples above/below the knee pt.) - Your CNN graphic is difficult to interpret and non-standard. - CNN section should clarify at the beginning what the input is and what the output is (i.e a prediction that a sample belongs to a particular cancer type) before explaining the architectural details. - Even though you control for class imbalance, some cancer types are so poorly represented it is unlikely a CNN could learn that, you do kind of mention this in the discussion, but maybe some sort of minimum threshold for inclusion would make sense. - For Fig2D you refer to it as GND, but the axes/title says hemizygosity-are these things equivalent? E.g could have 3-3, low hemizygosity but not diploid? Or if it's aggregated across the whole genome its assumed equivalent? - There is a grammatical error "Runtimes decreased in a near-linearly with the number of compute cores" - You make a comment that "We therefore suspect some TCGA lung cancers might be cases of co-occurring adeno and squamous carcinomas." This is a possibility but given pleiotropy of many phenotypes- it may also be that the biomarker is not always unique to squamous carcinomas.

      Suggestions/Nice to haves: - Maybe make it clearer inside the paper what visualisations come with CNSistent. Looking at the software documentation, there's obviously a lot of useful visualisations that come with that- and some of them you have used in Figure 3 for e.g. - Given there are more total CN callers, maybe good to mention somewhere how CNSistent would work for total CNs only. - You remove profiles that you say are uninformative, could you not include this and then just show how accuracy correlates with no. of break-pts (for e.g). In some ways one might think that there could be useful information in few alteration profiles- because those alterations might be more upstream/causal. - The aggregation step could maybe affect downstream analysis. I.e taking the average could introduce CNs that were never called. Even using min/max- this implies a constant copy number in that region, which may lose information- e.g if it is a functional region having two diff CNs across gene might imply non-functionality. Did you explore the effect of aggregation step? Perhaps taking a small enough resolution of segment types would account for this anyway.

    3. AbstractThe vast majority of cancers exhibit Somatic Copy Number Alterations (SCNAs)—gains and losses of variable regions of DNA. SCNAs can shape the phenotype of cancer cells, e.g. by increasing their proliferation rates, removing tumor suppressor genes, or immortalizing cells. While many SCNAs are unique to a patient, certain recurring patterns emerge as a result of shared selectional constraints or common mutational processes. To discover such patterns in a robust way, the size of the dataset is essential, which necessitates combining SCNA profiles from different cohorts, a non-trivial task.To achieve this, we developed CNSistent, a Python package for imputation, filtering, consistent segmentation, feature extraction, and visualization of cancer copy number profiles from heterogeneous datasets. We demonstrate the utility of CNSistent by applying it to the publicly available TCGA, PCAWG, and TRACERx cohorts. We compare different segmentation and aggregation strategies on cancer type and subtype classification tasks using deep convolutional neural networks. We demonstrate an increase in accuracy over training on individual cohorts and efficient transfer learning between cohorts. Using integrated gradients we investigate lung cancer classification results, highlighting SOX2 amplifications as the dominant copy number alteration in lung squamous cell carcinoma.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf104), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Stefano Monti

      This is a well-written paper that aims to develop a tool that can integrate SCNA from large datasets possibly generated using different platforms to identify alteration patterns that are often undetected in smaller data subsets. Authors have used CNN-based method for integrating the data, extracting features and predicting cancer types from SCNA profiles. The tool has the potential to significantly simplify the integration and analysis of large scale SCNA studies. However, some (hopefully addressable) weaknesses are noted:

      1. The choice of a classification task as the (only) way to evaluate the proposed method is questioned. I would argue that the most important use of SCNA detection is in support of mechanistic investigations, by identifying novel candidate loci likely to harbor tumor suppressors (copy losses) and oncogenes (copy gains). This type of analysis is hardly mentioned in the manuscript, and it is not clear how well the proposed tool would support it. I surmise it can, but the authors should discuss (and present results about) it.

      2. If we were to focus on the task of recurrent SCNA detection, then meta-analysis approaches (where separate analyses are performed on each of the datasets, and only the results are integrated) would need to be considered as an alternative to the approach here proposed (e.g., application of GISTIC to each of PCAWG, TCGA, TRACERx separately, followed by meta-analysis integration of the results). I am not saying meta-analysis would be superior, but the authors should discuss it, and possibly evaluate it.

      3. The reported metrics to quantify the quality of the integration are insufficient to assess the results. There is some lack of clarity about the classification accuracy results reported, since it is not clear whether all the components of the model building were adequately brought into the cross-validation (or train/test) loop. More specifically, when reporting the accuracy of the cancer type classification, it is reported that 1 megabase segmentation yields the best results. It is not clear if this size selection was performed within the train set only (and/or within the CV loop) or across the entire dataset. If the latter, this may significantly affect the accuracy results, which could not be deemed (unbiased) "test set" results. This should be clarified, and if the segment size selection was indeed performed outside the train/test split, accuracy measures should be computed again by performing the segment size selection properly (which of course it would mean a potentially different size would be selected for each of the folds).

      4. Comparisons with other methods: The authors only compare their method to random forest (RF). Related to the previous point: I presume the RF model used the segment size that was optimized for the CNN model (i.e., 1Mb). If this is the case, it would be an unfair comparison, since RF might favor a different size. Also, additional classifiers should be evaluated (e.g., Elastic Net, SVM, etc.).

      5. There is no sufficient discussion of existing tools/methods. This should be corrected (see also my comment about meta-analysis approaches).

      6. Metadata effects: Age influences the copy number alterations. The authors don't consider age or any other metadata and their implication in the classification task.

      7. Run time statistics and user requirement: While the authors report runtime curves per command (S Fig 6), it is difficult to translate this to total runtime. It would be useful if runtime for the entire training of a model were reported. Additionally, if available, comparison of run time stats with the established model that they cite would be useful.

      8. IG-based explanation. I found this section sort of perfunctory, not sufficiently justified, and adding little to the manuscript. IG is computationally expensive, and it does not provide any way to statistically quantify the found associations. Simpler methods, such as testing for association between SCNA occurrence and cancer type should be evaluated and compared to.

      9. Model selection: No adequate justification of why they picked CNN for this task when the referenced paper itself claims the DNN architecture performs better. Not sure but is this because of the varying segment size? Again, this is not clearly stated. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9203194/#tab1

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This manuscript describes the results of phylogenetic and epidemiological modeling of the PopART community cohorts in Zambia. The current manuscript draft is methodologically strong, but needs revision to strengthen the take-home messages. As written, there are many possible take-away conclusions. For example, the agreement between IBM and phylogenetic analysis is noteworthy and provides a methodological focus. The revealed age patterns of transmission could be a focus. The effects of the PopART intervention and the consequences of a 1-year disruption could be a focus. It is important, though, that any main messages summarized by the authors are substantiated by the evidence provided and do not extrapolate beyond the data that have been generated. I recommend that the authors think deeply about what the most important, well-supported messages are and reframe the discussion and abstract accordingly.

      Strengths/weaknesses by section:

      (1) ABSTRACT

      The Abstract summarizes qualitative findings nicely, but the authors should incorporate quantitative results for all of the qualitative findings statements.

      The ending claim is not substantiated by the modeling scenarios that have been run: "targeted interventions for demographic groups such as under-35 men may be the key to finally ending HIV." It is straightforward to run this specific scenario in the model to determine whether or not this is true.

      The authors should add confidence intervals to the quantitative metrics, such as the 93.8% and 62.1% incidence reduction.

      (2) RESULTS

      The authors should check the Results section for any qualitative claims not substantiated by the analyses performed, and ensure the corresponding analyses are presented to support the claims.

      The Results and Methods describe the model's implementation of the PopART intervention differently. The Methods describes it as including VMMC, TB, and STI services, while the Results only mentions intensified HIV testing and linkage.

      A limitation of the model is that HIV disease progression is based on the ATHENA cohort in the Netherlands, which is a different HIV subtype (B) than the one in the research setting (C). The model should be configured using subtype C progression data, which have been published, or at least a sensitivity analysis should be conducted with respect to disease progression assumptions.

      In Table 2, the authors should consider adding a p-value to establish whether or not IBM and phylogenetics estimates are different.

      (3) DISCUSSION

      The literature review and comparison of study results to previously published phylogenetic studies is very nice. The authors could strengthen this by providing quantitative estimates with CIs for a more scientific comparison of the study results vs. prior studies, perhaps as a table or figure.

      The authors state that due to "the narrow geographical catchment area... The results should not be automatically extrapolated to apply to other SSA settings." The authors should exercise this caution when comparing the results to studies in South Africa and elsewhere.

      There are many other limitations to the analysis, including some mentioned above, that are not acknowledged. The authors should think carefully about what the most important limitations are and acknowledge them honestly at the end of the Discussion section.

    1. AbstractPolyadenylation is a dynamic process which is important in cellular physiology. Oxford Nanopore Technologies direct RNA-sequencing provides a strategy for sequencing the full-length RNA molecule and analysis of the transcriptome and epi-transcriptome. There are currently several tools available for poly(A) tail-length estimation, including well-established tools such as tailfindr and nanopolish, as well as two more recent deep learning models: Dorado and BoostNano. However, there has been limited benchmarking of the accuracy of these tools against gold-standard datasets. In this paper we evaluate four poly(A) estimation tools using synthetic RNA standards (Sequins), which have known poly(A) tail-lengths and provide a valuable approach to measuring the accuracy of poly(A) tail-length estimation. All four tools generate mean tail-length estimates which lie within 12% of the correct value. Overall, Dorado is recommended as the preferred approach due to its relatively fast run times, low coefficient of variation and ease of use with integration with base-calling.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf098), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Jesse Daniel Brown

      This manuscript addresses a relevant and timely question: benchmarking poly(A) tail-length estimation tools (BoostNano, tailfindr, nanopolish, and Dorado) using synthetic RNA standards (Sequins) with known tail lengths. Poly(A) tail-length estimation is increasingly important for understanding mRNA stability, processing, and regulation at the single-molecule level. As direct RNA sequencing expands in use, reliable methods to measure poly(A) tail lengths are needed. The study's desiign—leveraging Sequins as a "gold standard" to benchmark tools—is strong and fills an area is need in current literature. The analysis is thorough in its basic comparisons, and the results are likely to be useful to researchers who need to choose suitable software for poly(A) tail analysis. However, the manuscript would benefit from deeper contextualization, more rigorous statistical methodology, and clearer reporting of computational details. Ensuring reproducibility and providing clearer guidance on interpreting the results in real biological contexts would strengthen the mannuscript. The suggestions below are aimed at making the study more valuable to the community. For this reason, my recommendation is Revisions ARE Needed

      Introduction

      Abstract: ★★★★☆ (4/5) Actually in place of the introduction, it has it strengths: The introduction adequately outlines why polyadenylation is biologically important and why direct RNA sequencing provides a unique opportunity for poly(A) tail-length estimation. It justifies the use of Sequins as synthetic standards, which is a robust approach to derive ground-truth tail lengths.

      Areas for Improvement:The introduction could better connect poly(A) tail-length estimation to downstream applications. For instance, mention how accurate tail-length estimation could improve understanding of mRNA decay rates, translation efficiency, or isoform-specific regulation.

      Adding references that contextualize poly(A) tail dynamics in broader biological phenomena would help readers understand the significance. For example, it is almost a necessity to cite work such as "Roles of mRNA poly(A) tails in regulation of eukaryotic gene expression" by Lori A. Passmore & Jeff Coller (2022, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology) which provides a comprehensive analysis of poly(A) tail dynamics and their impact on mRNA decay, stability, and translation regulation. P & C (2022) also expands on these principles by discussing the mechanistic underpinnings of poly(A)-mediated decay and translation regulation, making it a broader and more recent contribution to polyadenylation biology, which the authors should consider.

      Grammar of the abstract: Error: "There are currently several tools available for poly(A) tail-length estimation, including well-established tools such as tailfindr and nanopolish, as well as two more recent deep learning models: Dorado and BoostNano." Suggestion: "Several tools are currently available for poly(A) tail-length estimation, including well-established methods like tailfindr and nanopolish, as well as two more recent deep learning models: Dorado and BoostNano."

      Error: "which lie within 12% of the correct value." Suggestion: "that lie within 12% of the correct value."

      Clarify the library preparation steps to avoid confusion about the "direct" nature of RNA sequencing. The text currently implies that no reverse transcription is required, but then references an ONT Reverse Transcription Adapter. Distinguish between a full-length cDNA synthesis step (not required) and the use of a poly(T)-containing adapter for sequencing library preparation.

      Methods

      Methods: ★★★★☆ (4/5) The methods section has its strengths; the data sources and preparation (Sequins spiked into host RNA) are clearly described. Versions of tools are provided, enhancing reproducibility.

      Areas for Improvement are statistical analysis, comparisons and tests, hardware and computation details, and understanding of run time differences. Currently, the study models distributions as normal and uses mean and SD, but no normality tests or justification for these choices are presented. Consider performing normality tests or using nonparametric measures. Additionally, providing confidence intervals or other robust statistics (median, interquartile ranges) would clarify variability.

      For the comparisons and tests, the authors should explain why you chose root mean square error (RMSE) minimization and other metrics. Could alternative tests, like Wilcoxon signed-rank tests or paired t-tests (Wilcocoxon: this non-parametric test is suitable for paired comparisons when the assumption of normality is not met. -useful to compare the predicted tail lengths from each tool against the expected lengths, especially if the data distribution is skewed.), be used to compare the distribution of tail-length estimates more rigorously? Paired t-Test, because this test could be applied if the normality assumption holds, providing a straightforward way to assess whether the mean difference between predicted and expected values is statistically significant. (If so, justification should be provided for why or why not)

      There are some additional metrics to explore: ---Median Absolute Deviation (MAD): Consider adding MAD as it is robust to outliers and could complement RMSE to provide a better understanding of central tendencies and variability. ---Mean Absolute Error (MAE): MAE is another alternative that simplifies the interpretation by focusing solely on the magnitude of errors without squaring them, potentially offering more intuitive insights for readers. The authors should address testing for normality, explicitly stating whether normality tests were conducted on the data (e.g., Shapiro-Wilk or Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests). If normality is confirmed, justify the use of parametric tests like RMSE or t-tests. If not, justify why non-parametric tests (e.g., Wilcoxon) were not employed or discuss plans to include them in future studies.

      Explain the choice of statistical methods over time by discussing how the choice of statistical tests aligns with the study's goals. For example, emphasize whether the focus was on understanding overall error distribution, tool consistency, or accuracy in predicting specific tail lengths.

      The authors could use visual representations of error complementing the statistical tests with visual aids such as boxplots, violin plots, or Bland-Altman plots to illustrate the error distributions and discrepancies between predicted and actual tail lengths across tools.

      The authors should provide hardware and computational details like providing explicit details on the computational environment—CPU/GPU models, RAM, OS—for each tool's run. While the Git-hub read me suggests how to run the system, it lacks any details about system requirements. Readers need this to understand runtime differences and attempt to replicate performance measurements.

      The authors should consider tool parameterization and indicate if any specific parameters (beyond defaults) were used in tailfindr, nanopolish, Dorado, or BoostNano runs. If no changes were made from defaults, state this explicitly.

      Results

      The result's strengths are that they are presented clearly, showing density distributions and discussing short-tail anomalies. The identification of Dorado as a preferred tool due to speed, integration, and conservative filtering is well-supported by the data. The study acknowledges that all tools achieve broadly similar accuracy, differing mainly in runtime and filtering criteria, which is a practical insight for users.

      The results have areas for improvement: Regrading the short-tail reads explanation, the authors attribute short (<10 nt) poly(A) tails to truncated transcripts or mis-priming. For this reason, it is suggested that the authors strengthen this discussion with additional evidence or reasoning. For instance, is there a correlation between read quality and short-tail length estimates? Do truncated reads consistently align to internal A-rich stretches? Multiple peaks in distributions: Some density plots (Figure 1) show multiple peaks or shoulder peaks. Discuss potential reasons for these patterns. Are they related to tool-specific biases, read quality, or adapter/poly(T) truncation? Application Context: The results focus on method performance, but it would help readers to understand how these differences might influence downstream tasks. For example, if a method overestimates poly(A) length slightly, how could this affect conclusions about RNA stability or differential tail-length analysis between experimental conditions? Figures and tables: Figure 1: Clear density plots, but consider adding vertical lines at expected tail lengths (30 nt and 60 nt) to guide interpretation. Splitting the figure into separate panels for R1 and R2 or using insets might clarify multiple peaks. Figure 2: The IGV snapshots are informative. Enhance interpretability by adding annotations (arrows or boxes) highlighting truncated vs. full-length reads. Increase font sizes for readability. Figure 3: Useful comparison of reads filtered by Dorado but retained by BoostNano. Add a brief note or labeling to indicate expected tail lengths. Discuss possible reasons for Dorado's conservative filtering here or in the main text. Tables: Provide definitions for abbreviations (nt, CPU, GPU) in captions. For Table 2, adding confidence intervals around the mean tail-length estimates would strengthen statistical rigor. For Table 3, specify hardware details as recommended above.

      Grammar Mistakes and errors in the results section: Results Section: Sentence: "The four methods display a similar pattern in the density distribution, with a prominent normal-like peak near the expected poly(A) length, but also with a over-representation of shorter poly(A) tails, ranging at approximately ~0-10 nt (Figure 1)." Issue: "a over-representation" Correction: "an over-representation"

      Sentence: "We expected that these shorter peaks were derived from either fragmentation of the transcript, mis-priming of internal poly(A) stretches or degradation of the poly(A) tails." Issue: tense mismatch ("expected" vs. "were derived"). Correction: "We expect" -- "were derived", loses context and tense contformity-- therefore the sentence should be adjusted- "We hypothesize that these shorter peaks are derived from either fragmentation of the transcript, mis-priming of internal poly(A) stretches, or degradation of the poly(A) tails."

      Sentence: "Interestingly, upon investigating these earlier peaks, we found that Dorado excludes reads which are retained in the analysis by BoostNano, despite them being classified as passed reads (Figure 3)." Issue: Ambiguous pronoun "them." (them could incorrectly identify three possible targets in the sentence) Correction: "Interestingly, upon investigating these earlier peaks, we found that Dorado excludes reads retained in the analysis by BoostNano, even though these reads are classified as passed reads (Figure 3)."

      Sentence: "Therefore, Dorado appears to be a more conservative approach than BoostNano." Issue: No grammar issues, but the statement could be more precise. Suggested improvement: "Thus, Dorado demonstrates a more conservative approach compared to BoostNano."

      Sentence: "In order to determine which normal distribution fit the peak best, we found the parameters (mean, SD) which minimize the root mean square error between the candidate normal distribution and the density distribution for an interval of 10 nt to the right of the mode." Issue: Verb tense consistency ("fit"). Correction: "To determine which normal distribution fits the peak best, ..."

      Sentence: "The peaks also lose their normal-like behavior for larger values." Issue: Could use a more formal tone. Correction: "The peaks also deviate from their normal-like behavior at larger values."

      Sentence: "Next, we compared the computational time required by each method to predict the tail-length of 4000 reads." Issue: Hyphenation of "tail-length." Correction: "Next, we compared the computational time required by each method to predict the tail length of 4,000 reads."

      Sentence: "BoostNano also offers the option of using the Application Programming Interface (API) call instead of the direct method, which omits the file copy implemented in the direct approach, reducing the run time to 8 m 8 s." Here, the sentence is extremely overwritten which cuases a lack of clarity. Correction: "BoostNano offers an alternative API-based method, which skips the file copy step of the direct approach, reducing the runtime to 8 minutes and 8 seconds."

      Discussion

      Discussion: ★★★☆☆ (3/5) The discussion as its strengths as it correctly identifies that Dorado's advantages (speed, integration with basecalling) make it appealing as a default choice. The authors acknowledge that all tools are within a similar accuracy range, suggesting the deciding factor may be speed or integration rather than raw performance differences. HOWEVER- there are areas for improvement: Further dissect the limitations of each tool. For example, BoostNano shows good SD but slightly off mean for R1; what does this mean for its use cases? Address the discrepancy between tailfindr, nanopolish, and Dorado in terms of how they define and detect poly(A) boundaries. Why does Dorado not evaluate start/end positions of poly(A) tails in event space, and how might this influence results? Include a brief discussion about how results might generalize to more complex transcriptomes. Real samples have varying GC content, fragment lengths, and potentially modified bases. A short commentary acknowledging these factors would show awareness that synthetic standards cannot capture the full complexity of natural RNA opulations. For these reasons, it is suggested that the authors suggest future directions. For instance, how could tool developers incorporate these findings to improve their methods? Could future benchmarking sets include a gradient of tail lengths to better understand length-specific biases?

      Grammar Mistakes and errors in the discussion section: Sentence: "BoostNano and tailfindr tools provided estimation of the starting and ending positions of the poly(A) tails in event space while this information was absent in Dorado outputs." Issue: "provided estimation" should be "provide estimation" to align with present tense. Correction: "BoostNano and tailfindr tools provide estimation of the starting and ending positions of the poly(A) tails in event space, while this information is absent in Dorado outputs."

      Sentence: "On the R1 dataset, BoostNano showed a tighter distribution with the smallest SD, but its peak was the furthest from the correct value." The issue here is that the test results are still speaking about genneral truths leading to verb tense inconsistency; "showed" should match other verbs in the section. Correction: "On the R1 dataset, BoostNano shows a tighter distribution with the smallest SD, but its peak is the furthest from the correct value."

      Sentence: "tailfindr had the most accurate estimation but also the largest error interval."

      The issue here is the verb tense mismatch; "had" should be consistent with present tense to show truth, not past truth. Correction: "tailfindr has the most accurate estimation but also the largest error interval."

      Sentence: "Furthermore, Boostnano is more lenient in keeping reads for poly(A) estimation than Dorado."

      Issue: "Boostnano" capitalization error; it should be "BoostNano." Correction: "Furthermore, BoostNano is more lenient in keeping reads for poly(A) estimation than Dorado."

      Sentence: "Overall, our results suggest that the four tools investigated in this study - BoostNano, tailfindr, nanopolish and Dorado have similar performance with their accuracy varying from one dataset to the other, with a potential length bias."

      Issue: Missing commas for clarity; replace "with their accuracy varying from one dataset to the other" for conciseness. Correction: "Overall, our results suggest that the four tools investigated in this study—BoostNano, tailfindr, nanopolish, and Dorado—have similar performance, with accuracy varying across datasets and showing potential length bias."

      Sentence: "Therefore, we expect Dorado to be implemented as the default method of poly(A) tail estimation in the near future, with the rapid estimation timeframe, comparable estimation lengths to other tools, conservative nature and the added benefit of ease of obtaining this information during basecalling."

      There are several issues here including verbosity and lack of parallelism. Correction: "Therefore, we expect Dorado to be implemented as the default method for poly(A) tail estimation, given its rapid estimation timeframe, comparable accuracy to other tools, conservative nature, and ease of integration with basecalling."

      Sentence: "This work demonstrates the value of having access to synthetic RNA molecules with known poly(A) tail-lengths for validating the accuracy of poly(A) tail estimation algorithms."

      Issue: The phrase "validating the accuracy of" could be simplified for readability. Correction: "This work demonstrates the value of synthetic RNA molecules with known poly(A) tail lengths for validating poly(A) tail estimation algorithms."

      Sentence: "As methods improve, we anticipate that these datasets will be valuable for assessing improvements in estimation of poly(A) tails."

      Issue: "improvements in estimation of" is awkward. Correction: "As methods improve, we anticipate that these datasets will be valuable for assessing advancements in poly(A) tail estimation."

      References need to be added to accomodate the suggested material review, but existing references are good-

      NEEDS REVISION Jesse Daniel Brown PD AASU

      Note:

      I previously reviewed this paper previously in Research Hub and you can read these comments via the Research Hub review page here: https://www.researchhub.com/paper/8634403/using-synthetic-rna-to-benchmark-polya-length-inference-from-direct-rna-sequencing/reviews#threadId=55398.

      The original preprint linked to the Research Hub review is here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.25.620206

    2. AbstractPolyadenylation is a dynamic process which is important in cellular physiology. Oxford Nanopore Technologies direct RNA-sequencing provides a strategy for sequencing the full-length RNA molecule and analysis of the transcriptome and epi-transcriptome. There are currently several tools available for poly(A) tail-length estimation, including well-established tools such as tailfindr and nanopolish, as well as two more recent deep learning models: Dorado and BoostNano. However, there has been limited benchmarking of the accuracy of these tools against gold-standard datasets. In this paper we evaluate four poly(A) estimation tools using synthetic RNA standards (Sequins), which have known poly(A) tail-lengths and provide a valuable approach to measuring the accuracy of poly(A) tail-length estimation. All four tools generate mean tail-length estimates which lie within 12% of the correct value. Overall, Dorado is recommended as the preferred approach due to its relatively fast run times, low coefficient of variation and ease of use with integration with base-calling.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf098), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Christoph Dieterich

      In this manuscript, the authors present a benchmark to assess the performance of different tools designed for estimation of polyA tail length from Nanopore direct RNA-sequencing data. These tools include tailfindr, nanopolish, Dorado and Boost Nano. Benchmarks on tools and algorithms to analyze Nanopore data, both third party tools and official ONT releases, are of utmost importance for the field. The use of synthetic constructs with known ground truth is recommended as well. Consequently, this study has the potential to provide a significant contribution to the field.

      In the current form, I can however not recommend it for publication in GigaScience. My major concerns are: a) Use of only RNA002 data. This chemistry is outdated and thus the Benchmark is only relevant for old, possibly already published data. A comprehensive Benchmark should also include RNA004 and available tools there (at least Dorado). b) The current data set only contains two polyA tail length, which are relatively short and do not cover longer polyA tails that are common e.g. in mammalian cells. A proper Benchmark should show the performance of the analyzed tools over a range of polyA tail lengths.

      Minor comments: 1) Abstract: "All four tools generate mean tail-length estimates which lie within 13% of the correct value." The value of 13% is given in the Abstract from the submission system, wherease the abstract in the Main text says 12%. Which value is correct? 2) Background, first paragraph: the role of the polyA tail in RNA circularization, which is required for efficient translation of cellular mRNAs is not mentioned. Reference is missing for "is increasingly recognised as a dynamic process which influences timing and degree of protein production." 3) Background, second paragraph: Chiron seems to be a relatively old basecaller (no models for new chemistries). It should be mentioned here that it is required for BoostNano. 4) Mis-priming of internal polyA sites may an important confounding (and currently overlooked) source of errors in Nanopore sequencing. This should be quantified properly and analyzed in more detail (length of these stretches, influence of other nucleotides within the A-rich stretch, etc.). Should be done as well on whole transcriptome data with more possible mispriming sites. 5) Why do the authors think that the poly(T) stretch of the RTA might be truncated? This is composed of DNA oligos, which should be quite stable 6) What are the parameters for filtering used by Dorado and BoostNano? Can the authors explain, why the filtered reads differ? 7) Dorado seems to systematically underestimate polyA tail length. Is this true also for data generated with RNA004 chemistry and longer polyA tails?

    1. AbstractThe ability to differentiate between viable and dead microorganisms in metagenomic data is crucial for various microbial inferences, ranging from assessing ecosystem functions of environmental microbiomes to inferring the virulence of potential pathogens from metagenomic analysis. While established viability-resolved genomic approaches are labor-intensive as well as biased and lacking in sensitivity, we here introduce a new fully computational framework that leverages nanopore sequencing technology to assess microbial viability directly from freely available nanopore signal data. Our approach utilizes deep neural networks to learn features from such raw nanopore signal data that can distinguish DNA from viable and dead microorganisms in a controlled experimental setting of UV-induced Escherichia cell death. The application of explainable AI tools then allows us to pinpoint the signal patterns in the nanopore raw data that allow the model to make viability predictions at high accuracy. Using the model predictions as well as explainable AI, we show that our framework can be leveraged in a real-world application to estimate the viability of obligate intracellular Chlamydia, where traditional culture-based methods suffer from inherently high false negative rates. This application shows that our viability model captures predictive patterns in the nanopore signal that can be utilized to predict viability across taxonomic boundaries. We finally show the limits of our model’s generalizability through antibiotic exposure of a simple mock microbial community, where a new model specific to the killing method had to be trained to obtain accurate viability predictions. While the potential of our computational framework’s generalizability and applicability to metagenomic studies needs to be assessed in more detail, we here demonstrate for the first time the analysis of freely available nanopore signal data to infer the viability of microorganisms, with many potential applications in environmental, veterinary, and clinical settings.Author summary Metagenomics investigates the entirety of DNA isolated from an environment or a sample to holistically understand microbial diversity in terms of known and newly discovered microorganisms and their ecosystem functions. Unlike traditional culturing of microorganisms, genomic approaches are not able to differentiate between viable and dead microorganisms since DNA might persist under different environmental circumstances. The viability of microorganisms is, however, of importance when making inferences about a microorganism’s metabolic potential, a pathogen’s virulence, or an entire microbiome’s impact on its environment. As existing viability-resolved genomic approaches are labor-intensive, expensive, and lack sensitivity, we here investigate our hypothesis if freely available nanopore sequencing signal dat that captures DNA molecule information beyond the DNA sequence might be leveraged to infer such viability. This hypothesis assumes that DNA from dead microorganisms accumulates certain damage signatures that reflect microbial viability and can be read from nanopore signal data using fully computational frameworks. We here show first evidence that such a computational framework might be feasible by training a deep model on controlled experimental data to predict viability at high accuracy, exploring what the model has learned, and using it in a real-world application by application to a bacterial species of veterinary relevance. We finally show that a specific model has to be trained to accurately predict viability after antibiotic exposure of a mock microbial community. While the generalizability of our computational framework therefore needs to be assessed in much more detail, we here demonstrate that freely available data might be usable for relevant viability inferences in environmental, veterinary, and clinical settings.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf100), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Finlay Maguire

      In this paper the authors train a ResNet-based model to predict whether individual 10,000 sample chunks of nanopore signal data originate from live or killed bacterial isolate cultures. From live and UV-killed (at exponential phase) E. coli K-12 cultures DNA was extracted and sequenced using separate R10.4.1 flowcells on a MinION. Signal data from each read in the live and dead extractions were then processed by discarding the first 1,500 samples and dividing the remaining signals into 10,000 sample chunks. These were then split into a balanced 60:20:20 train, test, and validation datasets with the constraint that no two chunks from the same read would end up in the same dataset (e.g., chunk 1 and chunk 2 of 1st read in the killed culture would hypothetically be separated into train and test). During this they also explored/compared the impact of chunk size, model architecture, and performance of a sequence based model using the E. coli data. With a nicely performed class-activation map and masking approach they then identified the signal regions most strongly associated with dead-predictions (such as twisting/kinking/pore blockage of DNA around pyrimidine dimers). Finally, they applied their trained model to a live and heat-killed Chlamydia abortus culture and compared their results to stained microscopy and propidium monoazide PCR measures of viability. They found equivalent performance on the C. abortus data to their E. coli data (despite a different killing-method and taxa).

      The manuscript is well written and the methods are clearly described (including well documented code and deposited data). The authors explainability methodology is excellent although it would have been nice to see a bit more in-depth interpretation of those results. The authors have also presented a convincing case that nanopore signal data does contain information that can be used to distinguish signal chunks from live and dead bacterial monocultures. This methods has the potential to be useful in clinical and environmental genomics if it can be extended to more heterogeneous metagenomic samples. However, despite the title and framing of this manuscript (i.e., "metagenomics"), their analyses do not involve any metagenomic data and their results so far do not demonstrate if this is fesible. Currently, the overall framing (and title) of the manuscript is not appropriate given the work performed at this point. Similarly, given that both E. coli and C. abortus "dead" cultures resulted in median read length less than half the live cultures, the authors do not fully make the case that the signal and ResNet approach is actually required relative to simpler baseline models. Finally, although they did evaluate performance on a complete separate dataset, the authors should at least explore/quantify the correlation of live/dead prediction across chunks of the same read given the default expectation of non-independence of signal chunks from the same read.

      Major - Although the title and framing of the paper suggest that the authors are classifying live and dead bacteria in metagenomic datasets, the actual experiments and method developed are entirely based around sequencing of cultured clonal bacterial isolates. Metagenomic datasets are going to have considerably more heterogeneity in viability, species composition, and DNA signal characteristics. Given this, the paper's title, introduction, and parts of the discussion are a bit of an oversell and inappropriate. This manuscript should be revised to more clearly reflect the work actually performed.

      • This paper doesn't establish whether a ResNet + Signal approach actually outperforms a much simpler baseline. For example, given there is a clear extraction and median read-length differences between live and dead samples, it is possible that a much simpler logistic model using basic features such as read length and/or translocation could perform equivalently.

      • Although the C. abortus analysis demonstrates limited impact of leakage, I'm still a bit concerned that the potential non-independence of chunks from the same read (i.e., chunk 1 and chunk 3 of the same read are more likely to share similar live/dead signal characteristics than Chunk 1 and 3 of different reads). By not having multiple chunks of the same read in the training, validation, or test datasets the authors may have avoided issues with longer-reads being more represented in their datasets. However, this has the potential to introduce data leakage between train and test set (which may impact generalisability when they attempt to extend this method to metagenomics). I think this paper would be improved by some exploration of the correlation of live/dead prediction across chunks of the same read. How often do different chunks of the same read disagree? How does this impact the overall performance of the model? Does taking the average prediction across chunks of the same read improve or degrade performance? Would this problem be better suited to a multiple instance learning approach (i.e., a live/dead label applied to all chunks from a single read) especially in more heterogeneous datasets? To what degree do longer reads with more chunks contribute disproportionately to the overall performance in the C. abortus dataset?

      Minor

      • SRA records don't seem to be live yet (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra?linkname=bioproject_sra_all&from_uid=1123127)

      • Are the actual pod5 files available?

      • Read-level performance should be analysed and reported.

      • Figure 1B: the test subplot numbers are almost too small to read - they may benefit from being its own panel.

      • Plot axes labels are not always clear (e.g., Figure 3) percentage of what? Chunks? or Reads? It would be nice to see consistent capitalisation of labels and legends.

      • Predictions on viable E. coli and viable C. abortus seems surprisingly similar (91.44% vs 91.34% viable and 8.56% vs 8.66% dead) despite different taxa, potentially underlying viable cell proportion, and output probability densities. This would benefit from further discussion/analysis - do misclassified chunks have any common characteristics? Would you expect the E. coli to have similar microscopy/PCR measured viability percentage as the C. abortus.

      • Would be good to see a bit more discussion/exploration of impact of mixed live/dead cells given ~37.6% viability measure in the C. abortus sample (e.g., how well do models perform with different ratios of live/dead reads) - could potentially be achieved using in-silico spike ins).

    1. AbstractBackground In 2019, the Open Pediatric Brain Tumor Atlas (OpenPBTA) was created as a global, collaborative open-science initiative to genomically characterize 1,074 pediatric brain tumors and 22 patient-derived cell lines. Here, we present an extension of the OpenPBTA called the Open Pediatric Cancer (OpenPedCan) Project, a harmonized open-source multi-omic dataset from 6,112 pediatric cancer patients with 7,096 tumor events across more than 100 histologies. Combined with RNA-Seq from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), OpenPedCan contains nearly 48,000 total biospecimens (24,002 tumor and 23,893 normal specimens).Findings We utilized Gabriella Miller Kids First (GMKF) workflows to harmonize WGS, WXS, RNA-seq, and Targeted Sequencing datasets to include somatic SNVs, InDels, CNVs, SVs, RNA expression, fusions, and splice variants. We integrated summarized CPTAC whole cell proteomics and phospho-proteomics data, miRNA-Seq data, and have developed a methylation array harmonization workflow to include m-values, beta-vales, and copy number calls. OpenPedCan contains reproducible, dockerized workflows in GitHub, CAVATICA, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to deliver harmonized and processed data from over 60 scalable modules which can be leveraged both locally and on AWS. The processed data are released in a versioned manner and accessible through CAVATICA or AWS S3 download (from GitHub), and queryable through PedcBioPortal and the NCI’s pediatric Molecular Targets Platform. Notably, we have expanded PBTA molecular subtyping to include methylation information to align with the WHO 2021 Central Nervous System Tumor classifications, allowing us to create research-grade integrated diagnoses for these tumors.Conclusions OpenPedCan data and its reproducible analysis module framework are openly available and can be utilized and/or adapted by researchers to accelerate discovery, validation, and clinical translation.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf093), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Jacek Majewski

      Shapiro et al. describe the Open Pediatric Cancer Project, a dataset, web portals, and a Github repository to facilitate data access, analysis, and encourage collaborations using pediatric cancer omics data. While the concept is inspired, it does not constitute a significant advance over the previously described OpenPBTA project. The goal of the manuscript may be to provide a pointer to the updated datasets and web resources, but this does not seem like a sufficient reason to publish. As far as I can tell, all of the information in the manuscript is already provided on the OpenPedCan Bioportal (which is really useful, to be fair) and on GitHub. To publish a manuscript just as a pointer to that information does not seem justifiable in my opinion.

      Major Concerns:

      1. Novelty and Validity of Key Features:

      The manuscript highlights several key features of OpenPedCan, including data harmonization, multi-omic integration, reproducibility, scalability, versioned data releases, accessibility, alignment with WHO 2021 classifications, and the open-source framework. However, these features are not novel. Many of them represent standard practices in the field. Moreover, some claims appear questionable: * Reproducibility: While the authors claim reproducibility, using OpenPedCan's dockerized workflows would require significant computational resources (e.g., 98GB of CPU) or expensive cloud services (e.g., AWS). * Accessibility: The platform's interface requires users to have a Gmail account, limiting its accessibility. Alternative login options should be considered. * Open-Source Framework: The manuscript does not adequately address how the framework handles access to controlled data, such as those integrated from external sources like TARGET and TCGA, which may require restricted access permissions.

      1. Lack of Novel Methodologies and Findings:

      2. While OpenPedCan integrates data from existing workflows and portals (e.g., Gabriella Miller Kids First, TCGA), the manuscript does not clearly outline novel methodologies or scientific contributions. Most prominently, the submission appears to be an incremental extension of the previous manuscript describing OpenPBTA published in Cell Genomics 2023. The only potentially novel components appear to be proteomics and molecular subtyping based on methylation, but no specific examples or case studies demonstrating the novelty or impact of these contributions are provided.

      3. Redundancy with Existing Tools:

      4. The manuscript states that OpenPedCan serves as a community resource for addressing research questions and providing orthogonal validation datasets. However, there is nothing presented in OpenPedCan that cannot already be achieved with existing tools. This makes the claim somewhat redundant, as the platform largely serves as a data integrator rather than offering unique capabilities.

      Minor Concerns:

      1. Splicing Analysis Module:
      2. The manuscript refers to a splicing analysis module (Figure 2: OpenPedCan Analysis Workflow), but there is no further description or discussion of this module within the text. Further elaboration is needed.

      3. Incomplete Module Descriptions:

      4. The manuscript describes several analysis modules, but it should provide more comprehensive descriptions of the analysis modules, especially the Splicing Analysis module.
      5. Additionally, the Molecular Subtyping component, based on molecular and methylation data, is the only module with a clear methodological explanation.
      6. Further clarification on the methods used in other modules would be beneficial.
    1. Synthèse du webinaire : Le programme EVARS, un outil indispensable pour la protection des enfants

      Résumé

      Ce document de synthèse résume les points clés du webinaire organisé par la FCPE nationale le 23 septembre 2025, consacré au programme d'Éducation à la Vie Affective, Relationnelle et à la Sexualité (EVARS).

      Entré en vigueur à la rentrée 2025, ce programme vise à garantir l'application effective de la loi Aubry de 2001, qui rendait obligatoire trois séances annuelles d'éducation à la sexualité, mais qui n'était appliquée que pour 15 % des élèves en 2024.

      Les intervenants — Marc Pelletier du Ministère de l'Éducation nationale, Sarah Durocher du Planning familial et l'animateur Didier Valentin — ont unanimement présenté le programme comme un enjeu nécessaire et indispensable pour la protection de l'enfance.

      Il répond aux missions fondamentales de l'École : promouvoir l'égalité, lutter contre les discriminations, enseigner le consentement et prévenir toutes les formes de violence.

      Le programme est également une réponse directe aux défis contemporains auxquels la jeunesse est confrontée, notamment l'exposition précoce à la pornographie, le harcèlement et les violences sexistes et sexuelles.

      Élaboré suite à un vaste processus consultatif et validé par le Conseil d'État, le programme repose sur trois principes directeurs : l'unité thématique, la progressivité stricte des contenus adaptés à l'âge, et la complémentarité avec les autres enseignements. Il est obligatoire et les parents ne peuvent y soustraire leurs enfants.

      La mise en œuvre s'appuie sur une formation massive des personnels de l'Éducation nationale et, dans le second degré, sur des interventions complémentaires d'associations agréées, toujours dans le cadre de projets co-construits avec les équipes pédagogiques.

      Face aux campagnes de désinformation, les intervenants ont insisté sur la nécessité d'une communication claire auprès des familles pour dissiper les malentendus et réaffirmer que l'objectif n'est pas d'enseigner des pratiques sexuelles, mais de construire une culture du respect, de l'égalité et du bien-être.

      Contexte et Justification du Programme EVARS

      Un Impératif Légal et une Nécessité Sociale

      Le programme EVARS a été conçu pour répondre à un déficit majeur dans l'application de la législation française.

      Bien que la loi Aubry de 2001 ait rendu l'éducation à la sexualité obligatoire à raison de trois séances par an, un constat alarmant a été dressé en 2024 : seuls 15 % des élèves en avaient réellement bénéficié.

      L'objectif principal du nouveau programme est donc de garantir l'effectivité de cette loi sur tout le territoire.

      Marc Pelletier, de la Direction générale de l'enseignement scolaire (DGESCO), a souligné que l'EVARS s'inscrit pleinement dans les missions fondamentales que la Nation confie à l'École, telles que définies dans le Code de l'éducation :

      Promouvoir l'égalité, notamment entre les femmes et les hommes.

      Lutter contre toutes les formes de discrimination, y compris celles fondées sur le sexe, l'identité de genre ou l'orientation sexuelle.

      Éduquer au principe du consentement et au respect du corps humain.

      Prévenir toutes les formes de violence, en particulier les violences sexistes et sexuelles, et contribuer au repérage des situations de violences intrafamiliales, y compris l'inceste.

      Répondre aux Enjeux Contemporains de la Jeunesse

      Le programme a été jugé indispensable pour outiller les enfants et les adolescents face aux réalités et aux risques de leur époque. Plusieurs statistiques alarmantes ont été citées pour justifier son déploiement :

      Enjeu

      Donnée Clé

      Exposition à la pornographie

      23 millions de mineurs y sont exposés chaque mois.

      Agressions sexuelles

      Un enfant est victime toutes les trois minutes en France.

      Violences sexuelles sur mineurs

      80 % des victimes sont des filles.

      Harcèlement scolaire

      Concerne 5 % des écoliers, 6 % des collégiens et 4 % des lycéens qui se trouvent dans une situation de vulnérabilité.

      Inceste

      160 000 enfants en sont victimes en France.

      Pour Sarah Durocher, présidente du Planning familial, l'un des principaux leviers pour contrer la désinformation massive à laquelle les jeunes sont exposés via Internet est une éducation structurée et fiable dispensée à l'école.

      Le Soutien des Fédérations de Parents et des Associations

      La FCPE, organisatrice du webinaire, a exprimé son soutien "avec force et convictions" au programme.

      Pour la fédération, l'EVARS est essentiel pour informer, prévenir, construire une société plus égalitaire, libérer la parole, donner des repères clairs, apprendre à dire non et comprendre la notion de consentement.

      La FCPE fait également partie du Collectif pour une véritable éducation à la sexualité, aux côtés du Planning familial et d'autres organisations, afin de parler d'une même voix et de fournir des outils concrets aux familles et aux établissements pour contrer la désinformation.

      Élaboration, Contenu et Principes Directeurs

      Un Processus de Création Consultatif et Validé

      Le programme EVARS n'a pas été créé de manière arbitraire. Son élaboration a suivi un processus rigoureux et consultatif :

      1. Groupe de travail (2023) : Mis en place pour analyser les raisons de la faible application de la loi de 2001.

      2. Saisine du Conseil Supérieur des Programmes (CSP) : Le ministre Pap Ndiaye a mandaté le CSP pour élaborer un projet de programme, avec une attention particulière à la distinction entre le premier et le second degré.

      3. Consultations : La DGESCO a mené de larges consultations sur la base du projet du CSP, incluant des professionnels de l'éducation, des organisations syndicales, des partenaires institutionnels et une consultation publique.

      4. Adoption (Janvier 2025) : Le projet a été adopté à l'unanimité des votants au sein des instances consultatives.

      5. Validation Juridique (Juin 2025) : Le Conseil d'État a rejeté deux recours administratifs demandant son annulation, confirmant ainsi sa conformité légale et son caractère "neutre et objectif".

      Trois Principes Fondamentaux

      Le programme est structuré autour de trois principes essentiels pour garantir sa cohérence et son adéquation.

      1. Unité : À tous les niveaux, l'enseignement s'articule autour de trois questions structurantes :

      • ◦ Comment se connaître, vivre et grandir ?  
      • ◦ Comment rencontrer les autres, construire avec eux des relations respectueuses et s'y épanouir ?  
      • ◦ Comment trouver sa place dans la société, y être libre et responsable ?

      2. Progressivité : Le principe le plus fondamental est l'adaptation stricte des contenus et des modalités à l'âge et à la maturité des élèves. Le nom même du programme change pour marquer cette distinction :

      • Premier degré (école) : Éducation à la Vie Affective et Relationnelle (EVAR).  
      • Second degré (collège/lycée) : Éducation à la Vie Affective, Relationnelle et à la Sexualité (EVARS).

      Le mot "sexualité" n'apparaît dans le programme qu'à partir de la classe de quatrième.

      3. Complémentarité : Les trois séances annuelles forment un parcours cohérent.

      L'EVARS est conçu pour compléter les enseignements disciplinaires (SVT, Enseignement Moral et Civique) et les actions éducatives globales de l'établissement (ex: programme de lutte contre le harcèlement).

      Une Approche Progressive et Adaptée à Chaque Âge

      Niveau

      Dénomination

      Thèmes Abordés

      Maternelle

      EVAR

      Émotions, identification des parties du corps, notion d'intimité, reconnaissance des adultes de confiance.

      Élémentaire (CP-CM2)

      EVAR

      Sentiments, stéréotypes de sexe, lutte contre les discriminations, consentement (abordé sans forcément nommer le terme), dangers d'Internet, harcèlement.

      Collège

      EVARS

      Changements liés à la puberté, vie privée, respect de l'intimité, sentiments amoureux, respect des différences, prévention des violences (sexuelles, emprise).

      Lycée

      EVARS

      Engagement dans une relation, droit d'être soi, acceptation et pression sociales, construction de relations saines à soi et aux autres.

      Il est crucial de noter que le terme "sexualité" est entendu dans un sens global, incluant les dimensions psychologiques, affectives, juridiques et sociales, et non comme un cours sur les pratiques sexuelles.

      Mise en Œuvre Pratique et Pédagogie

      Le Rôle Central des Personnels de l'Éducation Nationale

      Un effort de formation massif est en cours pour accompagner les équipes. Cela inclut des séminaires nationaux, des formateurs académiques, et des parcours de formation en ligne ("parcours magister") accessibles à tous les professeurs.

      N'importe quel professeur volontaire peut animer ces séances, pas uniquement les enseignants de SVT.

      Les personnels de santé scolaire (infirmières, psychologues) sont des acteurs clés.

      Leur connaissance des élèves permet d'adapter les séances aux problématiques locales.

      Des protocoles clairs existent pour l'accueil de la parole des enfants en cas de révélation de violences, garantissant que l'enseignant n'est jamais seul face à ces situations.

      L'Intervention des Associations Agréées

      Le recours à des partenaires extérieurs est encadré :

      Recommandé dans le second degré : Les interventions d'associations sont encouragées au collège et au lycée pour leur expertise complémentaire.

      Non prioritaire dans le premier degré : Le ministère préconise que les séances soient menées par les professeurs des écoles, intégrées au quotidien de la classe.

      Conditions strictes :

      ◦ L'association doit être agréée par le Ministère, un label garantissant son respect des valeurs de la République et la pertinence de son approche pédagogique.    ◦ L'intervention doit s'inscrire dans un projet pédagogique co-construit avec l'équipe de l'établissement.    ◦ Un professionnel de l'établissement doit toujours être présent pendant la séance.

      Le Planning familial, qui intervient auprès de 3600 établissements, a précisé refuser autant de demandes qu'il en accepte, illustrant la forte demande du terrain.

      Déroulement Type d'une Séance : L'Approche de Didier Valentin

      Didier Valentin a illustré la pédagogie active et non-jugeante utilisée lors des séances.

      Philosophie : "N'essayons pas de convaincre, tentons de faire réfléchir." L'objectif est la réduction des risques et le développement de l'esprit critique.

      Focus sur le "Relationnel" : Une grande partie du travail porte sur la manière dont les jeunes interagissent, se parlent et vivent ensemble, bien avant d'aborder la sexualité.

      Outils interactifs : Les séances ne sont pas des cours magistraux. Elles s'appuient sur des outils participatifs qui partent du vécu des jeunes :

      • Exemple 1 : Un tableau où les élèves collent des post-it sur les "avantages et inconvénients" d'être une fille, un garçon ou une personne non-binaire, pour lancer un débat sur les stéréotypes et l'empowerment.  
      • Exemple 2 : Diffusion de courtes vidéos vues sur les réseaux sociaux (TikTok) pour lancer un débat contradictoire et analyser les discours (ex: masculinistes).

      Questions des Parents et Lutte Contre la Désinformation

      Cadre Réglementaire et Communication

      Caractère obligatoire : Il a été rappelé que l'EVARS est un enseignement obligatoire. Un parent ne peut pas demander une dispense pour son enfant.

      Information des familles : Le Ministère recommande fortement que les établissements communiquent de manière transparente sur les objectifs du programme, par exemple lors des réunions de rentrée, afin de "dissiper les malentendus".

      Rôle des parents d'élèves : Les représentants des parents ont un rôle à jouer dans les instances comme le Comité d'Éducation à la Santé, à la Citoyenneté et à l'Environnement (CESCE) pour participer à l'élaboration du projet d'établissement.

      Répondre aux Inquiétudes et aux "Infox"

      Les intervenants ont reconnu l'existence d'une "panique morale" et de campagnes de désinformation actives. Sarah Durocher a mentionné que certains groupes tentent de se faire élire comme représentants de parents d'élèves dans le but de faire barrage au programme.

      Pour rassurer les familles, plusieurs points ont été martelés :

      Formation des intervenants : Les professionnels des associations sont formés (ex: 160 à 400 heures pour le Planning familial) et leur casier judiciaire est vérifié.

      Développement des compétences psycho-sociales : Le programme vise à renforcer les compétences émotionnelles, cognitives et relationnelles des élèves, qui sont des vecteurs de réussite scolaire et de bien-être.

      Une éducation féministe pour tous : Didier Valentin a résumé l'objectif comme une "éducation féministe" visant à déconstruire les stéréotypes de genre pour créer des relations plus égalitaires et, in fine, faire baisser les violences.

    1. Synthèse de l'Audition sur le Service Civique

      Résumé

      L'audition de la présidente de l'Agence du service civique met en lumière la dualité d'un dispositif de 15 ans, largement salué comme un "vrai succès" par la Cour des Comptes et plébiscité par les jeunes et les structures d'accueil, mais aujourd'hui menacé par des restrictions budgétaires drastiques.

      Avec plus de 868 000 participants depuis sa création, le Service Civique s'est imposé comme un outil majeur de cohésion sociale, de mixité et un tremplin d'insertion pour la jeunesse.

      Cependant, l'annulation de crédits pour 2025 réduit la cible de 150 000 à 135 000 jeunes, supprimant de fait 15 000 missions et fragilisant un écosystème associatif déjà sous tension.

      Les débats ont révélé un large consensus sur la pertinence du dispositif, mais aussi des inquiétudes profondes concernant son financement, les risques de substitution à l'emploi, les allégations de dévoiement idéologique et la tension structurelle entre sa vocation d'engagement citoyen et son rôle de facto dans l'insertion professionnelle.

      1. Le Service Civique : Bilan et Impact en Chiffres

      Créé par la loi du 10 mars 2010, le Service Civique est un dispositif d'engagement volontaire qui a démontré un impact significatif en 15 ans d'existence.

      Fondamentaux du Dispositif

      Public : Jeunes de 16 à 25 ans (jusqu'à 30 ans pour les jeunes en situation de handicap).

      Mission : Mission d'intérêt général auprès d'associations ou d'institutions publiques.

      Durée : Environ 6 mois, avec un maximum de 12 mois.

      Intensité : En 2023, la durée moyenne était de 7 mois avec une intensité hebdomadaire de 27 heures.

      Indemnisation : 620 € par mois.

      Bénéfices : Accompagnement, formation civique et citoyenne (incluant les premiers secours), couverture sociale complète et validation de trimestres de retraite de base.

      Bilan Quantitatif

      Total de participants : 868 000 jeunes ont réalisé une mission depuis 2010.

      Missions à l'étranger : 15 000 jeunes ont effectué leur mission à l'international.

      Volume annuel : Près de 90 000 nouvelles missions ont été engagées en 2023.

      Pour 2024, le chiffre s'élève à 86 431 entrées en mission, correspondant à l'atteinte de la cible annuelle (avant réduction) de 150 000 jeunes en service civique sur l'année.

      Taux d'occupation : 100 % des places disponibles sont occupées depuis 2023.

      Profil des Volontaires et Structures d'Accueil

      Le dispositif se caractérise par une forte mixité sociale et de parcours.

      Catégorie

      Données Clés

      Profil à l'entrée

      1/3 étudiants, 1/3 demandeurs d'emploi, 1/3 inactifs.

      Publics spécifiques

      3,3 % de jeunes en situation de handicap.

      14 % de jeunes issus des quartiers prioritaires de la ville (QPV).

      31 % de jeunes issus de la ruralité.

      Structures d'accueil

      62 % en associations.

      28 % dans l'État et ses opérateurs (ex: Ministère de l'Éducation Nationale).

      9 000 organismes d'accueil différents au total.

      Taux de Satisfaction et Impact

      Le Service Civique est un dispositif très connu et apprécié, tant par les volontaires que par les recruteurs.

      Notoriété : Plus de 9 jeunes sur 10 connaissent le dispositif.

      Satisfaction des volontaires : 85 % des jeunes ayant effectué une mission se déclarent satisfaits.

      Satisfaction des recruteurs : Près de 70 % portent un avis favorable.

      Impact sur le parcours :

      Professionnel : 73 % des jeunes déclarent avoir mobilisé leur expérience pour leur parcours professionnel un an après leur sortie.    ◦ Orientation : 63 % l'ont utilisée pour leur orientation ou réorientation.    ◦ Insertion : 80 % des jeunes sont en emploi ou en formation 6 mois après la fin de leur mission.

      Impact sur l'engagement : 56 % des jeunes poursuivent une activité bénévole après leur mission, contre 36 % avant d'y entrer.

      2. La Crise Budgétaire : Un Tournant pour le Dispositif

      La principale menace pesant sur le Service Civique est d'ordre budgétaire, remettant en cause le consensus politique et la trajectoire de croissance du dispositif.

      La Cible Historique de 150 000 Jeunes

      Depuis 2017, un consensus national s'est établi autour d'une cible de 150 000 jeunes en service civique sur l'année, ce qui correspond à environ 85 000 nouvelles entrées en mission par an, soit un peu plus de 10 % d'une classe d'âge.

      La loi de finances initiale pour 2025 prévoyait les moyens nécessaires pour atteindre cet objectif.

      L'Impact des Annulations de Crédits

      Annulation pour 2024 : Plus de 70 millions d'euros ont été annulés.

      Décret d'annulation pour 2025 : Un décret a ramené la cible à 135 000 jeunes sur l'année, supprimant de fait 15 000 missions.

      Conséquences sur la trésorerie : La trésorerie de l'Agence a été réduite d'une norme prudentielle d'un mois à 15 jours, puis à une hypothèse de 6 jours (9 millions d'euros) pour 2025.

      Gel supplémentaire ("surgel") : Un surgel a été appliqué, dont le dégel partiel est espéré par la ministre.

      Conséquences sur l'Écosystème

      La réduction du nombre de missions a un double effet :

      1. Pour les jeunes : 15 000 jeunes seront privés de cette opportunité, alors que la demande est déjà très forte (3 candidatures enregistrées pour 1 mission disponible).

      2. Pour les associations : Cette réduction fragilise le tissu associatif, qui accueille la majorité des volontaires et dépend de leur contribution.

      Plusieurs intervenants ont souligné que les associations, déjà confrontées à des baisses de subventions, verront leur capacité d'action et d'accueil diminuée.

      3. Thèmes Stratégiques et Initiatives Clés

      Malgré les difficultés budgétaires, l'Agence du service civique développe des axes stratégiques pour répondre aux priorités nationales et aux aspirations de la jeunesse.

      Les Nouvelles Priorités Thématiques

      Service Civique Écologique : Lancé en avril 2024 avec un objectif de 50 000 missions d'ici 2027. La première étape de 1 000 missions supplémentaires a été dépassée, témoignant d'un "réel engouement" de la part des jeunes et de l'écosystème.

      Service Civique Solidarité Senior : Développé dans le cadre du plan "bien vieillir" pour répondre aux enjeux de société liés au vieillissement.

      Lutte contre le harcèlement scolaire : 1 000 missions ont été dédiées à la prévention et à la lutte contre ce fléau en milieu scolaire, un exemple jugé "archétypal" d'une mission réussie où les jeunes complètent l'action des agents publics sans s'y substituer.

      Le Lien avec le Service National Universel (SNU)

      L'abandon de la généralisation du SNU a eu un impact. Il était anticipé qu'une généralisation aurait massivement augmenté la demande de Service Civique, portant la cible théorique à 25 % d'une classe d'âge.

      L'abandon de ce projet évite une amplification de la tension actuelle entre l'offre et la demande, mais la question du décalage reste "posée de manière cruelle".

      Le Déploiement dans les Collectivités Territoriales

      Le développement du Service Civique s'est historiquement appuyé sur des partenariats avec de grandes associations nationales.

      Le déploiement dans les collectivités territoriales reste un axe de progression : seules 192 intercommunalités sur 1254 disposent d'un agrément.

      Un travail a été engagé avec Intercommunalité de France pour faciliter l'accueil de volontaires au niveau local, notamment dans les petites communes.

      4. Controverses et Préoccupations Soulevées

      L'audition a été l'occasion pour les députés d'exprimer plusieurs critiques et inquiétudes majeures concernant le fonctionnement et la finalité du dispositif.

      Le Risque de Substitution à l'Emploi

      Préoccupation : Des députés (notamment du groupe Écologiste) craignent que le Service Civique ne soit utilisé pour remplacer de "vrais emplois", notamment dans les services publics (ex: missions d'accueil).

      Réponse de l'Agence : C'est une "préoccupation constante" et essentielle. Le Code du service national l'interdit. L'Agence contrôle en amont (agrément) et en aval (signalements). La présidente note que le risque de substitution est plus élevé dans le secteur sportif associatif que dans les services publics, où la satisfaction des jeunes est par ailleurs plus élevée.

      Allégations de Dévoiement et Questions de Neutralité

      Préoccupation : Le Rassemblement National, s'appuyant sur un article du Journal du Dimanche, a soulevé le risque de "dévoiement" du dispositif au profit de "structures exclusivement tournées vers l'aide aux migrants" ou d'"écoles privées musulmanes", questionnant le respect de la neutralité républicaine.

      Réponse de l'Agence : La présidente a fermement réfuté ces allégations, qualifiant l'article de "mal documenté". Elle précise que l'association La SIMAD n'a accueilli que deux volontaires depuis 2020 et que l'association La Plume Bleue n'en a jamais accueilli. Elle a rappelé que l'Agence travaille avec les cellules préfectorales de lutte contre l'islamisme radical (CLIR) pour renforcer les contrôles.

      Un Outil d'Insertion Professionnelle plutôt que d'Engagement Citoyen ?

      Préoccupation : Un député (groupe UDR) a avancé que le dispositif s'est transformé en "simple contrat jeune", servant davantage l'insertion professionnelle que l'engagement citoyen.

      Il s'appuie sur une étude de l'INJEP montrant une corrélation entre le taux de chômage des jeunes et le recours au Service Civique, ainsi que sur les fortes disparités territoriales (27,4 % de participation dans les DROM contre 9,5 % dans l'Hexagone).

      Réponse de l'Agence : La présidente reconnaît que les motivations professionnelles sont une évidence et que le dispositif est un "tremplin vers l'emploi".

      Elle insiste cependant sur le fait qu'il s'agit d'une expérience allant au-delà d'un "simple contrat", car elle offre une "expérience concrète des valeurs de la République" et vise à "humaniser le service public".

      Inclusivité et Accessibilité

      Préoccupation : Le faible taux de participation des jeunes en situation de handicap (3,3 %) a été souligné (groupe Liot).

      Réponse de l'Agence : Ce chiffre est jugé "certainement insuffisant" mais en progression (+1,5 point en 4 ans).

      La principale réponse pour améliorer l'accessibilité de tous les publics est de développer une offre "d'ultra-proximité" sur tout le territoire, afin de ne pas rendre un déménagement nécessaire.

      5. Citations Marquantes

      Sur le succès et la menace (Présidente de la commission) : "La Cour des comptes a souligné, je cite, que le service civique est un vrai succès malgré quelques fragilités.

      Ce constat est donc favorable aujourd'hui et menacé par certaines interrogations pour ne pas dire inquiétude sur le devenir de ce dispositif."

      Sur l'essence du dispositif (Priska Tevenot, Ensemble) : "S'engager et apprendre de soi, c'est ce qui distingue le volontariat en service civique du simple job étudiant. [...] Le service civique, c'est une école de l'engagement, une école de la vie."

      Sur la rigueur budgétaire (Florence Joubert, Rassemblement National) : "Ce dispositif mérite d'être soutenu à condition qu'il ne soit pas dévoyé.

      Car nous parlons tout de même d'un financement public de près de 600 millions d'euros par an."

      Sur la substitution à l'emploi (Sophie Tailler Paulian, Écologiste) : "Comment éviter que le service civique ne vienne finalement remplacer de vrais emplois et ne soit pas finalement aussi une sorte de sas [...] avant d'entrer dans un vrai emploi ?"

      Sur le sacrifice du Service Civique (Florence Erouin Léotet, Socialiste) : "C'est pourtant pour tenter de sauver ce dispositif [le SNU] en échec que l'on choisirait de sacrifier le service civique, un outil d'émancipation et de fraternité républicaine."

      Sur la confusion des genres (Maxime Michelet, UDR) : "Le service civique semble être parfois davantage un outil d'insertion professionnelle que d'engagement citoyen."

      Sur la finalité du dispositif (Présidente de l'Agence) : "La promesse [du Service Civique] n'est autre encore une fois que de faire l'expérience de l'intérêt général et de la cohésion républicaine, de la mixité sociale. Donc c'est une promesse effectivement supérieure à celle d'un simple contrat jeune."

      Sur la valeur ajoutée (Présidente de l'Agence) : "Il [le Service Civique] ne se substitue pas à l'emploi, aux agents publics, mais il humanise le service public. [...]

      C'est vraiment un des moteurs qui fait la différence entre l'engagement de service civique et une simple expérience professionnelle."

  5. biz.libretexts.org biz.libretexts.org
    1. Adverse impact | Refers to employment practices that may appear to be neutral but have a discriminatory effect on a protected group.

      I was not able to find this term in the reading of Chapter 3. I am glad I thought to look in the glossary, as had I used what I found on the internet, I would have been talking about "unintended consequences of a medical treatment..." I will be using the glossary more often, from here on out, in this class.

    1. Synthèse des Auditions de la Cour des Comptes : Enseignement Primaire et CVEC

      Résumé

      L'audition de la Cour des comptes à l'Assemblée nationale a mis en lumière des diagnostics critiques concernant deux piliers du système éducatif français : * l'enseignement primaire et * la Contribution de Vie Étudiante et de Campus (CVEC).

      Concernant l'enseignement primaire, le rapport dresse un "constat d'échec" de la politique publique.

      Malgré une dépense croissante (55 milliards d'euros en 2023, soit 2% du PIB), le niveau des élèves français est alarmant, se classant dernier de l'Union européenne en mathématiques en CM1.

      Le système aggrave les inégalités sociales et territoriales, avec une organisation du temps scolaire jugée "en décalage avec les besoins de l'enfant", notamment la semaine de 4 jours.

      La Cour préconise une refonte du modèle scolaire, incluant la systématisation des regroupements d'écoles, la réforme du statut des directeurs pour leur accorder plus d'autonomie, l'amélioration de l'attractivité du métier d'enseignant et une meilleure association des collectivités territoriales via des conventions triennales.

      Pour la CVEC, le bilan est contrasté. Depuis 2018, près de 900 millions d'euros ont été collectés, finançant des actions bénéfiques pour la vie étudiante (santé, culture, social).

      Cependant, le dispositif souffre d'un manque de transparence, d'une gestion complexe et d'une sous-utilisation notable des fonds, avec un reliquat de 100 millions d'euros. Le nombre d'étudiants assujettis n'est même pas connu précisément par le ministère.

      La Cour recommande de résorber les crédits inutilisés, de renforcer l'information et l'association des étudiants, de clarifier les règles de calcul de la contribution et d'assurer un suivi rigoureux de son utilisation, notamment par un rapport annuel au Parlement.

      I. Rapport sur l'Enseignement Primaire : Un Modèle à Réinventer

      Le rapport de la Cour des comptes sur les 6,3 millions d'élèves des 48 000 écoles françaises est le fruit d'une analyse nationale et territoriale approfondie.

      Il s'articule autour de quatre constats majeurs qui appellent à une refonte structurelle du système.

      1. Constat d'Échec : Baisse de Niveau et Aggravation des Inégalités

      La Cour qualifie sans équivoque la politique publique d'enseignement primaire d'« échec ». Les indicateurs de performance sont particulièrement préoccupants :

      Niveau Scolaire en Chute Libre : Malgré une dépense par élève en hausse, le niveau suit une tendance inverse.

      Mathématiques (CM1) : La France se classe dernière des 21 pays de l'Union européenne participant à l'enquête.    ◦ Français :

      Après une baisse continue depuis 2001, le niveau stagne, plaçant la France à l'antépénultième place des 18 pays de l'UE évalués.

      Explosion des Inégalités : L'école primaire non seulement reproduit mais "creuse les inégalités".

      Déterminisme Social : Une corrélation "très nette" existe entre les difficultés scolaires et l'origine sociale des parents.

      Les enfants de cadres améliorent leurs résultats, tandis que ceux des ouvriers voient les leurs diminuer.    ◦ Disparités Territoriales :

      Des inégalités aigües sont observées, notamment dans les académies ultramarines où, malgré un coût par écolier supérieur de 30%, le niveau des élèves est particulièrement bas.

      2. Organisation Inadaptée et Crise d'Attractivité du Métier

      L'organisation même de l'école est pointée du doigt comme étant déconnectée des besoins fondamentaux des élèves.

      Rythmes Scolaires : S'appuyant sur l'avis de l'Académie nationale de médecine, la Cour souligne que "l'organisation du temps scolaire n'apparaît pas prioritairement conçu en fonction des élèves".

      Le rapport met en évidence le "rôle néfaste de la semaine dite de 4 jours", une spécificité française au sein des pays de l'OCDE où le modèle dominant est la semaine de 5 jours.

      Crise du Recrutement des Enseignants : Le manque d'attractivité du métier est devenu structurel.

      Postes non pourvus : En 2024, 1 350 postes de professeurs des écoles n'ont pas été pourvus sur 10 270 offerts (près de 13%).

      Dans certaines académies comme Créteil et Versailles, il y a moins d'un candidat par poste.  

      Facteurs Multiples : Faible reconnaissance sociale, rémunération peu attractive en début de carrière, conditions de travail dégradées et carrières peu évolutives.

      3. Le Paradoxe d'une Dépense Croissante pour des Résultats Décevants

      Alors que les effectifs sont en forte baisse (prévision de 350 000 élèves en moins entre 2023 et 2028), la dépense publique pour l'école primaire ne cesse d'augmenter.

      Indicateur

      Données Clés

      Dépense Totale (2023)

      55 milliards d'euros (2% du PIB)

      Part de la Dépense Nationale d'Éducation

      29 %

      Croissance (2013-2022)

      +12 % (+6 milliards d'euros hors inflation)

      Répartition du Financement (hors pensions)

      État : ~20 milliards d'euros (2022)

      Collectivités territoriales : 19 milliards d'euros (2022)

      Cette augmentation continue, couplée à la dégradation des résultats, impose selon la Cour de s'interroger sur "l'efficience de la politique éducative".

      4. Recommandations pour une Refondation

      Face à ce diagnostic, la Cour formule plusieurs recommandations structurelles pour "repenser le modèle actuel de l'école" :

      Gouvernance :

      Statut du Directeur d'École : Engager une réforme pour généraliser progressivement la fonction de directeur à temps complet, en commençant par les écoles regroupées, afin de leur donner les leviers pour piloter le projet pédagogique.     ◦ Regroupement d'Écoles : Systématiser les regroupements pédagogiques dans les territoires en déclin démographique (18% des écoles comptent déjà une ou deux classes).     ◦ Partenariat avec les Collectivités : Établir des conventions triennales entre les services de l'Éducation nationale et les collectivités pour objectiver la politique éducative locale (carte scolaire, bâti, périscolaire).

      Attractivité et Formation des Enseignants :

      • Recrutement : Diversifier les viviers en ouvrant plus de postes au 3ème concours et permettre des recrutements sur contrats de moyen terme dans les académies en tension. 

      • Formation Continue : Assurer le remplacement systématique des enseignants en formation, favoriser les formations en équipe de proximité et mieux utiliser les crédits budgétaires alloués (60% non consommés en 2022).

      Pédagogie et Bien-être :

      • Centrer sur l'Élève : Faire du bien-être une priorité, en améliorant la cohérence entre les temps scolaire, périscolaire et extrascolaire.  
      • Numérique : Mieux intégrer le numérique comme outil pédagogique, en renforçant la formation des enseignants.  
      • Transition Écologique : Adapter le bâti scolaire, dont 52% présente des risques climatiques de grande ampleur (canicules, inondations).

      II. Rapport sur la Contribution de Vie Étudiante et de Campus (CVEC) : Entre Utilité et Opacité

      Issu d'une saisine citoyenne, le rapport sur la CVEC analyse l'utilisation d'une contribution qui a généré près de 900 millions d'euros depuis sa création en 2018.

      1. Un Dispositif Utile mais Perfectible

      La CVEC a permis de financer des actions diversifiées qui ont contribué à améliorer la vie étudiante : services d'écoute psychologique, épiceries solidaires, ateliers sportifs et culturels, aide à l'équipement numérique. Paradoxalement, sa création s'est accompagnée d'un gain de pouvoir d'achat pour la majorité des étudiants, car elle a remplacé la cotisation à la sécurité sociale étudiante, bien plus élevée (217 € en 2017-2018).

      2. Principaux Enseignements et Dysfonctionnements

      L'enquête de la Cour met en évidence six points critiques :

      1. Sous-utilisation des Fonds : Environ 100 millions d'euros sur les 900 millions collectés entre 2018 et 2024 n'avaient pas été dépensés à la date de l'enquête.

      2. Gestion Complexe : Le dispositif est jugé complexe, avec une redistribution par péréquation.

      De plus, une sous-évaluation des plafonds a conduit à des reversements de 14 millions d'euros au budget général de l'État.

      3. Augmentation du Montant : Le montant est passé de 90 € en 2018 à 105 € pour la rentrée 2024, soit une hausse de plus de 16%, sans que les modalités de calcul soient clairement définies pour en maîtriser la progression.

      4. Recouvrement Imprécis : Ni le ministère, ni le réseau des œuvres universitaires ne connaissent le nombre précis d'étudiants assujettis, empêchant de vérifier que tous ceux qui le doivent paient la contribution.

      5. Manque de Cadrage : Il n'existe pas de définition claire de la "vie étudiante", ce qui nuit à la cohérence des dépenses.

      Les seuils d'affectation (30% pour les projets étudiants et le social, 15% pour la médecine préventive) ne sont pas uniformément appliqués.

      6. Manque de Transparence : Les étudiants ont une connaissance "extrêmement limitée" de l'utilisation de la CVEC.

      L'information du Parlement est également jugée insuffisante.

      3. Recommandations de la Cour des Comptes

      Pour remédier à ces faiblesses, la Cour émet cinq recommandations principales :

      1. Résorber les reliquats de crédits inutilisés d'ici 2026.

      2. Préciser la méthode d'indexation de la CVEC sur l'inflation, en prévoyant un mécanisme de plafonnement de la hausse.

      3. Mettre en place des outils pour s'assurer du complet recouvrement de la taxe.

      4. Accroître le financement des projets pour les étudiants inscrits dans des établissements non bénéficiaires.

      5. Renforcer l'information des étudiants et transmettre au Parlement un rapport annuel détaillé sur l'utilisation de la CVEC.

      La Cour souligne enfin que la CVEC "ne pouvait à elle seule répondre à tous les besoins des étudiants", qui relèvent de politiques publiques de plus grande ampleur (logement, santé, précarité).

      III. Perspectives et Débats Parlementaires

      Les interventions des députés ont reflété une large adhésion aux constats de la Cour, tout en soulignant des points de divergence sur les solutions et des préoccupations politiques spécifiques.

      Sur l'enseignement primaire, un consensus s'est dégagé sur la gravité de la situation.

      Les députés ont interrogé la Cour sur les leviers prioritaires à actionner, le bien-fondé du retour à la semaine de 4,5 jours, la nécessité de se concentrer sur les savoirs fondamentaux, et le besoin d'une plus grande autonomie pour les établissements.

      Sur la CVEC, les critiques ont été vives concernant le manque de transparence, les fonds non utilisés et l'augmentation de son montant.

      Plusieurs groupes (Écologiste, LFI-NFP, GDR) ont qualifié la CVEC de "taxe injuste" et appelé à sa suppression au profit d'un financement direct par l'État.

      Le groupe RN a également dénoncé le financement présumé "d'événements à caractère politique et communautaire".

      En réponse, la Cour a insisté sur quatre pistes pour améliorer la transparence de la CVEC : une meilleure association des étudiants aux commissions de décision (en visant un quota de 50%), une communication plus large sur les projets financés (via des portails en ligne, des "ambassadeurs CVEC"), une harmonisation des bilans financiers des établissements, et une clarification des dispositifs pour éviter les doublons.

    1. After the first cycle of Gua Sha intervention, only performance of sensory function measured by the VPT, and peripheral artery disease symptoms by the ABI were statistically significant differences between the two groups (both P values < 0.01), and the total TCSS score and the FPG level were no group differences (P = 0.14, and 0.25, respectively) (Table 3). At the eight-week and 12-week post intervention assessment, Gua Sha therapy significantly reduced severity of neuropathy symptoms, improved performance of sensory function, reduced peripheral artery disease, and better controlled plasma glucose by comparing with the control group (all P values < 0.01) (Table 3). As presented in Table 4, the changes of mean scores of TCSS, VPT, ABI and the plasma glucose levels in the Gua Sha group showed a significant change from baseline to week 12, indicating that Gua Sha therapy induced progressive improvement in the management of DPN symptoms, sensory function, peripheral artery disease and glucose levels.

      Results showing a gradual process of how gua sha therapy affected DPN. 12 weeks: reduced severity of neuropathy symptoms, improved performance of sensory function, reduced peripheral artery disease, and better controlled plasma glucose by comparing with the control group.

    1. Synthèse de la Mission Flash sur l'Accompagnement à l'Orientation des Élèves

      Synthèse

      Ce document de synthèse présente les conclusions de la mission flash sur l'évaluation de l'accompagnement des élèves à la découverte des métiers et à l'orientation, menée par les rapporteurs Arnaud Bonet et Laurent Croisier.

      Après quatre mois de travaux et plus de 24 auditions, le rapport dresse le constat d'un système d'orientation perçu comme un "chantier perpétuel" et un "chemin escarpé", source d'angoisse pour les élèves, les familles et les équipes éducatives, en raison de l'absence d'une stratégie nationale claire et de la succession de réformes.

      Les conclusions s'articulent autour de cinq axes majeurs :

      1. Un parcours d'orientation continu : L'orientation doit être un processus de long terme, débutant dès l'école primaire pour déconstruire les stéréotypes et s'étendant tout au long de la scolarité, en impliquant étroitement les familles.

      2. Un accompagnement individualisé : La mise en place d'un référent orientation issu du corps enseignant dans chaque établissement est jugée indispensable, tout comme la création d'un droit effectif à la réorientation et la valorisation des compétences non académiques.

      3. La lutte contre les inégalités : Le rapport souligne que l'orientation reste fortement déterminée socialement et propose des mesures pour combattre l'autocensure, revaloriser la voie professionnelle et mieux accompagner les élèves en situation de handicap et ultramarins.

      4. La mobilisation des moyens : Des investissements significatifs sont nécessaires, notamment pour la formation certifiante des enseignants, le financement d'heures dédiées à l'orientation et la révision de la carte des Centres d'Information et d'Orientation (CIO).

      5. Une coordination renforcée des acteurs : Face aux tensions et à la confusion nées du partage de compétences entre l'État et les Régions depuis 2018, le rapport préconise une clarification des rôles et une meilleure articulation des actions pour offrir un parcours plus cohérent aux élèves.

      Au total, 45 pistes d'amélioration sont proposées pour transformer l'orientation d'un parcours subi en un levier d'égalité des chances et d'émancipation, permettant à chaque jeune de construire un avenir choisi.

      Analyse Détaillée des Conclusions du Rapport

      1. Constat Général : Un Parcours d'Orientation Fragmenté et Anxiogène

      Les rapporteurs ouvrent leur analyse en qualifiant l'orientation de "chantier perpétuel" et de "chemin escarpé et redouté".

      Ce système est marqué par une succession de réformes qui, faute d'une véritable stratégie nationale, ont abouti à une fragmentation des actions.

      L'orientation est trop souvent vécue comme une série de décisions ponctuelles et anxiogènes plutôt que comme un processus continu et réfléchi.

      2. Axe 1 : Pour un Continuum d'Orientation de l'École Primaire au Lycée

      Pour remédier à cette fragmentation, le rapport insiste sur la nécessité de concevoir l'orientation comme un processus s'inscrivant dans la durée.

      Découverte des métiers dès le primaire : Il est proposé d'anticiper la démarche de découverte des métiers dès l'école primaire.

      L'objectif n'est pas d'orienter précocement les élèves, mais d'élargir leurs horizons et de "déconstruire les représentations conduisant à l'autocensure", car "la construction des stéréotypes n'attend pas la classe de 5e".

      Implication des familles : Considérant que les parents sont les "premiers prescripteurs de l'orientation", le rapport préconise d'instaurer un dialogue régulier entre les familles et les équipes éducatives, avec un premier temps d'échange formel dès la classe de 5e.

      Transparence de l'information :

      ◦ Face à une information abondante mais parfois "paralysante", le rôle de l'ONISEP comme acteur de référence est salué.

      La nouvelle plateforme "Avenir(s)", déployée depuis décembre 2023, a vocation à devenir l'outil central pour l'accompagnement de la 5e à la terminale.

      Son adoption reste cependant un défi, avec 86 000 élèves connectés au 30 mai 2024, pour un objectif initial de 200 000.    *  ◦ Une alerte est lancée sur les intitulés des diplômes et des formations, jugés souvent sources de confusion.

      Parcoursup : La plateforme est décrite comme "complexe, opaque et anxiogène". Les rapporteurs recommandent :

      • ◦ D'inscrire dans la loi l'obligation de transparence des algorithmes (déjà publics).  

      • ◦ De rendre publics et clairement formulés les critères de sélection des commissions de vœux.  

      • ◦ L'un des rapporteurs recommande de "rechercher une alternative crédible à Parcoursup" pour garantir un accueil inconditionnel dans les filières universitaires non sélectives.

      Réforme des stages :

      • ◦ Pour le stage de 3e, il est proposé de permettre de le scinder en plusieurs expériences courtes pour découvrir un panel de métiers plus varié et lutter contre la reproduction des inégalités sociales.  

      • ◦ Pour le stage de 2de, il est proposé de supprimer son caractère obligatoire pour en faire un "espace de découverte et d'approfondissement d'un projet personnel".  

      • ◦ La diffusion du "job shadowing" (suivi d'un professionnel pendant une journée) est également recommandée.

      3. Axe 2 : La Nécessité d'un Accompagnement Personnalisé

      L'aide individualisée à l'orientation, bien que prévue dans les textes, n'est pas toujours effective.

      Trois pistes sont avancées :

      Un référent orientation dans chaque établissement : La nomination d'un "référent pour l'orientation et la découverte des métiers" est préconisée dans chaque établissement, y compris dans les lycées généraux et technologiques.

      Ce rôle devrait être confié à un personnel enseignant, et non à un psychologue de l'Éducation nationale (Psy-EN), pour plusieurs raisons :

      • ◦ Les enseignants sont au contact quotidien de l'ensemble des élèves.  

      • ◦ Les Psy-EN sont en nombre insuffisant (ratio estimé à 1 pour 1200 à 1300 élèves).    ◦

      Les Psy-EN partagent leur temps entre plusieurs établissements et leurs missions sont désormais majoritairement centrées sur le suivi psychologique.

      Un droit effectif à la réorientation : Les parcours scolaires sont jugés "trop rigides".

      Le rapport appelle à un "véritable droit à la réorientation", perçu non comme un échec mais comme une opportunité, en créant des passerelles effectives entre les différentes voies.

      Valorisation des compétences non académiques : Le rapport insiste sur la nécessité de repérer et de mettre en valeur les compétences et ressources des élèves, y compris ceux en difficulté scolaire.

      4. Axe 3 : Lutter Contre les Déterminismes et les Inégalités

      L'orientation scolaire reste "très largement socialement déterminée". Le rapport cible cinq champs d'action :

      Combattre l'autocensure : Encourager les mécanismes d'inspiration par les pairs ("rôles modèles") en mobilisant d'anciens élèves, des étudiants ou de jeunes professionnels.

      Impliquer toutes les familles : Organiser des événements sur l'orientation dans des tiers-lieux (maisons de quartier, mairies) pour toucher les familles les plus éloignées de l'école.

      Revaloriser la voie professionnelle : Pour lutter contre la perception de la voie professionnelle comme un "choix par défaut" et une "orientation subie", il est proposé d'inciter à la création de lycées polyvalents et d'expérimenter des classes mixtes en seconde (générale, technologique et professionnelle) autour d'un tronc commun.

      Élèves en situation de handicap :

      • ◦ Garantir un accès prioritaire à l'internat. 
      • ◦ Automatiser la transmission des informations sur les aménagements de scolarité entre établissements (avec accord de la famille).

      Néobacheliers ultramarins :

      • ◦ Augmenter le montant de l'aide "Parcours" (actuellement 500 €).  
      • ◦ Rehausser le plafond fiscal (actuellement environ 27 000 €) du "Passeport pour la mobilité des études".

      5. Axe 4 : Moyens Humains et Budgétaires à Mobiliser

      L'atteinte des objectifs nécessite des moyens concrets.

      Formation des personnels : Mettre en place une formation obligatoire et certifiante à l'orientation pour les enseignants, tant en formation initiale (INSPÉ) que continue.

      Financement des heures dédiées : Les volumes horaires prévus (12h en 4e, 36h en 3e, 54h au lycée) sont souvent indicatifs et non financés.

      Le rapport demande que ces heures soient intégrées à l'emploi du temps et que le référent orientation bénéficie d'une décharge horaire sur ses obligations de service, plutôt qu'une simple indemnité via le "Pacte enseignant".

      Rôle des Psy-EN et carte des CIO :

      • ◦ Mettre à jour le Code de l'éducation qui mentionne encore les "conseillers d'orientation-psychologues", un corps abrogé en 2017.  
      • ◦ Formaliser par convention la mission d'appui des Psy-EN aux enseignants.   
      • ◦ Revoir la carte des 411 CIO, dont le nombre a été réduit d'un quart en dix ans, afin de garantir qu'aucun élève ne soit à plus de 45 minutes en transport en commun d'un centre.

      6. Axe 5 : Améliorer la Coordination entre les Acteurs

      La loi de 2018 confiant l'information sur les métiers aux Régions a créé une source de "confusion" et de "tension" avec l'État, responsable du conseil.

      Un partage de compétences flou : Un consensus se dégage sur la nécessité de clarifier les missions de chacun, sans pour autant opérer un nouveau transfert de compétences vers les Régions.

      Une offre régionale méconnue : L'action des Régions est mal connue des établissements.

      Selon la Cour des comptes (2022), seuls 22 % des établissements déclarent avoir recours aux ressources régionales documentaires et 12 % aux dispositifs régionaux.

      Des outils de coordination inopérants : Le programme annuel d'orientation, qui doit articuler les actions de la Région et le projet de l'établissement, n'est que très rarement mis en place.

      Recommandations de coordination :

      • ◦ Améliorer la communication sur l'offre de services des Régions.  
      • ◦ S'assurer de la mise en place du programme annuel d'orientation dans chaque établissement.  
      • ◦ Cartographier les actions régionales pour identifier les zones non couvertes.  
      • ◦ Garantir que la plateforme "Avenir(s)" de l'ONISEP valorise les informations régionales pour éviter la concurrence.
    1. Synthèse du Rapport sur les Impacts des Réformes du Baccalauréat Professionnel

      Résumé

      Ce document de synthèse analyse les conclusions d'un rapport parlementaire sur les réformes successives du baccalauréat professionnel.

      Le diagnostic central est sans appel : malgré un discours politique constant valorisant la voie professionnelle comme une filière d'excellence, celle-ci demeure une "voie de garage" perçue négativement, marquée par une forte ségrégation sociale et scolaire.

      Les réformes successives depuis 2009, notamment le passage du bac en trois ans, sont identifiées comme la source d'une baisse continue du niveau des élèves. Cette érosion est principalement due à une réduction drastique du volume horaire des enseignements, en particulier généraux, ce qui affaiblit les savoirs fondamentaux des bacheliers.

      En conséquence, leur insertion professionnelle se dégrade (taux d'emploi à 6 mois passé de 50% en 2011 à 45% en 2022) et leur poursuite d'études, bien que croissante, se solde par un taux d'échec élevé (41% en BTS), qualifié de "gâchis humain" et de "trahison".

      Les dispositifs récents, tels que le "parcours différencié" en terminale, sont jugés contre-productifs, générant un absentéisme massif et des difficultés d'organisation insolubles.

      Le rapport préconise des mesures correctrices, dont la possibilité d'une quatrième année de formation pour les élèves en difficulté, et critique le manque de vision stratégique et de concertation qui caractérise les politiques menées.

      1. Diagnostic d'une Voie Dévalorisée et Ségrégative

      Le rapport dresse un portrait sombre de la perception et de la composition sociologique du baccalauréat professionnel, soulignant une hypocrisie politique persistante.

      1.1. Une Perception Négative et une Hypocrisie Institutionnelle

      Bien qu'un bachelier sur trois soit titulaire d'un baccalauréat professionnel (173 000 lauréats en 2024), le diplôme souffre d'un déficit d'image majeur.

      Absence de Célébration : Le rapport note que "l'on ne fête que rarement la réussite au baccalauréat professionnel", un détail révélateur du regard porté sur ce diplôme par les élèves eux-mêmes et la société.

      Discours Politique Contredit par les Faits : Les responsables politiques de tous bords promeuvent la voie professionnelle comme une "voie d'excellence", mais cette rhétorique masque une réalité de relégation et de promesses non tenues.

      Le rapport dénonce une "forme d'hypocrisie consistant à porter au Pinacle cette voie de formation tout en tolérant la relégation".

      Double Discours Interne : L'institution scolaire elle-même entretient une ambiguïté, certaines autorités académiques reprochant aux collèges d'orienter "en trop grand nombre" des élèves vers le bac pro, leur "manquant d'ambition".

      1.2. Un Concentré de Difficultés et une Ségrégation Sociale Massive

      Les lycées professionnels concentrent les difficultés du système éducatif et fonctionnent comme une zone de ségrégation sociale.

      Surreprésentation des Milieux Populaires : 70 % des élèves ont des parents employés, ouvriers ou inactifs, contre moins de 40 % dans les voies générale et technologique.

      Poids de l'Éducation Prioritaire : 29 % des élèves de REP+ et 26 % des élèves de REP s'orientent en seconde professionnelle, contre 18 % hors éducation prioritaire et seulement 10 % issus du privé.

      Concentration des Élèves à Besoins Éducatifs Particuliers :

      ◦ Les jeunes en situation de handicap sont cinq fois plus nombreux en lycée professionnel qu'en filière générale.    ◦ 42 % des élèves allophones scolarisés en lycée le sont en formation professionnelle.

      Orientation Subie : La voie professionnelle est majoritairement une orientation par défaut pour les élèves au niveau scolaire jugé insuffisant. Près de 80 % des élèves du décile le plus faible en 6ème rejoignent un CAP ou une seconde professionnelle, contre seulement 1,8 % des élèves du décile le plus élevé.

      2. L'Érosion du Niveau : Causes et Conséquences

      Le rapport conteste fermement la thèse ministérielle d'une élévation du niveau et identifie la réduction du temps de formation comme la cause principale de la baisse des compétences des bacheliers.

      2.1. Le Passage au Bac en 3 ans : "La Mère de Toutes les Contre-réformes"

      La réforme de 2009, passant le cursus de 4 à 3 ans, est considérée comme la décision fondatrice de la dégradation de la filière.

      Logique Erronée d'Égalité : La réforme visait "l'égale dignité" avec les filières générales en alignant la durée des études.

      Le rapport critique cette approche, arguant que "le principe d'égalité impose de traiter de façon identique des situations identiques mais n'impose nullement de traiter de façon identique des situations différentes".

      Les élèves de la voie professionnelle, ayant des acquis scolaires plus faibles, nécessitaient au contraire un soutien renforcé.

      Avertissements Ignorés : Dès 2005, un rapport de l'Inspection Générale prévenait qu'une "grande majorité d'élèves ne peut pas suivre un parcours vers un baccalauréat professionnel en 3 ans".

      2.2. Une Diminution Continue du Volume d'Enseignement

      Les réformes successives ont entraîné une baisse constante du temps de formation, affectant particulièrement les savoirs fondamentaux.

      Année de Réforme

      Volume Horaire Total (sur 3 ans)

      Volume des Enseignements Généraux (sur 3 ans)

      2009

      2900 heures

      1218 heures

      2018

      2520 heures

      -

      2023

      2350 heures

      1070 heures

      Cette réduction a eu pour conséquence une "perte de connaissance générale et de compétences professionnelles", un "déficit de maturité et de savoir-être" unanimement dénoncés par les syndicats, organisations patronales et experts entendus.

      3. Insertion Professionnelle et Poursuite d'Études : Un Double Échec

      La dévalorisation du diplôme se traduit par une insertion sur le marché du travail plus difficile et un parcours du combattant pour ceux qui poursuivent des études supérieures.

      3.1. Une Insertion Professionnelle en Déclin

      Taux d'emploi à 6 mois : Pour les bacheliers professionnels ne poursuivant pas leurs études, ce taux est passé de plus de 50 % en 2011 à 45 % en 2022.

      L'insertion des titulaires de CAP a diminué dans des proportions similaires.

      Comparaison avec le BTS : Le taux d'emploi à 6 mois pour les titulaires d'un BTS atteint 64 %, ce qui explique l'attrait pour la poursuite d'études.

      3.2. Une Poursuite d'Études Risquée et Coûteuse

      Face à une insertion dégradée, de plus en plus d'élèves se tournent vers l'enseignement supérieur, souvent sans y être préparés.

      Augmentation de la Poursuite d'Études : 47 % des bacheliers professionnels poursuivent leurs études, contre 34 % en 2010, majoritairement en BTS.

      Un Taux d'Échec Massif : 41 % des bacheliers professionnels engagés en BTS échouent à obtenir leur diplôme. Leur taux de réussite est inférieur de 15 à 25 points à celui des bacheliers généraux ou technologiques.

      Un "Gâchis Humain" : Le rapport dénonce "les illusions perdues, un incroyable gâchi humain et osons le mot une forme de trahison" envers des élèves encouragés à continuer sans avoir les bases nécessaires ("fossé parfois infranchissable").

      4. Analyse Critique des Dispositifs des Réformes de 2018 et 2023

      Les réformes les plus récentes sont décrites comme une accumulation de dispositifs "cosmétiques" ou "contre-productifs", mis en œuvre sans vision cohérente.

      4.1. Dispositifs Jugés Inefficaces

      Familles de Métiers : Censées permettre une orientation progressive, elles ont en réalité "contribué à complexifier les parcours" et entraînent une "confiscation du choix de la spécialité" en fin de seconde.

      Co-intervention et Chef-d'œuvre : Qualifiés de "simples gadgets" par Daniel Bloc, le créateur du bac pro, ces dispositifs sont jugés inefficaces. Leur mise en œuvre a demandé une énergie considérable aux équipes pour des résultats décevants. Le rapport propose leur suppression.

      4.2. Le "Parcours Différencié" en Terminale : Une Aberration

      La réorganisation de l'année de terminale (réforme de 2023), avec un parcours en "Y" (stage de 6 semaines pour l'insertion ou cours de 6 semaines pour la poursuite d'études), est un échec retentissant.

      Calendrier Intenable : L'avancement des épreuves en mai pour libérer le mois de juin est qualifié d'"aberration" par tous les acteurs auditionnés, contraignant les élèves à un rythme d'apprentissage trop soutenu.

      Surcharge pour les Entreprises : L'augmentation des semaines de stage (PFMP) s'est faite sans concertation avec les organisations patronales, qui n'étaient pas demandeuses. Une "lassitude des structures hôtes" est constatée face à la multiplication des demandes de stage.

      Absentéisme Massif : Le parcours "poursuite d'études" est marqué par un absentéisme dépassant 60 %, voire 95 % dans certains établissements, et une "démobilisation complète".

      Dérives et Difficultés d'Organisation : La mise en place est un casse-tête pour les établissements, et de nombreux stages se déroulent dans des secteurs sans rapport avec la spécialité de l'élève.

      5. Recommandations Principales

      Face à ce constat, le rapport formule plusieurs propositions structurantes.

      1. Instaurer une 4ème Année Optionnelle : Permettre aux élèves les plus en difficulté de suivre une année de formation supplémentaire, en effectif réduit, centrée sur les savoirs fondamentaux.

      2. Supprimer les Dispositifs Inefficaces : Mettre fin à la co-intervention et au chef-d'œuvre.

      3. Réformer l'Organisation de la Terminale : Revenir sur le "parcours différencié".

      4. Développer les Certificats de Spécialisation : En l'absence de retour au bac en 4 ans, développer massivement ces formations de niveau 4 pour faciliter l'insertion, bien que cela soit une "manière détournée de réintroduire une 4e année".

      5. Lancer une Campagne Nationale de Promotion : Travailler sur le long terme pour changer les mentalités et valoriser réellement la voie professionnelle.

      6. Réactions et Perspectives des Groupes Politiques

      Rassemblement National (Roger Chudo) : Partage le diagnostic du "lycée des pauvres" et des "formations parking". Critique une réforme sans "vision prospective". Propose de confier la formation professionnelle aux régions et de rétablir les 4ème et 3ème technologiques.

      Ensemble (Céline Calvez) : Défend l'engagement présidentiel et les dispositifs comme la co-intervention et le chef-d'œuvre, arguant que "ce n'est pas tant le niveau des savoirs fondamentaux qui est en cause que le sens donné à ses savoirs". S'interroge sur les raisons de leur échec (principe ou manque de moyens).

      LFI-NUPES (Rodrigo Arenas) : Dénonce une vision qui considère les élèves comme une "main d'œuvre en devenir... si possible à bas prix", par opposition aux lycéens de la voie générale "éduqués pour devenir des citoyens".

      Plaide pour un lycée unifié où apprentissages manuels et intellectuels sont accessibles à tous.

      Socialistes et apparentés (Aida Adizadet) : Souligne que le premier métier des enseignants en LP est de "redonner confiance".

      Critique la "logique faussement élitiste" qui divise la jeunesse et rappelle le taux d'absentéisme de 95 % dans le parcours "poursuite d'études".

      Les Républicains (Alexandre Portier) : Affirme que le lycée pro devrait être la "voie royale" et la "clé de voûte de notre souveraineté nationale".

      Note que le LP est le seul segment à avoir gagné des élèves. Prône la stabilité : "le plus urgent c'est surtout d'arrêter de changer tout le temps".

      Écologiste - NUPES (Arnaud Bonet) : Déplore l'instabilité créée par les réformes qui s'enchaînent. Voit les difficultés du lycée pro comme "le reflet" des échecs en amont, au primaire et au collège.

      Démocrate (MoDem et indépendants) (Delphine Lingeman) : Pointe l'hypocrisie générale ("y compris parmi nous") et les problèmes cruciaux de mobilité dans les zones rurales qui entravent le libre choix de l'orientation.

      LIOT (Salvator Castiglioni) : Partage les recommandations et le constat d'un "décalage entre les propos ministériels décrivant une voix d'excellence mais vue par les élèves comme une filière par défaut".

      GDR - NUPES (Jean-Hugues Maillot) : Regrette le traitement marginal de l'Outre-mer, où le décrochage et le chômage des jeunes sont très élevés.

      Utilise la métaphore du poisson et du singe pour critiquer un système qui ne reconnaît qu'un type d'intelligence.

      Interventions additionnelles : D'autres interventions ont souligné le "manque criant d'enseignants qualifiés" (RN), la situation aggravée en Seine-Saint-Denis (LFI), et la nécessité de former des "citoyens dotés d'un véritable esprit critique, pas des simples exécutants" (GDR).

    1. un tiempo para nacer y un tiempo para morir;

      Es un ciclo natural de la vida, no significa que nuestro nacimiento particular y nuestra muerte esté predeterminada.

    1. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This manuscript provides a comprehensive characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum protein LSA3, combining biochemical, genetic, and in vivo approaches. The authors convincingly demonstrate that LSA3 is expressed during liver stage infection and that disruption of the gene leads to a modest but reproducible reduction in liver stage parasite load in humanized mice.

      Strengths:

      Their biochemical and cell biological analysis of blood stages provides strong evidence that LSA3 is exported to the infected erythrocyte, and the detailed analysis of its PEXEL motif processing is well executed.

      Weaknesses:

      The study suggests LSA3 as one of only two known P. falciparum PEXEL proteins contributing to this stage, although there is no evidence for the export beyond the vacuolar membrane. Several key conclusions, particularly regarding antibody specificity, localization in liver stage parasites, and the interpretation of the phenotypic data, are not fully supported by the current experiments.

    1. These 74 metabolites were compromised of: lactic acid, pyruvate, glycerol, glyceric acid, citric acid, aconitate, isocitric acid, 2-ketoglutaric acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, 2-aminoadipic acid, lysine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, threonine, glycine, serine, alanine, glutamic acid, glutamine, proline, aspartic acid, asparagine, methionine, cysteine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, histidine, ornithine, phosphate, diphosphate, phosphoglycerol, 3-phosphoglycerate, fructose, galactose, glucose-6-phosphate, mannitol, sorbitol, galactitol, inositol, myoinositol phosphate, sucrose-trehalose, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitelaidic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid, stearic acid, arachidonic acid, 1-monooleoyglycerol, 1-monostearylglycerol, 2-monostearylglycerol, squalene, xanthine, hypoxanthine, uracil, adenosine-5’-monophosphate, erythrosine, erythrose-4-phosphate, tocopherol, B-alanine, 2-ketoisocaproic acid, gluconic acid, ascorbic acid, uric acid, and urea. Total cholesterol, glucose, and creatinine were also measured in this panel to provide a measure of quantitative validation of the panel because they had previously been tested using clinical diagnostics and analyzed for the effect of fasting [5].

      everything they measured during the study to see the effect of fasting periods

    1. To summarize: •Alcohol is not used in coining. •Fire is not used in coining. •Both alcohol and fire are used in fire cupping. •The 3-inch nummular areas on the patient's upper back were protected from burns due to the placement of cups, not coins. The patient clearly had cupping done. •Coining is not typically done at the same time as cupping because the surface stretching of press-stroking would dislodge the cups in place.

      Refer to this when writing the literature review.

    2. Biased citation can include or ignore specific resources, exclude contrary evidence or the work of rivals.1 Inaccurate referencing can be ‘…misleading for the reader and initiate circulation of false facts’.1 Citation inaccuracies can diminish research validity.3

      Biased citations were included in past gua sha journal articles.

    1. Synthèse du Rapport sur la Loi Handicap de 2005

      Résumé Exécutif

      Vingt ans après sa promulgation, la loi fondatrice du 11 février 2005 pour l'égalité des droits et des chances, la participation et la citoyenneté des personnes handicapées reste une promesse largement non tenue.

      Le rapport d'évaluation de l'Assemblée nationale, fruit de six mois de travaux intensifs, dresse un bilan lucide et sévère de son application.

      Malgré des avancées quantitatives, notamment dans la scolarisation, la réalité sur le terrain révèle des échecs qualitatifs profonds et une distance critique entre les droits théoriques et leur effectivité.

      Le rapport identifie une divergence fondamentale entre l'approche "biomédicale" de la loi française, qui centre le handicap sur une déficience individuelle à compenser, et le "modèle social" fondé sur les droits humains de la Convention de l'ONU, qui stipule que c'est à la société de s'adapter.

      Cette divergence est au cœur des critiques "particulièrement sévères" formulées par les Nations Unies à l'encontre de la France.

      Les piliers de la loi de 2005 sont aujourd'hui en crise. La Prestation de Compensation du Handicap (PCH), initialement une avancée majeure, est devenue un dispositif d'une "complexité inouïe" qui ne tient pas sa promesse de compensation intégrale.

      Les Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH), conçues comme des guichets uniques, sont "à bout de souffle", marquées par des délais interminables et des disparités territoriales inacceptables.

      Enfin, le chantier de la désinstitutionnalisation, exigé par l'ONU, n'a jamais été véritablement engagé, perpétuant une forme de "ségrégation" pour de nombreuses personnes.

      Sur les fronts de l'école, de l'emploi et de l'accessibilité, le constat est similaire : les retards sont criants.

      L'école inclusive se résume trop souvent à un accompagnement précaire, l'accès à l'emploi reste deux fois plus difficile, et l'accessibilité du cadre de vie (logements, bâtiments publics, transports, numérique) est un échec patent, aggravé par des reculs législatifs comme la loi Élan de 2018.

      Le rapport, à travers ses 86 recommandations, n'appelle pas à une nouvelle grande loi, mais à un "mouvement de transformation profonde" pour rendre les droits existants enfin effectifs.

      Il insiste sur la nécessité d'une refonte philosophique, d'une planification de la désinstitutionnalisation et de la mise en œuvre du principe "Rien sans nous", afin de placer la parole et l'autodétermination des personnes handicapées au centre de toutes les politiques publiques.

      Introduction

      À l'occasion du vingtième anniversaire de la loi du 11 février 2005, une mission d'évaluation parlementaire a été menée pour mesurer l'impact de ce texte fondateur.

      Dirigée par les rapporteurs Christine Lenabour et Sébastien Petavi, la mission a conduit pendant six mois un travail approfondi, incluant près de 80 auditions d'acteurs variés et une consultation en ligne intitulée "Rien sans nous", qui a recueilli des centaines de témoignages de personnes handicapées et de leurs proches.

      Ce rapport, qui formule 86 recommandations, dresse un bilan sans complaisance des politiques du handicap en France depuis 2005, structuré autour de quatre axes :

      • les droits et prestations,
      • l'accès à l'école et à l'emploi,
      • l'accessibilité du cadre de vie, et
      • la gouvernance.

      I. Une Révolution Philosophique Inachevée

      A. Le Décalage avec les Normes Internationales

      Le rapport souligne une dissonance fondamentale entre la législation française et le contexte international.

      La loi de 2005, bien que novatrice, reste ancrée dans une approche biomédicale du handicap, le considérant principalement comme une déficience individuelle à compenser.

      À l'inverse, la Convention internationale des droits des personnes handicapées (CIDPH) de l'ONU, ratifiée par la France en 2010, promeut un modèle social fondé sur les droits humains.

      Selon ce modèle, "c'est avant tout à la société de s'adapter pour inclure les personnes handicapées, car c'est l'environnement qui génère des handicaps."

      En 2021, l'ONU a rendu un constat "particulièrement sévère", pointant que la France "porte atteinte à de nombreux droits fondamentaux des personnes handicapées".

      B. La Nécessité d'une Nouvelle Définition

      La définition actuelle du handicap en droit français est jugée inadaptée.

      Les rapporteurs insistent sur le fait qu'une modification n'est pas une "question sémantique ou théorique", car toute la législation en découle.

      Une nouvelle définition, alignée sur les principes de la CIDPH, est la première étape pour initier un véritable "effort collectif" visant à garantir la pleine participation des personnes handicapées à la société.

      II. La Crise du Droit à la Compensation et de l'Accompagnement

      A. La PCH : Une Promesse de Compensation Trahie

      La Prestation de Compensation du Handicap (PCH), conçue comme une avancée majeure de 2005, est aujourd'hui une "promesse non tenue".

      Complexité extrême : Le dispositif est devenu d'une "complexité inouïe", avec une portée fortement restreinte par la voie réglementaire.

      Logique bureaucratique : La vie quotidienne est "découpée en actes minutés", chacun avec un tarif et un plafond, loin du soutien à l'autodétermination promis.

      Recommandation phare : Une "refonte globale de la PCH en une prestation unique" visant à soutenir les aspirations et projets de vie des bénéficiaires. La suppression de la barrière d'âge de 60 ans est également préconisée.

      B. Les MDPH : Un Guichet Unique à Bout de Souffle

      Les Maisons Départementales des Personnes Handicapées (MDPH) sont confrontées à des dysfonctionnements systémiques :

      • Délais de traitement des dossiers "interminables".

      • "Disparités territoriales majeures" dans l'attribution des droits.

      • Complexité des démarches administratives, constituant un "parcours du combattant".

      • Évaluations jugées "trop médicalisées".

      Les rapporteurs appellent à une réforme de la gouvernance territoriale, en recentrant les missions des MDPH sur l'accueil, l'accompagnement et l'évaluation des situations les plus complexes.

      C. La Désinstitutionnalisation : Le Chantier Ignoré

      La France fait l'objet d'une critique majeure de l'ONU pour ne pas avoir engagé de processus de désinstitutionnalisation.

      Ségrégation de fait : Faute d'alternatives (logements adaptés, services d'aide à domicile de qualité), de nombreuses personnes sont "contraintes de résider dans des établissements d'hébergement qui les coupent du monde extérieur".

      Violation des droits : Cette situation viole leur "droit à l'autonomie de vie et à l'inclusion dans la société".

      Recommandation : Planifier sur le long terme la désinstitutionnalisation, en développant des solutions alternatives comme l'accès au logement et le bénéfice d'assistants personnels choisis par les personnes elles-mêmes.

      III. Une Inclusion Sectorielle en Trompe-l'œil

      A. L'École Inclusive : Un Droit Loin d'être Effectif

      Malgré un triplement du nombre d'élèves handicapés scolarisés en 20 ans (près de 470 000 en 2023), ce "succès quantitatif ne doit pas masquer un tableau plus contrasté".

      Indicateur

      Constat

      Orientation

      Le nombre d'enfants orientés par défaut vers le secteur médico-social n'a pas diminué en 20 ans.

      Scolarisation

      8 % des enfants en médico-social ne sont "pas du tout scolarisés". La scolarisation partielle est une réalité massive mais non mesurée.

      Accompagnement

      Le système repose sur les AESH, des professionnelles "trop précaires et insuffisamment formées".

      Formation

      Les enseignants sont "très insuffisamment formés", générant parfois un "rejet préoccupant de l'école inclusive".

      La conviction forte du rapport est que "ce n'est pas aux élèves de s'adapter à l'école, c'est à l'école de s'adapter à eux". Il préconise de dépasser l'approche compensatoire pour promouvoir une conception universelle de l'école, du bâti scolaire aux contenus pédagogiques.

      B. Emploi : Une Insertion Toujours Difficile

      Bien que le taux de chômage des personnes handicapées ait diminué, il reste deux fois plus élevé que celui de la population générale (12 % contre 7,3 %).

      • Les travailleurs handicapés représentent moins de 6 % de la population active occupée.

      • Le fait d'être handicapé multiplie par trois le risque de discrimination au travail.

      • Les passerelles entre le secteur protégé (ESAT) et le milieu ordinaire sont quasi inexistantes (seulement 1 % des travailleurs par an).

      Les recommandations visent à développer l'emploi accompagné, autoriser le cumul entre l'AAH et un emploi au-delà du mi-temps, et poursuivre la transformation des ESAT pour garantir de meilleurs droits aux travailleurs.

      IV. L'Accessibilité Universelle : Le Pilier Oublié

      L'accessibilité, second pilier de la loi de 2005 avec la compensation, fait l'objet d'un "constat sévère".

      Domaine

      État des Lieux

      Logement

      Les retards sont "criants". La loi Élan de 2018 a porté un "coût d'arrêt" en réduisant l'obligation d'accessibilité dans le neuf.

      Bâtiments Publics (ERP)

      À minima, un tiers des ERP demeurent inaccessibles. La situation est critique pour les petits commerces, dont 90 % ne seraient pas aux normes.

      Transports Publics

      L'obligation d'accessibilité a été restreinte en 2014 aux seuls "arrêts prioritaires" (moins de 40 % du réseau).

      Numérique

      En 2024, seuls 3 % des démarches essentielles de l'État sont pleinement accessibles.

      Le rapport appelle à revenir sur les reculs de la loi Élan, à refonder la stratégie d'accessibilité des ERP en renforçant les contrôles et les sanctions, et à mettre fin aux "trop nombreuses dérogations injustifiées".

      V. Gouvernance et Citoyenneté : Le Principe "Rien Sans Nous"

      Un thème central du rapport est l'impératif de cesser d'élaborer des politiques du handicap "sans les personnes handicapées".

      Manque de représentation : Le rapport constate qu'il faut écouter la voix des personnes concernées elles-mêmes, et non uniquement celle "des proches, parents, aidants, professionnels" qui parlent en leur nom.

      La représentation politique est quasi nulle (0,002 % d'élus en situation de handicap pour 16 % de la population).

      Autodétermination : Le rapport insiste sur la nécessité de présumer que les personnes handicapées "peuvent s'exprimer" et "décider pour elles-mêmes".

      Il propose de remplacer la notion de "projet de vie" par celle de "projet d'autodétermination".

      Action en justice : Pour redonner du pouvoir aux personnes concernées, le rapport suggère de permettre les actions de groupe en matière de non-respect des obligations d'accessibilité.

      En conclusion, le rapport parlementaire n'est ni un point final ni un appel à tout effacer.

      C'est une feuille de route exigeante pour que, vingt ans après, la France honore enfin ses promesses et construise une société véritablement inclusive où "l'heure n'est plus aux promesses mais aux actes".

    1. AbstractWater buffalo is a cornerstone livestock species in many low- and middle-income countries, yet major gaps persist in its genomic characterization—complicated by the divergent karyotypes of its two sub-species (swamp and river). Such genomic complexity makes water buffalo a particularly good candidate for the use of graph genomics, which can capture variation missed by linear reference approaches. However, the utility of this approach to improve water buffalo has been largely unexplored.We present a comprehensive pangenome that integrates four newly generated, highly contiguous assemblies of Pakistani river buffalo with available assemblies from both sub- species. This doubles the number of accessible high-quality river buffalo genomes and provides the most contiguous assemblies for the sub-species to date. Using the pangenome to assay variation across 711 global samples, we uncovered extensive genomic diversity, including thousands of large structural variants absent from the reference genome, spanning over 140 Mb of additional sequence. We demonstrate the utility of these data by identifying putative functional indels and structural variants linked to selective sweeps in key genes involved in productivity and immune response across 26 populations.This study represents one of the first successful applications of graph genomics in water buffalo and offers valuable insights into how integrating assemblies can transform analyses of water buffalo and other species with complex evolutionary histories. We anticipate that these assemblies, and the pangenome and putative functional structural variants we have released, will accelerate efforts to unlock water buffalo’s genetic potential, improving productivity and resilience in this economically important species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf099), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 4: Wai Yee Low

      Review of "A comprehensive water buffalo pangenome reveals extensive structural variation linked to population specific signatures of selection". This is an impressive work at the frontier of buffalo genomics. I truly enjoy reading the work and my questions/comments are aimed at improving it further. My detailed comments are below: Line 30: I think it is better you include the actual number of publicly available assemblies used to create the pangenome graph. Line 71: There is now a swamp buffalo reference genome with annotation too (NCBI accession: PCC_UOA_SB_1v2). Perhaps consider to cite the swamp buffalo ref https://academic.oup.com/gigascience/article/doi/10.1093/gigascience/giae053/7753516 and rewrite the sentence to say a pangenome can be used for both swamp and river, but a single linear ref from either subspecies for read mapping is not good enough. Line 79: "highlighted" Line 82: What do you mean by "higher quality"? The assemblies have been discussed in this review: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2021.629861/full Line 105: Technically, the graph method for bovine species, which includes water buffalo, is being investigated by the Bovine Pangenome Consortium (BPC). However, nothing useful has been published on the buffalo graph but perhaps consider citing the BPC since your paper overlaps with it (https://genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13059-023-02975-0). Line 165: It will be good if you add a bit more context of the PanGenie method here as the researchers in buffalo community are not used to this. Additionally, it will be great if all code is made available on GitHub or as Supplementary Info. Line 170: To produce phase pangenome graph, don't you need all input assemblies to be phased? All are input assemblies phased? The UOA_WB_1 is locally phased, not phased throughout the genome. Line 235: "a list of 403 unrelated individuals." What does this translate to in terms that geneticists can understand? Do you mean siblings have been removed? Or individuals sharing the same grandparents were removed? Line 246: Can you please explain how did you get the coordinates to match between the GATK and PanGenie method? You'll need matching coordinates for concordance analysis. As I understand it, the GATK was based on UOA_WB_1? Line 254: Why these 3 chromosomes? Line 257: If you had not filtered for relatedness, how will it impact the selective sweep work? I think including some context will help the readers. Line 259: do you mean at least six samples per group? If yes, is 6 samples enough? Line 261: genotype quality less than 25 according to bcftools? Since you only used biallelic variants, please provide the breakdown between biallelic and multiallelic. Line 281: "… we first PacBio HiFi sequenced one female" Please rewrite this. Line 282: How common are these two breeds in percentage? Line 291: Is this already known? Perhaps cite the literature to show the agreement with previous studies? Fig 1D: This is a bit too small to see especially the SV distribution at the bottom. I can hardly see the median? Line 310: Why did you choose UOA_WB_1 as the reference? Line 311: the ~32.8 mil variants are comprised of SNPs as well? Fig 2: This is probably a panel of a figure but should not be the entire figure. The size of the circle indicates sample size but there should be a legend on the plot for this to say the sizes, right? Darker colour should be used to highlight the countries with samples instead of white? Maybe this could be a Supp figure too. Line 356: S Figure 4 and 5 should be main figures? You will need to annotate the abbreviation of sample-country in the legend of S Figure 5. Line 360: "To enable reuse we have made this dataset available …" The dataset should be made available to reviewers? Line 368: "76% of SNVs were called by both callers" 76% seem low. Also, called does not mean concordant. What is the concordance among called SNVs in both? Did the pangenome approach called most of the variants found in GATK? If not, what might be the reasons? Fig 3B: It is not immediately clear what the difference is, between non repetitive and repetitive regions. The overlapping text in the x-axes makes it hard to read. Line 390: "Analyses such as the study of selective sweeps or genome-wide association studies where low frequency variants are often filtered out will benefit less from the advantages of GATK, particularly given its longer run time." From here on, in this paragraph, it's Discussion, not Results. Line 418: Why human? Could you use cattle? Line 427: I tried the browser and not sure what I can learn from it. It will be helpful if there is a README with some examples on what can be explored. Line 450: How large before you considered it as larger variant? Is this ability to study larger variants still hold despite using only ~10 assemblies in the graph? The use of short reads for selective sweep study will still benefit from being able to incorporate these larger variants? As I understand it, the larger variants were found only from graph, not from the short reads. As such, the selective sweep may not be associated with any larger variants? Line 470: Fig S8 should be a main figure? Line 513: Instead of uniprot link, perhaps consider including this as Supplementary info or text. The info in the link may change in the future. Line 551: However, without scaffolding, the assemblies of Pakistani river buffalo may not be good enough to function as reference genomes for river buffalo? Line 552: When considering new bases, did you do this for each assembly independently or the new bases were discovered cumulatively? Line 581: Some of my questions at Line 450 can be discussed here. Line 586: Perhaps consider discussing the limitations of the small number of assemblies used to create the graph. As such, many SVs are likely still missing and we are still unable to properly assess allele frequency of these larger SVs. Additionally, while some SVs may not be considered as large in this work, it does not mean they have no impact.

    2. AbstractWater buffalo is a cornerstone livestock species in many low- and middle-income countries, yet major gaps persist in its genomic characterization—complicated by the divergent karyotypes of its two sub-species (swamp and river). Such genomic complexity makes water buffalo a particularly good candidate for the use of graph genomics, which can capture variation missed by linear reference approaches. However, the utility of this approach to improve water buffalo has been largely unexplored.We present a comprehensive pangenome that integrates four newly generated, highly contiguous assemblies of Pakistani river buffalo with available assemblies from both sub- species. This doubles the number of accessible high-quality river buffalo genomes and provides the most contiguous assemblies for the sub-species to date. Using the pangenome to assay variation across 711 global samples, we uncovered extensive genomic diversity, including thousands of large structural variants absent from the reference genome, spanning over 140 Mb of additional sequence. We demonstrate the utility of these data by identifying putative functional indels and structural variants linked to selective sweeps in key genes involved in productivity and immune response across 26 populations.This study represents one of the first successful applications of graph genomics in water buffalo and offers valuable insights into how integrating assemblies can transform analyses of water buffalo and other species with complex evolutionary histories. We anticipate that these assemblies, and the pangenome and putative functional structural variants we have released, will accelerate efforts to unlock water buffalo’s genetic potential, improving productivity and resilience in this economically important species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf099), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3: Laura Caquelin

      1. SummaryoftheStudy This study used graph genomics to better characterize water buffalo genomes. By building a pangenome from new and existing assemblies, the authors analyzed 711 samples. These samples revealed structural variation. These results highlight the value of graph genomics. This method

      2. Scopeofreproducibility According to our assessment the primary objective is: to identify genomic variants within selective sweep regions in the water buffalo genome.

      3. Outcome: Enrichment of high-impact structural variants (SVs), insertions/deletions (indels) and single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in selective sweep regions.
      4. Analysis method outcome: Variants were compared between selective sweep regions and genome-wide. Fisher's exact test was used to assess enrichment of functional variants.
      5. Main result: "Prior to annotation, multiallelic variants were normalized by splitting them into separate biallelic entries, resulting in 6,159,686 indels, 28,669,966 SNVs, and 160,921 SVs entries. Within putative selective sweep regions we identified 208,862 indels, 997,500 SNVs and 6,748 SVs. Notably an enrichment of HIGH impact SVs, indels and SNVs were observed within selective sweep regions (Figure 5A, Supplementary Table S6), with 50-80% more variants in these areas having a HIGH impact compared to genome-wide. Among the high impact variants in selective sweep regions only 20% were SNVs, with the remainder being SVs and indels, suggesting high impact larger variants may underlie putative selective sweeps." (Lines 453 to 461)

      6. AvailabilityofMaterials a. Data

      7. Data availability: Open
      8. Data completeness: Complete, all data necessary to reproduce main results are available
      9. Access Method: Supplementary files - Repository: -
      10. Data quality: Structured b. Code
      11. Code availability: Shared for the review after request - Programming Language(s): R
      12. Repository link: -
      13. License: -
      14. Repository status: -
      15. Documentation: No documentation

      16. Computational environment of reproduction analysis

      17. Operating system for reproduction: MacOS 14.7.4
      18. Programming Language(s): R
      19. Code implementation approach: Creating script according to the methodology description/Using shared code
      20. Version environment for reproduction: R version 4.4.1/RStudio 2024.09.0

      21. Results 5.1 Original study results

      22. Results 1: Results are presented in Figure 5A. 5.2 Steps for reproduction -> Reproduce the results The code was not shared initially, but as the data were provided and the test was a Fisher's exact test, I wrote code to reproduce the p-values.

      23. Issue 1: P-values for the SNVs variant as well as the « Modifier » impact class were not provided. -- Resolved: Authors provided an updated Supplementary table S6 with exact numerical p-values for each variant and each impact class. The code "variantEnrichAtPeaks.R" to generate the Figure 5A and the Supplementary table S6 was also shared. New version of the supplementary Table S6: (see screenshot)

      The comparison between the reproduced results and the original results was then performed using the shared code. (Notably, the results from the R script written allowed for the generation of the same p-value as the one presented in Figure 5A).

      • Issue 2: In the script "variantEnrichAtPeaks.R", only the figures were generated, not the new supplementary Table S6 with the numerical p-values. -- Resolved: Some code lines was added in the function "makePlot" to generate this table in addition to the figure.

      Line 159 to 178 of the script "variantEnrichAtPeaks_RCC."

      1. Supplementary table S6 (add)

      summary_table <- df %>% mutate( Type = variantType, Genome_Wide_Prop = Genome_wide / sum(Genome_wide), Selective_Sweep_peaks_Prop = Sweep / sum(Sweep), Ratio_of_proportions = Selective_Sweep_peaks_Prop / Genome_Wide_Prop) %>% left_join(pval_df, by = "Impact") %>% select( Impact, Type, Genome_Wide = Genome_wide, Selective_Sweep peaks = Sweep, Genome_Wide Prop = Genome_Wide_Prop, Selective_Sweep peaks Prop= Selective_Sweep_peaks_Prop, Ratio of proportions= Ratio_of_proportions, Fishers exact P = p_value)

      return(list(plot = p, summary_table = summary_table))

      5.3 Statistical comparison Original vs Reproduced results - Results: Figure and table S6 were reproduced for each variant type and impact: -- SVs type: (see screenshot) -- Indels type: (see screenshot) -- And SNVs type: (see screenshot)

      • Comments: The shared code was used to compute the p-values and generated the Figures. Minor numerical error discrepancy was observed for some p-values, likely due to rounding differences. The p-values in the original Excel file appear to be stored with less decimal precision than those computed in R. This difference is negligible and does not indicate a reproducibility issue.
      • Errors detected: No error detected.
      • Statistical Consistency: The results were successfully reproduced with the share code.

      • Conclusion

      • Summary of the computational reproducibility review The Fisher's exact tests for enrichment across variant and impact categories, presented in Figure 5A of the manuscript, were successfully reproduced using the data in supplementary table S6 and the shared code. Results were consistent with the original, with only negligible rounding differences in p-values.
      • Recommendations for authors We were able to reproduce study with the data and information provided in the Figure 5A description. To further improve transparency and ensure full reproducibility of your manuscript, the following recommendations are suggested: -- Make the codes to reproduce all analyses in the paper openly available to allow anyone to reproduce the results. Ideally, provide a README or requirements.txt file describing how to run the analysis, including software versions, packages, and dependencies. -- Include statistical outputs, such as exact p-values, in supplementary materials when possible. This ensures clarity and eases verification. Ideally, provide metadata: For the datasets used or generated by the scripts, it would be helpful to include accompanying metadata files that explain: --- The definition of each variable name. --- The origin of each dataset (raw, processed, etc). --- Any preprocessing steps applied before analysis.
    3. AbstractWater buffalo is a cornerstone livestock species in many low- and middle-income countries, yet major gaps persist in its genomic characterization—complicated by the divergent karyotypes of its two sub-species (swamp and river). Such genomic complexity makes water buffalo a particularly good candidate for the use of graph genomics, which can capture variation missed by linear reference approaches. However, the utility of this approach to improve water buffalo has been largely unexplored.We present a comprehensive pangenome that integrates four newly generated, highly contiguous assemblies of Pakistani river buffalo with available assemblies from both sub- species. This doubles the number of accessible high-quality river buffalo genomes and provides the most contiguous assemblies for the sub-species to date. Using the pangenome to assay variation across 711 global samples, we uncovered extensive genomic diversity, including thousands of large structural variants absent from the reference genome, spanning over 140 Mb of additional sequence. We demonstrate the utility of these data by identifying putative functional indels and structural variants linked to selective sweeps in key genes involved in productivity and immune response across 26 populations.This study represents one of the first successful applications of graph genomics in water buffalo and offers valuable insights into how integrating assemblies can transform analyses of water buffalo and other species with complex evolutionary histories. We anticipate that these assemblies, and the pangenome and putative functional structural variants we have released, will accelerate efforts to unlock water buffalo’s genetic potential, improving productivity and resilience in this economically important species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf099), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Yi Zhang

      This manuscript presents the first high-quality, haplotype-resolved genome assemblies for two representative Pakistani river buffalo breeds (Nili Ravi and Azikheli), integrating them with existing assemblies to construct a water buffalo pangenome. The study leverages graph genomics to characterize structural variation (SV), identifying >140 Mb of non-reference sequence and 111,352 SVs. By genotyping of 711 global samples against this pangenome, the authors uncover population-specific selective sweeps linked to productivity, immunity, and adaptation traits, revealing potentially functional SVs, though these findings are limited by the absence of validation evidence and cross-study comparisons. The work highlights graph genomics as a transformative tool for integrative analyses of evolutionarily related species in an unbiased way and provides resources to accelerate buffalo breeding.

      General Comments 1.The study's methodology is rigorous, combining long-read assembly, graph-based genotyping (PanGenie), and population-level sweep scans. Nevertheless, the manuscript would benefit from discussion of graph limitations, such as bias against rare variants (Fig. 3B) and challenges in graph construction for species with karyotypic divergence. 2. The selection signature analyses were done across a number of population groups but the paper only showcases a limited selection of results. To strengthen the manuscript, the authors could concentrate on a consistent set of populations. This would enable a more in-depth examination of selective signals common across buffalo population groups or unique selective signals specific to certain groups. 3. It could be informative to conduct comparative analyses of selection signatures using variant datasets from PanGenie and GATK. This could reveal whether the pangenome approach might uncover important structural variants within selection signals that GATK fails to identify.

      Specific Comments 1. In Figure 1D and the main text, the rationale behind dividing the SVs into 40 sets is not clearly presented. If the interpretation is correct, the y-axis label of the bar graph should denote the number of SVs rather than size. Moreover, the main title "SVs Size Distribution" at the top seems more relevant to the box plots at the bottom. 2. Lines 325 - 326 state that the newly assembled pangenome graph exhibits a substantial increase in genome size compared to the existing reference genome. It is recommended that the authors describe the distribution of the 147,865,364 bp across the entire genome. Are they found more prevalent in specific regions of certain chromosomes? 3. In lines 410 - 412, there may be an issue with the citation of Table S2. The table contains 402 individuals, whereas the text mentions 282. 4. Figure 3 shows that, when using 30x samples in the variant calling comparison between Pangenie and GATK, there are still a large number of SNV variants detectable only by GATK. A more in-depth technical discussion of these differences would greatly enhance the reader's comprehension of these findings and the relative performance of the two methods. 5. To provide a more intuitive understanding of how SV can influence gene function and contribute to the traits, the authors could include a figure that displays an example gene structure along with the SV of interest within a selection signal peak.

    4. AbstractWater buffalo is a cornerstone livestock species in many low- and middle-income countries, yet major gaps persist in its genomic characterization—complicated by the divergent karyotypes of its two sub-species (swamp and river). Such genomic complexity makes water buffalo a particularly good candidate for the use of graph genomics, which can capture variation missed by linear reference approaches. However, the utility of this approach to improve water buffalo has been largely unexplored.We present a comprehensive pangenome that integrates four newly generated, highly contiguous assemblies of Pakistani river buffalo with available assemblies from both sub- species. This doubles the number of accessible high-quality river buffalo genomes and provides the most contiguous assemblies for the sub-species to date. Using the pangenome to assay variation across 711 global samples, we uncovered extensive genomic diversity, including thousands of large structural variants absent from the reference genome, spanning over 140 Mb of additional sequence. We demonstrate the utility of these data by identifying putative functional indels and structural variants linked to selective sweeps in key genes involved in productivity and immune response across 26 populations.This study represents one of the first successful applications of graph genomics in water buffalo and offers valuable insights into how integrating assemblies can transform analyses of water buffalo and other species with complex evolutionary histories. We anticipate that these assemblies, and the pangenome and putative functional structural variants we have released, will accelerate efforts to unlock water buffalo’s genetic potential, improving productivity and resilience in this economically important species.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf099), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1:Paul Stothard

      This well-written manuscript describes the generation of new genome assemblies for water buffalo and the construction of a pangenome graph that is used for variant calling and downstream analyses. The work is clearly described and the methods are appropriate given the goals of the study. The results are interesting and timely, and realistic limitations are stated. The manuscript should be of high interest to the water buffalo research community and to those interested in applying pangenome graphs to variant calling.

      I have minor comments that I believe should be addressed prior to publication.

      Minor comments:

      In the NCBI genomes database, the water buffalo assembly NDDB_SH_1 is listed as the current reference genome, not UOA_WB_1 as suggested in the manuscript. Perhaps the reference genome was recently reassigned?

      Lines 64-69: Lack of clarity regarding relationships among water buffalo populations: - Wording suggests single domestication event accounts for all domestic water buffalo. But, the river and swamp buffalo diverged prior to the domestication date. This is a contradiction. Clarify by mentioning that there were at least two independent domestication events (one for river buffalo and one for swamp buffalo). - Taxonomic terminology is inherently ambiguous for a few reasons, including: 1) The Bubalus arnee species comprises both wild river buffalo and wild swamp buffalo, which have not been assigned subspecies names. 2) Domestic water buffalo (including river and swamp buffalo) are assigned their own species name: Bubalus bubalis, despite being biologically the same species as Bubalus arnee. 3) Unlike their wild source populations, domesticated river buffalo and domesticated swamp buffalo are assigned their own species names, Bubalus bubalis bubalis and Bubalus bubalis carabanensis, respectively. - To address ambiguity regarding taxonomy and phylogeny of the buffalo populations, mention the full subspecies names (Bubalus bubalis bubalis, and Bubalus bubalis carabanensis).

      Line 82: "Although eight higher quality": higher quality than what?

      Line 177: Undefined acronym: "PAF".

      Line 216: "each unique biosamples": should be "each unique biosample".

      Line 272: Which SnpEff database was used for variant annotation?

      Line 286-287: Based on Table 1, the difference between the largest and the smallest water buffalo genome is 360 mega base pairs. That exceeds the length of the largest chromosome by almost 2 fold, and is 14% of the total length of the UOA_WB_1 reference assembly. This is a very large difference to observe between members of the same species. Considering that segmental duplications are often not accurately represented in genome assemblies, there is a strong possibility that some of the variants identified between these new high-quality assemblies and the other assemblies are simply assembly artefacts (failure of recently duplicated segments to be distinguished, etc.). At the very least, this should be addressed in the Discussion.

      Line 360-361: Elaborate slightly on what is in the dataset being shared.

      Line 420-421: Clarify which of these are human vs animal traits.

      Figure 1 A legend: The dots seem to all be the same size, which suggests that this is a scatter plot, not a bubble plot.

      Figure 1 C: "across the graph genome" sounds spatial; perhaps "proportion of variant types in the graph genome" would be clearer.

      Figure 1 D: It would be helpful to have the rows sorted to match the order in B.

      Figure 1 D: The low bars (i.e. small number of shared sites) are not easy to interpret. Perhaps the y-axis could be transformed to log scale or the number of variants could be added to the bars.

    1. AbstractOpportunistic assessment of vertebral strength from clinical computed tomography (CT) scans holds substantial promise for fracture risk stratification, yet variability in calibration methods and finite element (FE) modeling approaches has led to limited comparability across studies. In this work, we provide a publicly available benchmark dataset that supports standardized biomechanical analysis of the thoracic and lumbar spine using density-calibrated CT data. We extended the VerSe 2019 dataset to include phantomless quantitative CT calibration, automated vertebral substructure segmentation, and vertebral strength estimates derived from both linear and nonlinear FE models. The cohort comprises 141 patients scanned across five CT systems, including contrast-enhanced protocols. Phantomless calibration was performed using automatically segmented tissue references and validated against synchronous calibration phantoms in 17 scans. To evaluate model performance, we implemented a nonlinear elastoplastic FE model and compared it to two linear estimates. A displacement-calibrated linear model (0.2% axial strain) demonstrated excellent agreement with nonlinear failure loads (R = 0.96; mean difference = -0.07 kN), while a stiffness-based approach showed similarly strong correlation (R = 0.92). We evaluated vertebral strength at all thoracic and lumbar levels, enabling level-wise normalization and comparison. Strength ratios revealed consistent anatomical trends and identified T12 and T9 as reliable alternatives to L1 for opportunistic screening and model standardization. All calibrated scans, segmentations, software, and modeling outputs are publicly released, providing a benchmark resource for validation and development of FE models, radiomics tools, and other quantitative imaging applications in musculoskeletal research.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf094), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Karan Devane

      The study uses an open-source dataset collected in a population representative of those who would benefit from opportunistic screening and included physiological variation (i.e. contrast enhanced images and pre-existing fracture), alongside validation of density and FE assessment calibration methods. The methods are described in detail, including software versioning schemes, and links to the software sources as relevant for use in replicating methods. Additionally, the enhanced dataset is being included alongside the publication. The primary purpose of this study was to prepare and make available a public dataset for use in continued testing and development of opportunistic screening methods. The data appears to be conservatively analyzed as such, and the authors make notes of existing limitations of the population and sample characteristics where applicable. Additionally, the phantomless calibration technique is validated within this dataset prior to use in support of the "generalizability of the approach" (178), though the applied sample for this is relatively small (n=17 with in-scan phantoms). The manuscript is well-written and easy to understand but I have a few suggestions and comments that need to be addressed.

      The data are well-controlled for the study cohort, however as mentioned by the authors (228-232), this cohort is biased towards individuals with pre-existing skeletal fragility, as indicated by the average lumbar T-score as assessed by DXA falling in the osteopenic range (-1.5, Table 1). Beyond this, the authors made use of multiple validated calibration techniques to support the use of their internal calibration scheme, as well as analysis of potential confounding variables such as contrast enhanced CT scans. Relative vertebral strength analysis (Figure 6, Table 2), however does not appear to be analyzed with respect to the fractures mentioned as present throughout the cohort (193). While differences in strength may be primarily explained by density or size, it is possible that the incidence of pre-existing fracture occurring in the thoracolumbar segment may influence adaptation of the other vertebrae in the region [1][2][3], and as such analysis for fracture inclusion may be warranted.

      The use of standardized FE modeling techniques supports the goal for reproducibility of assessment in clinical FE modeling. While the authors made efforts to enhance the reproducibility and generalizability of the dataset, they themselves note that the source population is not necessarily descriptive of a general population (lines 227-232). Though this population is representative of those indicated for opportunistic screening, the development of risk curves necessitates the inclusion of healthy individuals, and follow-up analysis to fully flesh out the use of opportunistic FE in clinical settings, however this analysis would require a much larger cohort, and are outside the scope of the current manuscript. Further, while 'voxel-models' are typically regarded as standard, tetrahedral element models may generally provide better representation of complex biological geometries [4]. All approaches to FE have drawbacks, and tetrahedral models may be less-optimal solutions compared to hexahedral elements for convergence and the possibility of artificial stiffening, the high prevalence of osteophytes and degradation [5], particularly in older populations where screening is indicated, may warrant the use of tetrahedral elements which capture the intricacies of vertebral geometry that impact FE derived strength [6]. While again potentially outside the scope of this study, it might be noted as an additional formulative variable for FE approaches to estimating fracture risk.

      Line 269 -> "… applications such as radiomics-driven [approach?] for opportunistic …" As fracture prevalence is included in the dataset, it may be worthwhile to include analysis of fracture-adjacent vertebra in the selection of surrogate vertebra for L1 in opportunistic screening. Does pre-existing fracture influence which vertebrae selected, and should this decision be made on a person-to-person basis, taking into consideration the particular condition of the vertebrae available in the scan?

      [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8752702/ [2]https://academic.oup.com/jbmr/article/39/12/1744/7825427 [3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7697376/ [4]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021929005003568 [5] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12565-010-0080-8 [6]https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1529943018306466

    1. Recent advancements in transcriptomics and proteomics have opened the possibility for spatially resolved molecular characterization of tissue architecture with the promise of enabling a deeper understanding of tissue biology in either homeostasis or disease. The wealth of data generated by these technologies has recently driven the development of a wide range of computational methods. These methods have the requirement of advanced coding fluency to be applied and integrated across the full spatial omics analysis process thus presenting a hurdle for widespread adoption by the biology research community. To address this, we introduce SPEX (Spatial Expression Explorer), a web-based analysis platform that employs modular analysis pipeline design, accessible through a user-friendly interface. SPEX’s infrastructure allows for streamlined access to open source image data management systems,analysis modules, and fully integrated data visualization solutions. Analysis modules include essential steps covering image processing, single-cell and spatial analysis. We demonstrate SPEX’s ability to facilitate the discovery of biological insights in spatially resolved omics datasets from healthy tissue to tumor samples.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf090), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 3: Hongyoon Choi

      The manuscript introduces SPEX, a web-based platform designed for spatial omics data analysis. The authors highlight its user-friendly UI, modular analysis pipelines, and integration with open-source image data management systems. The platform supports image processing such as cell/nucleus segmentation, clustering, and spatial analysis. GUI-based approaches as well as python script-based modules increase usability for the broader research community. While the goals of the platform are commendable, and the integration of multiple analysis modules is a valuable contribution, there are critical shortcomings in the manuscript that must be addressed before publication. Several key weaknesses significantly limit the scientific rigor and impact of this work.

      • One of the critical omissions in this manuscript is the lack of rigorous benchmarking against established tools. Though it demonstrated the comparison with other tools such as Squidpy, Giotto, and MC Micro, but there is no quantitative comparison to demonstrate its advantages over existing methodologies. In particular, spatial analysis such as CLQ is introduced as a different approach within the spatial biology analytics framework, but how does it compare to existing co-occurrence analysis methods? Additionally, similar analyses have been conducted using other tools (e.g., Mah, C.K., et al., Genome Biol 25, 82 (2024)), including in 'subcellular' colocalization. In this regard, concerns about its novelty arise. Moreover, as mentioned in relation to Bento, CLQ could also be applied to subcellular analysis?

      • In this regard, for spatial co-occurence or other algorithms in SPEX, the authors should run identical datasets through both SPEX and existing tools to compare performance and biological insights. it is impossible to assess whether SPEX provides any meaningful improvement over existing platforms.

      • The cell typing process is one of the most fundamental steps in spatial omics analysis. However, SPEX does not integrate a dedicated cell typing module, forcing users to use another tool or define cell types manually. The accuracy of all downstream analyses (clustering, spatial interaction, pathway analysis) depends on robust and reliable cell typing. It would be better to integrate with automated cell typing solutions to increase usability.

      • The manuscript focuses almost exclusively on single-cell resolution data and high-dimensional imaging-based methods (e.g., IMC, MIBI, MERFISH). However, spot-based transcriptomics platforms such as Visium are widely used in the field. In this regard, SPEX does not provide modules tailored methodology for spot-based spatial analysis (such as deconvolution) or super-resolution or transforming cell-based analysis from spots (e.g. bin2cell in VisiumHD). Neighborhood analyses or spatially variable gene detection, etc. are specialized in whole-gene covered, spot-based methods, as well, for example.

      • The manuscript does not clarify whether users can modify or extend the pipeline with custom Python scripts. Describing further this point, customization in this ecosystem with python script, for 'power-users' of this system could be helpful.

      • The biological relevance of the SPEX platform remains unclear, as the case studies presented are not sufficiently rigorous. As mentioned above, comparisons with other tools based on quantification can clarify why SPEX is better than other published tools/ecosystems in certain aspect. Or meaningful biological findings and explanations based on this tool as a case study could be helpful. While the results demonstrate technical capabilities, the manuscript does not show how SPEX enables novel biological discoveries compared to existing tools.

    2. Recent advancements in transcriptomics and proteomics have opened the possibility for spatially resolved molecular characterization of tissue architecture with the promise of enabling a deeper understanding of tissue biology in either homeostasis or disease. The wealth of data generated by these technologies has recently driven the development of a wide range of computational methods. These methods have the requirement of advanced coding fluency to be applied and integrated across the full spatial omics analysis process thus presenting a hurdle for widespread adoption by the biology research community. To address this, we introduce SPEX (Spatial Expression Explorer), a web-based analysis platform that employs modular analysis pipeline design, accessible through a user-friendly interface. SPEX’s infrastructure allows for streamlined access to open source image data management systems,analysis modules, and fully integrated data visualization solutions. Analysis modules include essential steps covering image processing, single-cell and spatial analysis. We demonstrate SPEX’s ability to facilitate the discovery of biological insights in spatially resolved omics datasets from healthy tissue to tumor samples.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf090), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 2: Qianqian Song

      The manuscript presents an advancement in spatial omics analysis but needs improvements in Quantitative benchmarking, Computational scalability assessment, etc. With these revisions, SPEX has the potential to become a widely adopted platform in the spatial omics community. I have specific comments as below:

      1) While the manuscript provides a qualitative comparison of SPEX with other spatial omics tools (e.g., Squidpy, Giotto, Aquilla), quantitative benchmarking is missing. It is needed to include a performance benchmark comparing runtime efficiency, segmentation accuracy, and clustering resolution against existing tools. Also, it is necessary to show computational efficiency metrics (e.g., memory usage, execution time, scalability across datasets of varying sizes).

      2) The study presents compelling results, but there is no independent validation or interpretation of computational outputs using experimental methods.

      3) The manuscript does not discuss hardware requirements, processing speed, or computational limitations. It is needed to provide an assessment of SPEX's performance on different computing environments (e.g., local workstations vs. cloud computing vs. high-performance clusters).

      4) The Colocation Quotient (CLQ) method is well described, but the manuscript does not provide statistical validation (e.g., p-values, confidence intervals) for detected spatial relationships.

    3. Recent advancements in transcriptomics and proteomics have opened the possibility for spatially resolved molecular characterization of tissue architecture with the promise of enabling a deeper understanding of tissue biology in either homeostasis or disease. The wealth of data generated by these technologies has recently driven the development of a wide range of computational methods. These methods have the requirement of advanced coding fluency to be applied and integrated across the full spatial omics analysis process thus presenting a hurdle for widespread adoption by the biology research community. To address this, we introduce SPEX (Spatial Expression Explorer), a web-based analysis platform that employs modular analysis pipeline design, accessible through a user-friendly interface. SPEX’s infrastructure allows for streamlined access to open source image data management systems,analysis modules, and fully integrated data visualization solutions. Analysis modules include essential steps covering image processing, single-cell and spatial analysis. We demonstrate SPEX’s ability to facilitate the discovery of biological insights in spatially resolved omics datasets from healthy tissue to tumor samples.

      This work has been peer reviewed in GigaScience (see https://doi.org/10.1093/gigascience/giaf090), which carries out open, named peer-review. These reviews are published under a CC-BY 4.0 license and were as follows:

      Reviewer 1: Ka Yee Yeung

      Li et al. presented SPEX (Spatial Expression Explorer), a web-based open-source end-to-end analysis platform offering modular design and a user accessible interface. The users demonstrated use cases in spatial transcriptomics (MERFISH lung cancer) and spatial proteomics datasets (tonsil, public multiplex ion beam imaging data). SPEX includes the following analytical modules 1. image processing modules includes a 4-step sequence (image pre-processing, single-cell segmentation, post-processing, feature selection). Image loading supports OMERO integration. Output is a cell by expression matrix in Anndata format. 2. clustering modules for both spatial transcriptomic and proteomic data. 3. spatial analysis module implements the CLQ (Colocation Quotient) method. 4. spatial expression analysis module includes differential expression and pathway analysis. SPEX supports visualization via Vitessce.

      The paper is well written, addresses a rising interest and critical need in the biomedical community. The reviewer would like to request clarifications on how extensible the modules are. The author mentioned a SPEX pipeline builder in which "modules are selected from a library and dragged into a visual pipeline map", and also mentioend the support for "flexible plug-in analysis modules". What are the packages available from the library? Can users import their own code or script or package? How to create new plug-in's?

      The reviewer is also wondering how do the users interact with the results? Can the user click on the resulting image and select regions of interest to zoom in?

    1. ________________

      1- get yourself in right space 2 - avoid distractions 3 - pace yourself 4 - read you most difficult assignments early I think number 4 will take the mode time because it is something that is difficult for you and they generally takes more time.

    1. Because of interracial reproduction going back to the days of slavery, African Americans also differ in the darkness of their skin and in other physical characteristics.

      I wonder are these variations seen in other cultures or with other groups that happen to be colonized as well?

    2. race is a social construction, a concept that has no objective reality but rather is what people decide it is

      Based off of historical events, European/white have always been in a position of power to make decisions as I see fit. This was also slightly mentioned above. That being the case, would that mean race was socially constructed to fit in narrative European wanted minorities to fit?

    3. But where is the logic for doing so

      The one drop rule, which was created to identify Europeans who have black ancestry. Once again to put Themselves (whites/ not mixed) on a systematic pedestal that never should have existed. However, nowadays, it takes more than one drop rule amongst everyday people/African-Americans to be considered an African-American or black

    4. The belief in their inferiority helped justify the harsh treatment they suffered in their new country. Today, of course, we call people from all three backgrounds white or European.

      I find it Interesting how Europeans decided amongst them selves that they were going to be “superior” race.

    5. In several Latin American nations, however, Obama would be considered white because of his white ancestry.

      Even though president Barack Obama, Obama is equal parts, black and white, In America, if you look the part phenotypically, that’s how the public will respond to you by.

    1. A cautious view is that affirmative action may not be perfect but that some form of it is needed to make up for past and ongoing discrimination and lack of opportunity in the workplace and on the campus. Without the extra help that affirmative action programs give disadvantaged people of color, the discrimination and other difficulties they face are certain to continue.

      Opponents of affirmative actions over all of view point is it is illegal and immoral. As well as. Viewing individuals who benefit from affirmative action are less qualified than whites. Seems very non-logical But rather more based on individual discrimination. However, on the proponents side of affirmative action, they list several reasons for favoring this action. One of them being they more or less bring individuals who need affirmative action to an equal playing field as whites

    1. American whites enjoy certain privileges merely because they are white. For example, they usually do not have to fear that a police officer will stop them simply because they are white, and they also generally do not have to worry about being mistaken for a bellhop, parking valet, or maid.

      Two clear examples of white privilege and its benefits

    2. African Americans are much more likely than whites to be poor, to live in high-crime neighborhoods, and to live in crowded conditions, among many other problems. As this chapter discussed earlier, they are also more likely, whether or not they are poor, to experience racial slights, refusals to be interviewed for jobs, and other forms of discrimination in their everyday lives. All these problems mean that African Americans from their earliest ages grow up with a great deal of stress, far more than what most whites experience. This stress in turn has certain neural and physiological effects, including hypertension (high blood pressure), that impair African Americans’ short-term and long-term health and that ultimately shorten their lives. These effects accumulate over time: black and white hypertension rates are equal for people in their twenties, but the black rate becomes much higher by the time people reach their forties and fifties. As a recent news article on evidence of this “hidden toll” summarized this process, “The long-term stress of living in a white-dominated society ‘weathers’ blacks, making them age faster than their white counterparts” (Blitstein, 2009, p. 48).Blitstein, R. (2009). Weathering the storm. Miller-McCune, 2(July–August), 48–57.

      Racial inequality many Black people face is more than just prejudice/discrimination Creates unfavored, living conditions, a sabotage the growing up experience for many young black kids, as well as affect the Health of black Americans in the long run.

    3. The individual and institutional discrimination just discussed is one manifestation of this inequality. We can also see stark evidence of racial and ethnic inequality in various government statistics. Sometimes statistics lie, and sometimes they provide all too true a picture; statistics on racial and ethnic inequality fall into the latter category.

      Manifestations of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States. Here are two clear examples of this

    1. Consider height requirements for police. Before the 1970s, police forces around the United States commonly had height requirements, say five feet ten inches. As women began to want to join police forces in the 1970s, many found they were too short.

      Example of institutional discrimination

    2. institutional discrimination, or discrimination that pervades the practices of whole institutions, such as housing, medical care, law enforcement, employment, and education. This type of discrimination does not just affect a few isolated people of color. Instead, it affects large numbers of individuals simply because of their race or ethnicity. Sometimes institutional discrimination is also based on gender, disability, and other characteristics.

      Institutional discrimination Is a more broad form of discrimination That affects law, living medication and large numbers of individual based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or other

    3. individual discrimination, or discrimination that individuals practice in their daily lives, usually because they are prejudiced but sometimes even if they are not prejudiced

      How would individual discrimination work even if you weren’t prejudice

      Stereotypes

    4. Usually prejudice and discrimination go hand-in-hand, but Robert Merton (1949) stressed this is not always so. Sometimes we can be prejudiced and not discriminate, and sometimes we might not be prejudiced and still discriminate.

      Mertons’s You suggest that sometimes individuals can be prejudice and not discriminate as well as individuals who aren’t prejudice can still discriminate.

    1. Those who cite lack of motivation are more likely than those who cite discrimination to believe the government is spending too much to help blacks.

      I think it’s really crazy that people believe black poverty is due to lack of motivation even when we have historical facts backing up the idea of Black people being pushed to The back of priority in all aspects. As if a few recent years, Black people should magically be able to be on equal standings to that of their white counterparts.

    2. Instead, it involves stereotypes about African Americans, a belief that their poverty is due to their cultural inferiority, and opposition to government policies to help them

      Yes, to my question above. So what about the whites in poverty are they also considered inferior to the white race? Or is this ideology just for minorities?

    3. But that does not mean that prejudice has disappeared. Many scholars say that Jim Crow racism has been replaced by a more subtle form of racial prejudice, termed laissez-faire, symbolic, or modern racism, that amounts to a “kinder, gentler, antiblack ideology” that avoids notions of biological inferiority

      So stereotyping?

    4. recent research indicates that the racial views of (white) women and men are in fact very similar and that the two genders are about equally prejudiced

      This is no surprise. I feel that modern media a lot of people like to say the problem is white men white men white men are the problem however historically shown white women have also Aiden, this “problem“ as well

    5. prejudice arises from competition over jobs and other resources and from disagreement over various political issues. When groups vie with each other over these matters, they often become hostile toward each other. Amid such hostility, it is easy to become prejudiced toward the group that threatens your economic or political standing.

      This sounds like a great explanation, which makes sense, but is it really all? An example I think of is commonly how Maga/Trumpies claim the immigrants are stealing their jobs, but I wonder if the immigrants were here and weren’t “stealing your jobs“ would they still find a reason to carry disinterest towards them?

    6. sociological explanation emphasizes conformity and socialization and is called social learning theory. In this view, people who are prejudiced are merely conforming to the culture in which they grow up, and prejudice is the result of socialization from parents, peers, the news media, and other various aspects of their culture.

      This would make a lot of sense how you were raised and what environment you win, obviously would play a part and what individual you would become for most not all.

    7. Several psychology experiments find that when people are frustrated, they indeed become more prejudiced

      This is really interesting. I can totally see how this can come to be. However, I still feel there’s a strong difference between becoming prejudice because you’re frustrated and already being prejudice and using your frustration as an excuse to become extreme in your hatred.

    8. According to this view, authoritarian personalities develop in childhood in response to parents who practice harsh discipline. Individuals with authoritarian personalities emphasize such things as obedience to authority, a rigid adherence to rules, and low acceptance of people (out-groups) not like oneself

      This is still such a Strange explanation for this. Not that it doesn’t make sense, but if this perspective was discovered pretty early on why was this not treated as a mental condition. And document as such, Meaning individual to display, this type of developmental behaviors would have been classified under mentally handicap?

    9. racism, or the belief that certain racial or ethnic groups are inferior to one’s own.

      Racism, Definition is essentially the idea in an individual’s mind of being superior to that of another race/ethnic group.

    10. Prejudice is the attitude, while discrimination is the behavior. More specifically, racial and ethnic prejudice refers to a set of negative attitudes, beliefs, and judgments about whole categories of people, and about individual members of those categories, because of their perceived race and/or ethnicity

      The defined prejudice and contrast to discrimination

    1. The marriage of Isabel I (Queen of Castile) to Fernando II (King of Aragon) united die kingdoms in 1469. King Juan Carlos helped guide Spain toward democracy, but the royal family's popularity has waned somewhat in recent years, particularly in light of financial scandals involving Princess Cristina. Personal devotion often varies by generation; younger members of the Catholic Church are typically less devoted than older members. Around 3 percent of the population is involved with other (mostly Christian) religious groups.

      marriage of catholic kings 1469-secondary

    1. Use body language (such as giving eye contact, leaning forward, and nodding) to indicate their engagement in the conversation e Pause to paraphrase, ask questions, and summarize the conversation in order to avoid miscommunication e Resist judging the comments that a beginning teacher makes ° Respond in a way that communicates respect and appreciation for what the beginning teacher shares (such as “I hear what you’re saying,” “It sounds like you really feel frus- trated,” or “Thank you for sharing that. How can I help?”) In addition to using active listening during conversations, mentors should pay attention to the non- verbal cues a beginning teacher uses. Look for signs of fatigue (such as slow movements or difficulty concentrating), frustration (such as eye-rolling or crossed arms), or despair (such as puffy eyes or other indicators of crying). By paying attention to both verbal and nonverbal communications, a mentor can see indications of distress before they come to a head and show the beginning teacher that he or she cares. val “\o / Ty \S Yo Conduct Daily Check-Ins rar rene? >» Daily check-ins are short conversations between mentors and mentees about how a mentec is feel- ing and performing, both inside and outside the classroom. Mentors can send emails and text messages to mentees or call them on the phone, even outside school hours. Do not feel obligated to make these check-ins formal or extensive; even a simple “How’s it going?” followed by active listening can make a world of difference. Staying in communication with mentees helps them feel supported but also helps a mentor notice when something is amiss. This easy strategy can facilitate the growth of the mentor- mentee relationship throughout the school year. Validate the Teacher's Feelings Once it becomes clear how a mentee feels, provide reassurance that his or her feelings are normal and will not last forever. Relate the mentee’s experience to the different phases of first-year teaching (Moir, 1999; see figure 1.2 on page 9) to validate his or her feelings and show that many beginning teachers feel the same way. Giving ; new teachers a chance to relate to these j phases can help them feel a Providing Emotional Support 4 por sense of normalcy regarding their emotions and concerns. Some also feel a sense of relief that they are not alone in their journey, particularly during the survival and disillusionment phases. Be sure to point out that teachers do not stay in these phases forever and that the job becomes easier and easier with each passing year. Additionally, share personal reflections and anecdotes from your own first years as a teacher to help the mentee feel a sense of camaraderie. Use the essays and reflection questions in appendix B (page 79), which provide a window into the life of a beginning teacher, or reflect individually on the first- year teaching phases (see figure 1.2 on page 9) to recall the unique challenges and emotions that a new teacher faces. Consider difficult experiences from recent years, as well, and describe the different chal- lenges and rewards that each year brings. Alternatively, collect and share stories from other colleagues in the school building. Point out that even the most seasoned teachers began as novices. These shared | experiences can stimulate a comfortable and reflective dialogue between a mentor and a mentee. Send Encouraging Messages Periodically send positive notes, emails, and text messages to beginning teachers to remind them of your availability and support. Include positive, behavior-specific feedback in letters to mentees to keep their spirits high and to encourage them to press on. For example, write something such as, “I noticed that instead of correcting Jerrod in front of the class today, you spoke privately with him about his behavior—that was very effective!” Sy, support for beginning teachers. Robert J. Marzano and Debra J. Pickering (2011) pointed out that inspirational quotations that demonstrate examples of self-efficacy can be encouraging. As Dale H. Schunk and Frank Pajares (2009) explained, self-efficacy “refers to the perceived capabilities for learn- | ing or performing actions at designated levels” (p. 35). In other words, teachers who have a strong sense of self-efficacy believe that they can execute their duties successfully or learn to execute them successfully. Because a beginning teacher may also be struggling to cultivate self-efficacy, inspirational quotations can serve as powerful reminders of the importance of persevering, striving for goals, and staying optimistic. When providing examples of motivating quotations, mentors can refer to this list of selected BrainyMedia (2014) quotations, as cited in Marzano and Pickering (2011), involving three categories: (1) perseverance, (2) greatness and following hopes and dreams, and (3) optimism. oN Choosing cards that contain reflective quotes or heartening messages can also provide sae oY Perseverance e “Genius is eternal patience.” —Michelangelo e “Without struggle, there can be no progress.” —Frederick Douglass e “Tn the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” —Albert Einstein e “Don’t fear mistakes, there are none.” —Miles Davis e “T’ve got to keep breathing. It’ll be my worst business mistake if I don’t.” —Steve Martin ¢ “Tf you’re going through hell, keep going.” —Winston Churchill e “Tt’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” —Vince Lombardi ss) Me, er

      Using positive body language is so important. This is an area I want to grow in, and also ask for feedback as I. might not be aware of how I'm coming across.

    1. fter receiving five rounds of CWI treatment on five consecutive days

      Day 2–5: DOMS significantly lower in CWI group. Example: Day 2: CWI = 15.4 mm, CG = 52.4 mm Day 3: CWI = 11.6 mm, CG = 40.8 mm p < 0.000

    1. “American dilemma.”

      The idea of America was equality And justice for all. However, this idea goes exactly against what America has Been built upon, and how America continues to grow. Example-White men fight back Maga, the lynching in HBCU, reverse of DEI

    2. The Kerner Commission’s 1968 report reminded the nation that little, if anything, had been done since Myrdal’s book to address this conflict. Sociologists and other social scientists have warned since then that the status of people of color has actually been worsening in many ways since this report was issued (Massey, 2007; Wilson, 2009).Massey, D. S. (2007)

      Which we have seen in current times. When the government and administration is openly racist biased against marginalized groups and as proud of it, it’s in turns creates a huge fan base who also idolize this ideology. As well as including those who’ve already had these beliefs, but were rightfully uncomfortable of being outward with them. Great example of this a very cliché example but it’s Maga, which are extremist who are known to be violent and dangerous towards minorities of every group, sometimes even including themselves.

    3. conflict between the American democratic ideals of egalitarianism and liberty and justice for all

      Does this mean that when the initial idea of egalitarianism liberty and justice for all was created it was specifically for Europeans? With the idea of protecting and creating equality amongst them?

    4. During the 1830s, white mobs attacked free African Americans in cities throughout the nation, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh. The mob violence stemmed from a “deep-seated racial prejudice…in which whites saw blacks as ‘something less than human’” (Brown, 1975) and continued well into the twentieth century, when white mobs attacked African Americans in several cities, with at least seven antiblack riots occurring in 1919 that left dozens dead.

      So basically, the mob attacks were led by their hatred towards black Americans being free or the idea of black Americans being in proximity to where they were

    1. 10 Hz torque remained impaired for up to 3 h following both interventions (RT: 8.9 ± 4.0 N·m; CWI: 8.3 ± 2.8 N·m), with full recovery 24 h later (RT: 11.3 ± 4.3 N·m; CWI: 10.2 ± 2.0 N·m) (Figure 3a). In addition, no differences were seen between the interventions throughout the 24 h period. Regarding 50 Hz torque, it was impaired for up to 1 h in RT (16.2 ± 8.1 N·m; p = 0.001), whereas following CWI, 50 Hz torque remained impaired for up to 3 h (14.9 ± 6.0 N·m; p = 0.001)

      10 Hz: Recovered by 24 h in both; no difference. 50 Hz: Slower recovery in CWI → supports idea that CWI impairs high-frequency contractile function.

    2. The interval nature of the exercise involved six sets of 30 s all-out contractions with 3 min of rest between sets

      Mimics a real-world high-intensity interval session.

    1. Note de Synthèse : L'instrumentalisation des associations et les voies de la coconstruction

      Synthèse

      Ce document de synthèse analyse les conclusions du webinaire "Face à l'instrumentalisation des associations", quatrième épisode du cycle "Renforcement du monde associatif".

      Il met en lumière la menace croissante de l'instrumentalisation, identifiée comme un des quatre facteurs majeurs d'affaiblissement du secteur associatif, aux côtés de la répression des libertés, de la marchandisation et de la managérialisation.

      Cette instrumentalisation se manifeste par une pression exercée sur les associations pour qu'elles s'alignent sur les politiques publiques, une tendance exacerbée par une transformation structurelle des financements publics qui privilégient la commande publique au détriment des subventions.

      Des exemples récents aux niveaux local, national et européen illustrent une stratégie de discrédit visant les associations qui conservent une parole politique critique, résumée par l'injonction :

      "dès lors que les associations reçoivent de l'argent public, elles ont intérêt à se tenir sages".

      Face à ce scénario d'affaiblissement, le webinaire explore en profondeur l'antidote principal : la coconstruction des politiques publiques.

      Loin d'une simple consultation, la coconstruction est présentée dans sa définition la plus exigeante, impliquant un partage du pouvoir et des éléments de codécision.

      Pour être efficace, elle doit s'appuyer sur une méthodologie rigoureuse, commençant par un diagnostic partagé et se poursuivant jusqu'à l'évaluation commune des actions.

      Deux modèles d'action concrets sont examinés :

      1. Les schémas d'orientation (Solima) du secteur culturel, qui offrent un retour d'expérience de près de vingt ans sur des processus de concertation structurés.

      Bien qu'ils aient prouvé leur efficacité pour améliorer l'interconnaissance et la coopération, ils révèlent des limites quant à leur capacité à faire évoluer durablement les politiques publiques et à surmonter la culture du "qui paie, décide".

      2. La démocratie d'interpellation, qui apparaît comme un prérequis essentiel.

      Ce concept vise à doter les citoyens, et notamment les plus marginalisés, des outils (pétitions à seuils, fonds de soutien) leur permettant d'inscrire leurs préoccupations à l'agenda politique, créant ainsi les conditions initiales d'une future coconstruction.

      En conclusion, si la coconstruction représente une voie prometteuse pour renforcer la vitalité démocratique et l'autonomie du monde associatif, sa mise en œuvre reste un défi majeur.

      Elle se heurte à un contexte politique et économique défavorable et nécessite de surmonter des obstacles culturels profonds pour passer d'une logique de prestation de service à un partenariat authentique fondé sur le partage du pouvoir.

      1. Le Scénario de l'Affaiblissement : L'Instrumentalisation comme Menace Centrale

      Le webinaire identifie l'instrumentalisation comme une composante clé d'un "scénario d'affaiblissement" qui pèse sur le monde associatif.

      Ce processus vise à réduire les associations à un rôle d'exécutantes des politiques publiques, les privant de leur capacité d'initiative, de critique et de participation à la vie de la cité.

      Définition et Manifestations

      L'instrumentalisation est un processus par lequel les pouvoirs publics tendent à considérer les associations non plus comme des partenaires autonomes porteurs de projets d'intérêt général, mais comme de simples prestataires de services.

      Marianne Langlais (Collectif des associations citoyennes - CAC) la définit comme une attente que les associations, dès lors qu'elles sont financées par de l'argent public, "se tiennent sages".

      Cela implique :

      • • S'inscrire sans contester dans la ligne politique dominante, qualifiée de "néolibérale et autoritaire".

      • • Ne pas porter un message politique différent de celui attendu par les financeurs.

      • • Rester "politiquement neutre" dans un contexte qui ne l'est pas.

      Exemples Concrets de Discrédit Politique

      Cette pression s'accompagne de campagnes de discrédit visant à délégitimer les associations qui conservent une parole politique. Plusieurs exemples récents ont été cités : Niveau Acteur Cible Discours / Action Objectif Local Christelle Morançais (Présidente, Pays de la Loire)

      Associations culturelles

      Les accuse d'être le "monopole d'associations très politisées qui vivent d'argent public" pour justifier des coupes budgétaires massives. Justifier des coupes budgétaires.

      National

      Bruno Retailleau (Ministre de l'Intérieur)

      La Cimade et autres associations d'aide aux étrangers

      Affirme qu'elles doivent "agir en cohérence avec l'État", remettant en cause leur travail en centre de rétention.

      Aligner les actions des associations sur la politique gouvernementale.

      Européen

      Droite et extrême droite européenne

      Associations environnementales

      Lancement d'une "fake news" les accusant d'être payées par la Commission pour faire du lobbying pro-pacte vert.

      Les priver de financements européens, notamment du programme LIFE (budget de 5,4 milliards d'euros).

      Le Levier Financier : De la Subvention à la Commande Publique

      Au cœur du processus d'instrumentalisation se trouve une transformation profonde des modes de financement public.

      On observe un recul structurel de la subvention de fonctionnement au profit de la commande publique (marchés publics, appels à projets).

      • Contexte Européen : La création du marché unique en 1987 et sa règle d'or d'une "concurrence libre et non faussée" ont conduit à considérer la subvention comme une potentielle aide d'État illicite.

      • Impact en France : La part des subventions dans les recettes associatives a chuté de 41 % entre 2005 et 2017.

      • Conséquences : Le rapport Suxe ("Renforcer le financement des associations :

      une urgence démocratique", mai 2023) souligne que cette évolution entraîne une "fragilisation de leur équilibre financier, mais aussi et surtout par une perte de sens et une invisibilisation de ce qui caractérise l'association".

      Ce changement modifie radicalement le rapport de force :

      • La subvention reconnaît l'association comme étant à l'origine de l'initiative, sans attente de contrepartie directe.

      Elle favorise une politique ascendante ("bottom-up") où les associations agissent en "vigies citoyennes".

      • La commande publique positionne l'État ou la collectivité comme acheteur d'un service, fixant un cadre strict.

      Elle impose une politique descendante ("top-down") où les associations deviennent des prestataires.

      2. L'Antidote : La Coconstruction des Politiques Publiques

      Face à l'instrumentalisation, la coconstruction est présentée comme le principal antidote, permettant de restaurer un dialogue équilibré et de renforcer la vitalité démocratique.

      Fondamentaux et Définition Exigeante

      La coconstruction est définie non pas comme une simple consultation ou concertation – démarches souvent sources de "effets déceptifs" – mais comme un processus exigeant de partage du pouvoir.

      Selon Jean-Baptiste (CAC), on peut parler de coconstruction "à partir du moment où il y a des éléments de codécision".

      Cette approche s'ancre dans une vision de la démocratie en acte, illustrée par la définition de Paul Ricœur :

      "Est démocratique une société qui se reconnaît divisée, c’est-à-dire traversée par des contradictions d’intérêt, et qui se fixe comme modalité d’associer à part égale chaque citoyen dans l'expression, l'analyse, la délibération et l'arbitrage de ces contradictions."

      Une Méthodologie Structurée

      L'expérience montre que la coconstruction est un "chemin escarpé" et ne peut réussir sans méthode.

      Les travaux menés notamment par Laurent Fress dans le cadre d'une recherche-action (2017-2018) ont permis d'identifier cinq étapes clés pour un processus rigoureux :

      1. État des lieux et diagnostic partagé : Coproduire le savoir sur un territoire.

      Cette phase est fondamentale car "savoir, c'est pouvoir". Les Observatoires Locaux de la Vie Associative (OLVA) portés par le Rnma sont des outils privilégiés pour cette étape.

      2. Débat public et priorisation : Dégager collectivement les enjeux prioritaires et définir les modalités de la coconstruction.

      3. Validation des objectifs et plan d'action : Décider d'un plan d'action concret et, point crucial, en déterminer les moyens. C'est souvent à cette étape que les démarches échouent.

      4. Suivi de la mise en œuvre : Piloter conjointement la réalisation du plan d'action.

      5. Bilan commun et évaluation partenariale : Mesurer collectivement les effets et ajuster les priorités.

      Contexte et Obstacles

      La mise en œuvre de la coconstruction se heurte à un contexte général peu favorable :

      • • Une culture politique historiquement jacobine et décisionniste en France.

      • • L'imposition du New Public Management qui cantonne les associations à un rôle de gestionnaires.

      • • Un contexte économique de coupes budgétaires qui fragilise les partenaires associatifs et réduit les marges de manœuvre.

      3. Études de Cas et Modèles d'Action

      Le webinaire a mis en avant deux approches concrètes qui illustrent les potentiels et les défis de la coconstruction.

      L'Expérience du Secteur Culturel : Les Schémas d'Orientation (Solima)

      Présenté par Grégoire Patau (Ufisc), le Schéma d'Orientation des Lieux de Musiques Actuelles (Solima) est une méthode de coconstruction expérimentée depuis près de 20 ans.

      • Principes : Horizontalité (pas de hiérarchie entre les parties prenantes – État, collectivités, acteurs), démarche ascendante, inscription dans la durée.

      • Méthodologie : Un processus cyclique d'observation, conception, mise en œuvre et évaluation.

      • Bilan de l'expérience :

      • ◦ Succès : A systématiquement permis une meilleure connaissance des acteurs du territoire, renforcé les réseaux et généré de nouvelles coopérations.

      • ◦ Limites : A eu un impact plus limité sur la redéfinition concrète des politiques publiques ou l'allocation de nouveaux moyens.

      La posture des pouvoirs publics reste souvent "surplombante" et le principe du "qui paie, décide" difficile à dépasser.

      Le manque de moyens dédiés à l'animation et le risque d'essoufflement sont également des freins majeurs.

      La Démocratie d'Interpellation : Poser les Sujets à l'Agenda

      Léa Galois (Institut Alinski) a introduit le concept de démocratie d'interpellation comme une condition préalable à la coconstruction.

      Il s'agit de permettre aux citoyens, collectifs et associations de faire émerger un sujet et de l'inscrire à l'agenda politique, en particulier pour les voix habituellement "inaudibles".

      • Mécanismes proposés :

      • ◦ Paliers de pétition : Atteindre un certain nombre de signatures déclencherait de nouveaux droits (ex: un droit au dialogue avec les élus, un droit à une contre-expertise, le déclenchement d'un référendum d'initiative citoyenne).
      • ◦ Droit à la ressource : Création d'un "fonds d'interpellation" pour rembourser les frais de campagne et permettre aux groupes disposant de peu de moyens de se mobiliser efficacement.

      • Enjeux : L'un des défis majeurs, observé à Grenoble, est d'éviter que ces dispositifs ne reproduisent les inégalités politiques en étant principalement saisis par les catégories socioprofessionnelles les plus favorisées (CSP+).

      4. Perspectives et Recommandations Stratégiques

      Pour sortir du scénario de l'affaiblissement, plusieurs pistes d'action sont envisagées.

      • Traduire les Rapports en Actions : Il est jugé crucial d'éviter que le rapport Suxe ne reste lettre morte.

      La préconisation 16 est particulièrement mise en avant : abroger le Contrat d'Engagement Républicain (CER), jugé liberticide, et lui substituer la Charte des engagements réciproques, dont une évaluation nationale des déclinaisons locales est appelée de vœux.

      • L'Enjeu Crucial des Ressources : Un constat traverse toutes les interventions : la coconstruction et l'interpellation requièrent des moyens.

      Il est essentiel de faire reconnaître et financer la fonction "d'ingénierie et d'animation des coopérations" pour garantir un équilibre des pouvoirs dans le dialogue.

      • Vers un "Soulèvement Associatif" : Face au durcissement du contexte, le CAC lance un appel à une mobilisation pour un "soulèvement associatif", visant à reprendre une parole politique forte.

      Cette initiative est soutenue par la nécessité de documenter la situation, notamment via l'enquête nationale sur la santé financière des associations lancée par le Rnma, le Mouvement associatif et Hexopée.

      • S'outiller Méthodologiquement : La suite des travaux de la recherche participative ESCAPE devrait se concentrer sur la production d'outils méthodologiques, voire de manuels et de formations, pour aider les acteurs associatifs et les collectivités à mettre en œuvre des démarches de coconstruction rigoureuses et efficaces.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors present an investigation of associative learning in Drosophila in which a previous exposure to an aversive stimulus leads to an increase in approach behaviors to a novel odor relative to a previously paired odor or no odor (air). Moreover, this relative increase is larger compared to that of a control group - i.e., presented with a (different) odor only. Evidence for the opposite effect with an appetitive stimulus, delivered indirectly by optogenetically activating sugar sensory neurons, which leads to a reduction in approach behavior to a novel odor, was also presented. The olfactory memory circuits underpinning these responses, which the authors refer to as 'priming', are revealed and include a feedback loop mediated by dopaminergic neurons to the mushroom body.

      Strengths:

      (1) The study includes a solid demonstration of the effect of the valence of a previous stimulus on sensory preferences, with an increase or decrease in preference to novel over no odor following an aversive or appetitive stimulus, respectively.

      (2) The demonstration of bidirectional effects on odor preferences following aversive or rewarding stimuli is compelling.

      (3) The evidence for distinct neural circuits underpinning the odor preferences in each context appears to be robust.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) The conclusions regarding the links between neural and behavioral mechanisms are mostly well supported by the data. However, what is less convincing is the authors' argument that their study offers evidence of 'priming'. An important hallmark of priming, at least as is commonly understood by cognitive scientists, is that it is stimulus specific: i.e., a repeated stimulus facilitates response times (repetition priming), or a repeated but previously ignored stimulus increases response times (negative priming). That is, it is an effect on a subsequent repeated stimulus, not ANY subsequent stimulus. Because (prime or target) stimuli are not repeated in the current experiments, the conditions necessary for demonstrating priming effects are not present. Instead, a different phenomenon seems to be demonstrated here, and one that might be more akin to approach/avoidance behavior to a novel or salient stimulus following an appetitive/aversive stimulus, respectively.

      (2) On a similar note, the authors' claim that 'priming' per se has not been well studied in non-human animals is not quite correct and would need to be revised. Priming effects have been demonstrated in several animal types, although perhaps not always described as such. For example, the neural underpinnings of priming effects on behavior have been very well characterized in human and non-human primates, in studies more commonly described as investigations of 'response suppression'.

      (3) The outcome measure - i.e., difference scores between the two odors or odor and non-odor (i.e., the number of flies choosing to approach the novel odor versus the number approaching the non-odor (air)) - appears to be reasonable to account for a natural preference for odors in the mock-trained group. However, it does not provide sufficient clarification of the results. The findings would be more convincing if these relative scores were unpacked - that is, instead of analyzing difference scores, the results of the interaction between group and odor preference (e.g., novel or air) (or even within the pre- and post-training conditions with the same animals) would provide greater clarity. This more detailed account may also better support the argument that the results are not due to conditioning of the US with pure air.

    2. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      The manuscript by Yang et al. investigates how a prior experience (notably by the activation of sensory/reinforcing dopaminergic neurons) alters olfactory response and memory expression in Drosophila. They refer to a priming effect with the definition: "Priming is a process by which exposure to a stimulus affects the response to a subsequent stimulus in Humans". The authors observed that exposing flies to a series of shocks (or the optogenetic activation of aversively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons) decreases ensuing odour avoidance. Conversely, optogenetic activation of sweet-sensing neurons increases following odour avoidance. They proposed that the reduced odour avoidance was due to the involvement of reward dopaminergic neurons involved during shock (or the optogenetic activation of aversively reinforcing dopaminergic neurons). They indeed show the involvement of reward dopaminergic neurons innervating the mushroom body (the fly learning and memory centre) during shock preexposure. Recording (calcium activity) from reward dopaminergic neurons before and after shock preexposure shows that only a small subset of dopaminergic neurons innervating the mushroom body γ4 compartment increases their response to odour after shock. They then showed the requirement of the γ4 reward dopaminergic neurons during shock preexposure on ensuing odour avoidance. They also tested the role of the dopamine receptor in the mushroom body. They finally recorded from different mushroom body output neurons, including the one (MBON-γ4γ5) likely affected by the increased activity of the corresponding γ4 reward dopaminergic neurons after shock preexposure. They recorded odour-evoked responses from these neurons before and after shock preexposure, but did not find any plasticity, while they found a logical effect during spaced cycles of aversive training.

      Overall, the study is very interesting with a substantial amount of behavioural analysis and in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging data, but some major (and some minor) issues have to be resolved to strengthen their conclusions.

      (1) According to neuropsychological work (Henson, Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (2009), vol. 7, pp. 1055-1063), « Priming refers to a change in behavioral response to a stimulus, following prior exposure to the same, or a related, stimulus. Examples include faster reaction times to make a decision about the stimulus, a bias to produce that stimulus when generating responses, or the more accurate identification of a degraded version of the stimulus". Or "Repetition priming refers to a change in behavioural response to a stimulus following re-exposure" (PMID: 18328508). I therefore do not think that the effects observed by the authors are really the investigation of the neural mechanisms of priming. To me, the effect they observed seems more related to sensitisation, especially for the activation of sweet-sensing neurons. For the shock effect, it could be a safety phenomenon, as in Jacob and Waddell, 2020, involving (as for sugar reward) different subsets for short-term and long-term safety.

      (2) The author missed the paper from Thomas Preat, The Journal of Neuroscience, October 15, 1998, 18(20):8534-8538 (Decreased Odor Avoidance after Electric Shock in Drosophila Mutants Biases Learning and Memory Tests). In this paper, one of the effects observed by the authors has already been described, and the molecular requirement of memory-related genes is investigated. This paper should be mentioned and discussed.

      (3) Overall, the bidirectional effect they observed is interesting; however, their results are not always clear, and the use of a delta PI is sometimes misleading. The authors have mentioned that shocks induced attraction to the novel odour, while they should stick to the increase or decrease in preference/avoidance. As not all experiments are done in parallel logic, it is not always easy to understand which protocol the authors are using. For example, only optogenetics is used in the appetitive preexposure. Does exposing flies to sugar or activating reward dopaminergic neurons also increase odour avoidance? The observed increased odour avoidance after optogenetic activation of sweet-sensing neurons involve reward (e.g., decreased response) and/or punishment (e.g., increased response) to increase odour avoidance? The author should always statistically test the fly behavioural performances against 0 to have an idea of random choice or a clear preference toward an odour. On the appetitive side, the internal hunger state would play an important role. The author should test it or at least discuss it.

      (4) The authors found a discrepancy between genetic backgrounds; sometimes the same odour can be attractive or aversive. Different effects between the T-maze and the olfactory arena are found. The authors proposed that: "Punishment priming effect was still not detected, probably due to the insensitivity of the optogenetic arena". This is unclear to me, considering all prior work using this arena. The author should discuss it more clearly. They mentioned that flies could not be conditioned with air and electric shock. However, flies could be conditioned with the context + shock, which is changing in the T-maze and not in the optogenetic area.

    3. Author response:

      We thank both reviewers for their valuable comments. We have prepared a point-by-point response below.

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Weaknesses:

      (1) The conclusions regarding the links between neural and behavioral mechanisms are mostly well supported by the data. However, what is less convincing is the authors' argument that their study offers evidence of 'priming'. An important hallmark of priming, at least as is commonly understood by cognitive scientists, is that it is stimulus specific: i.e., a repeated stimulus facilitates response times (repetition priming), or a repeated but previously ignored stimulus increases response times (negative priming). That is, it is an effect on a subsequent repeated stimulus, not ANY subsequent stimulus. Because (prime or target) stimuli are not repeated in the current experiments, the conditions necessary for demonstrating priming effects are not present. Instead, a different phenomenon seems to be demonstrated here, and one that might be more akin to approach/avoidance behavior to a novel or salient stimulus following an appetitive/aversive stimulus, respectively.

      (2) On a similar note, the authors' claim that 'priming' per se has not been well studied in non-human animals is not quite correct and would need to be revised. Priming effects have been demonstrated in several animal types, although perhaps not always described as such. For example, the neural underpinnings of priming effects on behavior have been very well characterized in human and non-human primates, in studies more commonly described as investigations of 'response suppression'.

      We thank the reviewer for these critical comments. After careful consideration of both reviews, we agree that “priming” may not be the most accurate term to describe the behavioral phenomenon. We plan to revise our terminology throughout the manuscript accordingly to better capture the generalized nature of the effect we observe.

      (3) The outcome measure - i.e., difference scores between the two odors or odor and non-odor (i.e., the number of flies choosing to approach the novel odor versus the number approaching the non-odor (air)) - appears to be reasonable to account for a natural preference for odors in the mock-trained group. However, it does not provide sufficient clarification of the results. The findings would be more convincing if these relative scores were unpacked - that is, instead of analyzing difference scores, the results of the interaction between group and odor preference (e.g., novel or air) (or even within the pre- and post-training conditions with the same animals) would provide greater clarity. This more detailed account may also better support the argument that the results are not due to conditioning of the US with pure air.

      We use the PI score as a standard metric to quantify all the odor preference in behavioral assays because it allows for robust comparison across different genetic or treatment groups under the same experimental setting. In T-maze, real time tracking of fly trajectories is technically difficult. With olfactory arenas, we showed some examples of fly distribution in quadrants over the entire odor choice test period (Figure 2—figure supplement 2) for both pre-trained and post-trained groups and discussed the trajectories in Discussion. We will ensure this point is clarified in the revised text.                       

      Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      […] They finally recorded from different mushroom body output neurons, including the one (MBON-γ4γ5) likely affected by the increased activity of the corresponding γ4 reward dopaminergic neurons after shock preexposure. They recorded odour-evoked responses from these neurons before and after shock preexposure, but did not find any plasticity, while they found a logical effect during spaced cycles of aversive training.

      We thank the reviewer for the summary. We would like to clarify that we did, in fact, observe plasticity in MBON-γ4γ5 following shock exposure, as shown in Figure 4B.

      Overall, the study is very interesting with a substantial amount of behavioural analysis and in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging data, but some major (and some minor) issues have to be resolved to strengthen their conclusions.

      (1) According to neuropsychological work (Henson, Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (2009), vol. 7, pp. 1055-1063), « Priming refers to a change in behavioral response to a stimulus, following prior exposure to the same, or a related, stimulus. Examples include faster reaction times to make a decision about the stimulus, a bias to produce that stimulus when generating responses, or the more accurate identification of a degraded version of the stimulus". Or "Repetition priming refers to a change in behavioural response to a stimulus following re-exposure" (PMID: 18328508). I therefore do not think that the effects observed by the authors are really the investigation of the neural mechanisms of priming. To me, the effect they observed seems more related to sensitisation, especially for the activation of sweet-sensing neurons. For the shock effect, it could be a safety phenomenon, as in Jacob and Waddell, 2020, involving (as for sugar reward) different subsets for short-term and long-term safety.

      As noted in our response to Reviewer #1, we plan to revise our use of the term “priming” in the manuscript to more accurately interpret the behavioral phenomenon.

      (2) The author missed the paper from Thomas Preat, The Journal of Neuroscience, October 15, 1998, 18(20):8534-8538 (Decreased Odor Avoidance after Electric Shock in Drosophila Mutants Biases Learning and Memory Tests). In this paper, one of the effects observed by the authors has already been described, and the molecular requirement of memory-related genes is investigated. This paper should be mentioned and discussed.

      We thank the reviewer for bringing this important reference to our attention. We will cite the Preat (1998) paper and discuss its relevant findings in relation to our own in the revised manuscript.

      (3) Overall, the bidirectional effect they observed is interesting; however, their results are not always clear, and the use of a delta PI is sometimes misleading. The authors have mentioned that shocks induced attraction to the novel odour, while they should stick to the increase or decrease in preference/avoidance.

      The ΔPI is calculated either as (trained PI – mock PI) for different animals or as (post PI – pre PI) for the same animals, with the specific calculation clarified in each figure legend. A positive ΔPI signifies an increase in preference for the odor, which is equivalent to a relative attraction or a decrease in avoidance.

      As not all experiments are done in parallel logic, it is not always easy to understand which protocol the authors are using. For example, only optogenetics is used in the appetitive preexposure. Does exposing flies to sugar or activating reward dopaminergic neurons also increase odour avoidance? The observed increased odour avoidance after optogenetic activation of sweet-sensing neurons involve reward (e.g., decreased response) and/or punishment (e.g., increased response) to increase odour avoidance?  

      We used different behavioral assays (T-maze or arena), stimuli (real shock or optogenetics), and protocols (different or same animal groups) to robustly demonstrate the phenomenon across platforms. We explained each protocol in the figures or texts, and we’ll make them clearer to follow in the revised version. We focused on activating a clean set of sugar sensing neurons because this optogenetic stimulus is an effective and efficient substitute to real sugar. We agree that testing reward dopaminergic neuron activation is a logical extension and will consider adding these experiments in the revised work.

      The author should always statistically test the fly behavioural performances against 0 to have an idea of random choice or a clear preference toward an odour.

      Our primary focus is on the change in preference induced by training, rather than the innate odor preference itself, which can be highly variable due to physiological and environmental factors. Statistical testing against 0 for innate preference scores is not standard practice in this specific paradigm, as the critical question is whether a treatment alters behavior relative to a control.

      On the appetitive side, the internal hunger state would play an important role. The author should test it or at least discuss it.

      For appetitive experiments, we always starve the flies on 1% agar for two days prior to behavioral tests to standardize their hunger state. We will consider adding fed flies as control groups in the revised work.

      (4) The authors found a discrepancy between genetic backgrounds; sometimes the same odour can be attractive or aversive.

      We observed minor discrepancies in innate odor preferences across genetic backgrounds, which is a known and common occurrence. Different genotypes and temperatures can result in different baseline PI scores. However, the key finding is that the relative change in odor preference following an aversive stimulus is consistent: it increases the relative preference for an odor compared to air. This sometimes reverses valence (aversion to attraction) and other times simply reduces aversion. Our analysis focuses on this consistent, relative change.

      Different effects between the T-maze and the olfactory arena are found. The authors proposed that: "Punishment priming effect was still not detected, probably due to the insensitivity of the optogenetic arena". This is unclear to me, considering all prior work using this arena. The author should discuss it more clearly.

      The punishment effect with CS+ present was reliably detected in the T-maze (Figure 1A) but was not significant in the olfactory arena (Figure 2—figure supplement 1B-C). We hypothesize that the olfactory arena assay is less sensitive than the T-maze for detecting such subtle behavioral changes. This is evidenced by the fact that even classical odor-shock conditioning yields lower PI in the arena (typically ~0.4) than in the T-maze (~0.8), likely due to the greater distance flies must explore and travel. The higher variance in the arena may therefore mask more modest effects. Here the effect under investigation was induced by optogenetically activating only a small subset of aversive dopaminergic neurons, a stimulus that is likely weaker than full electric shock. This reduced stimulus strength may have contributed to the challenge of detecting a significant effect in the less sensitive arena paradigm.

      They mentioned that flies could not be conditioned with air and electric shock. However, flies could be conditioned with the context + shock, which is changing in the T-maze and not in the optogenetic area.

      While flies can be conditioned to context, during the optogenetic stimulation period in the arena, the light is delivered uniformly across all four quadrants. Therefore, any potential context conditioning would be equivalent across the entire chamber and should not bias the final distribution of flies between the odor and air quadrants during the test, nor affect the calculated PI score.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Liang et al. have conducted a small-scale pilot study focusing on the feasibility and tolerability of Low-dose chemotherapy combined with delayed immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. The design of delayed immunotherapy after chemotherapy is relatively novel, while the reduced chemotherapy, although somewhat lacking in innovation, still serves as an early clue for exploring future feasible strategies. Also, the dynamic ctDNA and TCR profiles could give some important hints of intrinsic tumor reaction.

      However, as the author mentioned in the limitation part, due to the small sample size and lack of a control group, we cannot fully understand the advantages and disadvantages of this approach compared to standard treatment. Compared to standard immunotherapy, the treatment group in this study has three differences: (1) reduced chemotherapy, (2) the use of cisplatin instead of the commonly used carboplatin in neoadjuvant therapy trials, and (3) delayed immunotherapy. Generally, in the exploration of updated treatment strategies, the design should follow the principle of "controlling variables." If there are too many differences at once, it becomes difficult to determine which variable is responsible for the effects, leading to confusion in the interpretation of the results. Moreover, the therapeutic strategy may lack practical clinical operability due to the long treatment duration.

      Furthermore, in the exploration of biomarkers, the authors emphasized the procedure of whole RNA sequencing in tumor tissues in the method section, and this was also noted in the flowchart in Figure 1. However, I didn't find any mention of RNA-related analyses in the Results section, which raises some concerns about the quality of this paper for me. If the authors have inadvertently omitted some results, they should supplement the RNA-related analyses so that I can re-evaluate the paper.

      To sum up, this article exhibited a certain degree of innovation to some extent, However, due to its intrinsic design defects and data omissions, the quality of the research warranted further improvement.

    2. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      In this single center, single arm, open label non-randomised study the authors tested the use of paclitaxel at 180-220 mg/m2 and cisplatin at 60mg/m2 in patients with squamous NSCLC and pemetrexed at 500mg/m2 and cisplatin at 60mg/m2 in adenocarcinoma of lung origin in the neoadjuvant setting. The chemotherapy appears to have been given at a relatively standard dose; though the platin dose at 60mg/m2 is somewhat lower than has been used in the checkmate 816 trial (75mg/m2/dose), this is a well-established dose for NSCLC.

      Key differences to currently approved neoadjuvant chemo-ICI treatment is that anti-PD1 antibody sintilimab (at 200mg/dose) was given on day 5 and that only 2 cycles of chemotherapy were given pre surgery, but then repeated on two occasions post surgery. Between May/2020 and Nov/2023 50 patients were screened, 38 went on to have this schedule of tx, 31 (~82%) went on to have surgery and 27 had the adjuvant treatment. The rate of surgery is entirely consistent with the checkmate 816 data.

      Question to the authors:

      It would be very helpful to understand why 7 (~18% of the population) patients did not make it to surgery and whether this is related to disease progression, toxicity or other reasons for withdrawal.

      The key clinical endpoints were pCR and mPR rates. 2/38 patients are reported to have achieved a radiological pCR but only 31 patients underwent surgery with histological verification. Supp table2 suggests that 10/31 patients achieved a pCR, 6/31 additional patients achieved a major pathological response and that 13/31 did not achieve a major pathological response

      It would be really helpful for understanding the clinical outcome to present the histopathological findings in the text in a bit more detail and to refer the outcome to the radiological findings. I note that the reference for pathological responses incorrectly is 38 patients as only 31 patients underwent surgery and were evaluated histologically.

      The treatment was very well tolerated with only 1 grade 3 AE reported. The longer term outcome will need to be assessed over time as the cohort is very 'young'. It is not clear what the adjuvant chemo-ICI treatment would add and how this extra treatment would be evaluated for benefit - if all the benefit is in the neoadjuvant treatment then the extra post-operative tx would only add toxicity

      Please consider what the two post-operative chemo-ICI cycles might add to the outcome and how the value of these cycles would be assessed. Would there be a case for a randomised assessment in the patients who have NOT achieved a mPR histologically?

      While the clinical dataset identifies that the proposed reduced chemo-ICI therapy has clinical merit and should be assessed in a randomized study, the translational work is less informative.

      The authors suggest that the treatment has a positive impact on T lymphocytes. Blood sampling was done at day 0 and day 5 of each of the four cycle of chemotherapy with an additional sample post cycle 4. The authors state that data were analysed at each stage.

      The data in Figure 3B are reported for three sets of pairs: baseline to pre day 5 in cycle 1, day 5 to day 21 in cycle 1, baseline of cycle to to day 5. It remains unclear whether the datasets contain the same top 20 clones and it would be very helpful to show kinetic change for the individual 'top 20 clones' throughout the events in individual patients; as it stands the 'top20 clones' may vary widely from timepoint to timepoint. Of note, the figures do not demonstrate that the top 20 TCR clones were 'continuously increased'.

      Instead, the data suggest that there are fluctuations in the relative distributions over time but that may simply be a reflection of shifts in T cell populations following chemotherapy rather than of immunological effects in the cancer tissue.<br /> Consistent with this the authors conclude (line 304/5): "No significant difference was observed in the diversity, evenness, and clonality of TCR clones across the whole treatment procedure" and this seems to be a more persuasive conclusion than the statement 'that a positive effect on T lymphocytes was observed' - where it is also not clear what 'positive' means.

      The text needs a more balanced representation of the data: only a small subset of four patients appear to have been evaluated to generate the data for figure 3B and only three patients (P5, P6, P7) can have contributed to figure 3C if the sample collection is represented accurately in Figure 3A.

      The text refers to flow cytometric results in SF3. However, no information is given on the flow cytometry in M&M, markers or gating strategy.

      Please consider changing the terminology of the 'phases' into something that is easier to understand. One option would be to use a reference to a more standard unit (cycle 1-4 of chemotherapy and then d0/d5/d21).

      Please make it explicit in the text that molecular analyses were undertaken for some patients only, and how many patients contribute to the data in figures 3B-F. Figure 3A suggests paired mRNA data were obtained in 2 patients (P2 and P5) but I cannot find the results on these analyses; four individual blood samples to assess TCR changes int PH1/PH2/PH3and PH4 were only available in four patients (P4,P5,P7,P9). Only three patients seem to have the right samples collected to allow the analysis for 'C3' in figure 3C.

      Please display for each of the 'top 20 clones' at any one timepoint how these clones evolve throughout the study; I expect that a clone that is 'top 20' at a given timepoint may not be among the 'top twenty' at all timepoints.

      Please also assess if the expanded clonotypes are present (and expanded) in the cancer tissue at resection, to link the effect in blood to the tumour. Given that tissue was collected for 31 patients, mRNA sequencing to generate TCR data should be possible to add to the blood analyses in the 12 patients in Figure 3A. Without this data no clear link can be made to events in the cancer.

      Please provide in M&M the missing information on the flow cytometry methodology (instrument, antibody clones, gating strategy) and what markers were used to define T cell subsets (naïve, memory, central memory, effector memory).

      The authors also describe that ctDNA reduces after chemo-ICI treatment. This is well documented in their data but ultimately irrelevant: if the cancer volume is reduced to the degree of a radiological or pathological response /complete response then the quantity of circulating DNA from the cancer cells must reduce. More interesting would be the question whether early changes predict clinical outcome and whether recurrent ct DNA elevations herald recurrence.

      Please probe whether the molecular data identify good radiological or pathological outcomes before cycle 2 is started and whether the ctDNA levels identify patients who will have a poor response and/or who relapse early.

    1. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the original reviews

      Public Reviews:

      Reviewer #1 (Public Review):

      Summary:

      Cai et al have investigated the role of msiCAT-tailed mitochondrial proteins that frequently exist in glioblastoma stem cells. Overexpression of msiCAT-tailed mitochondrial ATP synthase F1 subunit alpha (ATP5) protein increases the mitochondrial membrane potential and blocks mitochondrial permeability transition pore formation/opening. These changes in mitochondrial properties provide resistance to staurosporine (STS)-induced apoptosis in GBM cells. Therefore, msiCAT-tailing can promote cell survival and migration, while genetic and pharmacological inhibition of msiCAT-tailing can prevent the overgrowth of GBM cells.

      Strengths:

      The CAT-tailing concept has not been explored in cancer settings. Therefore, the present provides new insights for widening the therapeutic avenue. 

      Your acknowledgment of our study's pioneering elements is greatly appreciated.

      Weaknesses:

      Although the paper does have strengths in principle, the weaknesses of the paper are that these strengths are not directly demonstrated. The conclusions of this paper are mostly well-supported by data, but some aspects of image acquisition and data analysis need to be clarified and extended.

      We are grateful for your acknowledgment of our study’s innovative approach and its possible influence on cancer therapy. We sincerely appreciate your valuable feedback. In response, this updated manuscript presents substantial new findings that reinforce our central argument. Moreover, we have broadened our data analysis and interpretation, as well as refined our methodological descriptions.

      Reviewer #2 (Public Review):

      This work explores the connection between glioblastoma, mito-RQC, and msiCAT-tailing. They build upon previous work concluding that ATP5alpha is CAT-tailed and explore how CAT-tailing may affect cell physiology and sensitivity to chemotherapy. The authors conclude that when ATP5alpha is CAT-tailed, it either incorporates into the proton pump or aggregates and that these events dysregulate MPTP opening and mitochondrial membrane potential and that this regulates drug sensitivity. This work includes several intriguing and novel observations connecting cell physiology, RQC, and drug sensitivity. This is also the first time this reviewer has seen an investigation of how a CAT tail may specifically affect the function of a protein. However, some of the conclusions in this work are not well supported. This significantly weakens the work but can be addressed through further experiments or by weakening the text.

      We appreciate the recognition of our study's novelty. To address your concerns about our conclusions, we have revised the manuscript. This revision includes new data and corrections of identified issues. Our detailed responses to your specific points are outlined below.

      Recommendations for the authors:

      Reviewer #1 (Recommendations For The Authors):

      (1) In Figure 1B, please replace the high-exposure blots of ATP5 and COX with representative results. The current results are difficult to interpret clearly. Additionally, it would be helpful if the author could explain the nature of the two different bands in NEMF and ANKZF1. Did the authors also examine other RQC factors and mitochondrial ETC proteins? I'm also curious to understand why CAT-tailing is specific to C-I30, ATP5, and COX-V, and why the authors did not show the significance of COX-V.

      We appreciate your inquiry regarding the data.  Additional attempts were made using new patient-derived samples; however, these results did not improve upon the existing ATP5⍺, (NDUS3)C-I30, and COX4 signals presented in the figure.  This is possibly due to the fact that CAT-tail modified mitochondrial proteins represent only a small fraction of the total proteins in these cells.  It is acknowledged that the small tails visible above the prominent main bands are not particularly distinct. To address this, the revised version includes updated images to better illustrate the differences. We believe the assertion that GBM/GSCs possess CAT-tailed proteins is substantiated by a combination of subsequent experimental findings. The figure (refer to new Fig. 1B) serves primarily as an introduction. It is important to note that the CAT-tailed ATP5⍺ plays a vital role in modulating mitochondrial potential and glioma phenotypes, a function which has been demonstrated through subsequent experiments.

      It is acknowledged that the CAT-tail modification is not exclusive to the ATP5⍺protein.  ATP5⍺ was selected as the primary focus of this study due to its prevalence in mitochondria and its specific involvement in cancer development, as noted by Chang YW et al.  Future research will explore the possibility of CAT tails on other mitochondrial ETC proteins. Currently, NDUS3 (C-I30), ATP5⍺, and COX4 serve as examples confirming the existence of these modifications. It remains challenging to detect endogenous CAT-tailing, and bulk proteomics is not yet feasible for this purpose. COX4 is considered significant.  We hypothesize that CAT-tailed COX4 may function similarly to the previously studied C-I30 (Wu Z, et al), potentially causing substantial mitochondrial proteostasis stress.  

      Concerning RQC proteins, our blotting analysis of GBM cell lines now includes additional RQC-related factors. The primary, more prominent bands (indicated by arrowheads) are, in our assessment, the intended bands for NEMF and ANKZF1.  Subsequent blotting analyses showed only single bands for both ANKZF1 and NEMF, respectively. The additional, larger molecular weight band of NEMF, which was initially considered for property analysis (phosphorylation, ubiquitination, etc.), was not examined further as it did not appear in subsequent experiments (refer to new Fig. S1C).

      References:

      Chang YW, et al. Spatial and temporal dynamics of ATP synthase from mitochondria toward the cell surface. Communications biology. 2023;6(1).

      Wu Z, et al. MISTERMINATE Mechanistically Links Mitochondrial Dysfunction With Proteostasis Failure. Molecular cell. 2019;75(4).

      (2) In addition to Figure 1B, it would be interesting to explore CAT-tailed mETC proteins in cancer tissue samples.

      This is an excellent point, and we appreciate the question. We conducted staining for ATP5⍺ and key RQC proteins in both tumor and normal mouse tissues. Notably, ATP5⍺ in GBM exhibited a greater tendency to form clustered punctate patterns compared to normal brain tissue, and not all of it co-localized with the mitochondrial marker TOM20 (refer to new Fig. S3C-E). Crucially, we observed a significant increase in NEMF expression within mouse xenograft tumor tissues, alongside a decrease in ANKZF1 expression (refer to new Fig. S1A, B). These findings align with our observations in human samples.

      (3) Please knock down ATP5 in the patient's cells and check whether both the upper band and lower band of ATP5 have disappeared or not.

      This control was essential and has been executed now. To validate the antibody's specificity, siRNA knockdown was performed. The simultaneous elimination of both upper and lower bands upon siRNA treatment (refer to new Fig. S2A) confirms they represent genuine signals recognized by the antibody.

      (4) In Figure 1C and ID, add long exposure to spot aggregation and oligomer. Figure 1D, please add the blots where control and ATP5 are also shown in NHA and SF (similar to SVG and GSC827).

      New data are included in the revised manuscript to address the queries. Specifically, the new Fig 1D now displays the full queue as requested, featuring blots for Control, ATP5α, AT3, and AT20. Our analysis reveals that AT20 aggregates exhibit higher expression and accumulation rates in GSC and SF cells.

      Fig. 1C has been updated to include experimental groups treated with cycloheximide and sgNEMF. Our results show that sgNEMF effectively inhibits CAT-tailing in GBM cell lines, whereas cycloheximide has no impact. After consulting with the Reporter's original creator and optimizing expression conditions, we observed no significant aggregates with β-globin-non-stop protein, potentially due to the length of endogenous CAT-tail formation (as noted by Inada, 2020, in Cell Reports). Our analysis focused on the ratio of CAT-tailed (red box blots) and non-CAT-tailed proteins (green box blots). Comparing these ratios revealed that both anisomycin treatment and sgNEMF effectively hinder the CAT-tailing process, while cycloheximide has no effect.

      (5) In Figure 1E, please double-check the results with the figure legend. ATP5A aggregated should be shown endogenously. The number of aggregates shown in the bar graph is not represented in micrographs. Please replace the images. For Figure 1E, to confirm the ATP5-specific aggregates, it would be better if the authors would show endogenous immunostaining of C-130 and Cox-IV.

      Labels in Fig. 1E were corrected to reflect that the bar graph in Fig. 1F indicates the number of cells with aggregates, not the quantity of aggregates per cell. The presence of endogenous ATP5⍺ is accurately shown. To address the specificity of ATP5⍺, immunostaining for endogenous NUDS3 was conducted. This revealed NUDS3 aggregation in GBM cells (SF and GSC) lacking TOM20, as demonstrated in the new Fig. S3A, B. These findings suggest NUDS3 also undergoes CAT-tailing modification, similar to ATP5⍺.

      (6) Figure 3A. Please add representative images in the anisomycin sections. It is difficult to address the difference.

      We appreciate your feedback. Upon re-examining the Calcein fluorescence intensity data in Fig. 3A, we believe the images accurately represent the statistical variations presented in Fig. 3B. To address your concerns more effectively, please specify which signals in Fig. 3A you find potentially misleading. We are prepared to revise or substitute those images accordingly.

      (7) Figure 3D. If NEMF is overexpressed, is the CAT-tailing of ATP 5 reversed?

      Thank you. Your prediction aligns with our findings. We've added data to the revised Fig. S6A, B, which demonstrates that both NEMF overexpression and ANKZF1 knockdown lead to elevated levels of CRC. This increase, however, was not statistically significant in GSC cells. A plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that the MPTP of GSC cells is already closed, thus any additional increase in CAT-tailing activity does not result in further amplification.

      (8) Figure 3G. Why on the BN page are AT20 aggregates not the same as shown in Figure 2E?

      We appreciate your inquiry regarding the ATP5⍺ blots, specifically those in the original Fig. 3G (left) and 2E (right). Careful observation of the ATP5⍺ band placement in these figures reveals a high degree of similarity. Notably, there are aggregates present at the top, and the diffuse signals extend downwards. Given that this is a gradient polyacrylamide native PAGE, the concentration diminishes towards the top. Consequently, the non-rigid nature of the Blue Native PAGE gel may lead to slight variations in the aggregate signals; however, the overall patterns are very much alike. To mitigate potential misinterpretations, we have rearranged the blot order in the new Fig. 3M.

      (9) Figure 4D. The amount of aggregation mediated by AT20 is more compared to AT3. Why are there no such drastic effects observed between AT3 and AT20 in the Tunnel assay?

      The previous Figure 4D presents the quantification of cell migration from the experiment depicted in Figure 4C. But this is a good point. TUNEL staining results are directly influenced by mitochondrial membrane potential and the state of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTP), not by the degree of protein aggregation. Our previous experiments showed comparable effects of AT3 and AT20 on mitochondria (Fig. 2E, 3K), which aligns with the expected similar outcomes on TUNEL staining. As for its biological nature, this could be very complicated. We hope to explore it in future studies.

      (10) Figure 5C: The role of NEMF and ANKZF1 can be further clarified by conducting Annexin-PI assays using FACS. The inclusion of these additional data points will provide more robust evidence for CAT-tailing's role in cancer cells.

      In response to your suggestion, we have incorporated additional data into the revised version.

      Using the Annexin-PI kit, we labeled apoptotic cells and detected them using flow cytometry (FACS). Our findings indicate that anisomycin pretreatment, NEMF knockdown (sgNEMF), and ANZKF1 upregulation (oeANKZF1) significantly increase the rate of STS-induced apoptosis compared to the control group (refer to new Fig. S9D-G).

      (11) Figure 5F: STS is a known apoptosis inhibitor. Why it is not showing PARP cleavage?

      Also, cell death analysis would be more pronounced, if it could be shown at a later time point. What is the STS and Anisomycin at 24h or 48h time-point? Since PARP is cleaved, it would also be better if the authors could include caspase blots.

      I guess what you meant to say here is "Staurosporine is a protein kinase inhibitor that can induce apoptosis in multiple mammalian cell lines." Our study observed PARP cleavage even in GSCs, which are typically more resistant to staurosporine-induced apoptosis (C-PARP in Fig. S9B). The ratio of C-PARP to total PARP increased. We selected a 180-minute treatment duration because longer treatments with STS + anisomycin led to a late stage of apoptosis and non-specific protein degradation (e.g., at 24 or 48 hours), making PARP comparisons less meaningful. Following your suggestion, we also examined caspase 3/7 activity in GSC cells treated with DMSO, CHX, and anisomycin. We found that anisomycin treatment also activated caspases (Fig. S9A).

      (12) In Figure 5, the addition of an explanation, how CAT-tailing can induce cell death, would add more information such as BAX-BCL2 ratio, and cytochrome-c release from the mitochondria.

      Thank you for your suggestion. In this study, we state that specific CAT-tails inhibit GSC cell death/apoptosis rather than inducing it. Therefore, we do not expect that examining BAX-BCL2 and mitochondrial cytochrome c release would offer additional insights.

      (13) To confirm the STS resistance, it would be better if the author could do the experiments in the STS-resistant cell line and then perform the Anisomycin experiments.

      Thank you. We should emphasize that our data primarily originates from GSC cells. These cells already exhibit STS-resistance when compared to the control cells (Fig. S8A-C).

      (14) It would be more advantageous if the author could show ATP5 CATailed status under standard chemotherapy conditions in either cell lines or in vivo conditions.

      This is an interesting question. It's worth exploring this question; however, GSC cells exhibit strong resistance to standard chemotherapy treatments like temozolomide (TMZ).

      Additionally, we couldn't detect changes in CAT-tailed ATP5⍺ and thus did not include that data.

      (15) In vivo (cancer mouse model or cancer fly model) data will add more weight to the story.

      We appreciate your intriguing question. An effective approach would be to test the RQC pathway's function using the Drosophila Notch overexpression-induced brain tumor model. However, Khaket et al. have conducted similar studies, stating, "The RNAi of Clbn, VCP, and Listerin (Ltn), homologs of key components of the yeast RQC machinery, all attenuated NSC over-proliferation induced by Notch OE (Figs. 5A and S5A–D, G)." This data supports our theory, and we have incorporated it into the Discussion. While the mouse model more closely resembles the clinical setting, it is not covered by our current IACUC proposal. We intend to verify this hypothesis in a future study.

      Reference:

      Khaket TP, Rimal S, Wang X, Bhurtel S, Wu YC, Lu B. Ribosome stalling during c-myc translation presents actionable cancer cell vulnerability. PNAS Nexus. 2024 Aug 13;3(8):pgae321.

      Reviewer #2 (Recommendations For The Authors):

      Figure 1B, C: To demonstrate that Globin, ATP5alpha, and C-130 are CAT-tailed, it is necessary to show that the high mobility band disappears after NEMF deletion or mutagenesis of the NFACT domain of NEMF. This can be done in a cell line. The anisomycin experiment is not convincing because the intensity of the bands drops and because no control is done to show that the effects are not due to translation inhibition (e.g. cycloheximide, which inhibits translation but not CAT tailing). Establishing ATP5alpha as a bonafide RQC substrate and CAT-tailed protein is critical to the relevance of the rest of the paper.

      Thank you for suggesting this crucial control experiment.

      To confirm the observed signal is indeed a bona fide CAT-tail, it's essential to demonstrate that NEMF is necessary for the CAT-tailing process. We have incorporated data from NEMF knockdown (sgNEMF) and cycloheximide treatment into the revised manuscript. Our findings show that both sgNEMF and anisomycin treatment effectively inhibit the formation of CAT-tailing signals on the reporter protein (Fig. 1C). Similarly, NEMF knockdown in a GSC cell line also effectively eliminated CAT-tails on overexpressed ATP5⍺ (Fig. S2B).

      In general, the text should be weakened to reflect that conclusions were largely gleaned from artificial CAT tails made of AT repeats rather than endogenously CAT-tailed ATP5alpha. CAT tails could have other sequences or be made of pure alanine, as has been suggested by some studies.

      Thank you for your reminder. We have reviewed the recent studies by Khan et al. and Chang et al., and we found their analysis of CAT tail components to be highly insightful. We concur with your suggestion regarding the design of the CAT tail sequence. We aimed to design a tail that maintained stability and resisted rapid degradation, regardless of its length. In the revised version, we clarify that our conclusions are based on artificial CAT tails, specifically those composed of AT repeat sequences (p. 9). We acknowledge that the presence of other sequence components may lead to different outcomes (p. 19).

      Reference:

      Khan D, Vinayak AA, Sitron CS, Brandman O. Mechanochemical forces regulate the composition and fate of stalled nascent chains. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Oct 14:2024.08.02.606406. Chang WD, Yoon MJ, Yeo KH, Choe YJ. Threonine-rich carboxyl-terminal extension drives aggregation of stalled polypeptides. Mol Cell. 2024 Nov 21;84(22):4334-4349.e7. 

      Throughout the work (e.g. 3B, C), anisomycin effects should be compared to those with cycloheximide to observe if the effects are specific to a CAT tail inhibitor rather than a translation inhibitor.

      We agree that including cycloheximide control experiments is crucial. The revised version now incorporates new data, as depicted in Fig. S5A, B, illustrating alterations in the on/off state of MPTP following cycloheximide treatment. Furthermore, Fig. S6A, B present changes in Calcium Retention Capacity (CRC) under cycloheximide treatment. The consistency of results across these experiments, despite cycloheximide treatment, suggests that anisomycin's role is specifically as a CAT tail inhibitor, rather than a translation inhibitor.

      Line 110, it is unclear what "short-tailed ATP5" is. Do you mean ATP5alpha-AT3? If so this needs to be introduced properly. Line 132: should say "may indicate accumulation of CAT-tailed protein" rather than "imply".

      We acknowledge your points. We have clarified that the "short-tailed ATP5α" refers to ATP5α-AT3 and incorporated the requested changes into the revised manuscript.

      Figure 1C: how big are those potential CAT-tails (need to be verified as mentioned earlier)?

      They look gigantic. Include a ladder.

      In the revised Fig. 1D, molecular weight markers have been included to denote signal sizes. The aggregates in the previous Fig. 1C, also present in the control plasmid, are likely a result of signal overexposure. The CAT-tailed protein is observed just above the intended band in these blots. These aggregates have been re-presented in the updated figures, and their signal intensities quantified.

      Line 170: "indicating that GBM cells have more capability to deal with protein aggregation".

      This logic is unclear. Please explain.

      We appreciate your question and have thoroughly re-evaluated our conclusion. We offer several potential explanations for the data presented in Fig. 1D: (1) ATP5α-AT20 may demonstrate superior stability. (2) GSC (GBM) cells might lack adequate mechanisms to monitor protein accumulation. (3) GSC (GBM) cells could possess an increased adaptive capacity to the toxicity arising from protein accumulation. This discussion has been incorporated into the revised manuscript (lines 166-169).

      Line 177: how do you know the endogenous ATP5alpha forms aggregates due to CAT-tailing? Need to measure in a NEMF hypomorph.

      We understand your concern and have addressed it. Revised Fig. 3G, H demonstrates that a reduction in NEMF levels, achieved through sgNEMF in GSC cells, significantly diminishes ATP5α aggregation. This, in conjunction with the Anisomycin treatment data presented in revised Fig. 3E, F, confirms the substantial impact of the CAT-tailing process on this aggregation.

      Line 218: really need a cycloheximide or NEMF hypomorph control to show this specific to CAT-tailing.

      We have revised the manuscript to include data from sgNEMF and cycloheximide treatments, specifically Fig. 3G, H, and Fig. S5C, D, as detailed in our response above.

      Lines 249,266, Figure 5A: The mentioned experiments would benefit from controls including an extension of ATP5alpha that was not alanine and threonine, perhaps a gly-ser linker, as well as an NEMF hypomorph.

      We sincerely appreciate your insightful comments. In response, the revised manuscript now incorporates control data for ATP5α featuring a poly-glycine-serine (GS) tail. This data is specifically presented in Figs. S2E-G, S4E, S7A, D, E, and S8F, G. Our experimental findings consistently demonstrate that the overexpression of ATP5α, when modified with GS tails, had no discernible impact on protein aggregation, mitochondrial membrane potential, GSC cell mobility, or any other indicators assessed in our study.

      Figure S5A should be part of the main figures and not in the supplement.

      This has been moved to the main figure (Fig. 5C).

    1. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      This study provides some interesting observations on how different flavour e-cigarettes can affect lung immunology; however, there are numerous flaws, including a low replicate number and a lack of effective validation methods, meaning findings may not be repeated. This is a revised article but several weaknesses remain related to the analysis and interpretation of the data.

      Strengths:

      The strength of the study is the successful scRNA-seq experiment which gives some preliminary data that can be used to create new hypotheses in this area.

      Weaknesses:

      Although some text weaknesses have been addressed since resubmission, other specific weaknesses remain: The major weakness is the n-number and analysis methods. Two biological n per group is not acceptable to base any solid conclusions. Any validatory data was too little (only cell % data) and not always supporting the findings (e.g. figure 3D does not match 3B/4A). Other examples include:

      (1) There aren't enough cells to justify analysis - only 300-1500 myeloid cells per group with not many of these being neutrophils or the apparent 'Ly6G- neutrophils'

      (2) The dynamic range of RNA measurement using scRNAseq is known to be limited - how do we know whether genes are not expressed or just didn't hit detection? This links into the Ly6G negative neutrophil comments, but in general the lack of gene expression in this kind of data should be viewed with caution, especially with a low n number and few cells. The data in the entire paper is not strong enough to base any solid conclusion - it is not just the RNA-sequencing data.

      (3) There is no data supporting the presence of Ly6G negative neutrophils. In the flow cytometry only Ly6G+ cells are shown with no evidence of Ly6G negative neutrophils (assuming equal CD11b expression). There is no new data to support this claim since resubmission and the New figures 4C and D actually show there are no Ly6G negative cells - the cells that the authors deem Ly6G negative are actually positive - but the red overlay of S100A8 is so strong it blocks out the green signal - looking to the Ly6G single stains (green only) you can see that the reported S100A8+Ly6G- cells all have Ly6G (with different staining intensities).

      (4) Eosinophils are heavily involved in lung macrophage biology, but are missing from the analysis - it is highly likely the RNA-sequence picked out eosinophils as Ly6G- neutrophils rather than 'digestion issues' the authors claim

      (5) After author comments, it appears the schematic in Figure 1A is misleading and there are not n=2/group/sex but actually only n=1/group/sex (as shown in Figure 6A). Meaning the n number is even lower than the previous assumption.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      This work aims to establish cell-type specific changes in gene expression upon exposure to different flavors of commercial e-cigarette aerosols compared to control or vehicle. Kaur et al. conclude that immune cells are most affected, with the greatest dysregulation found in myeloid cells exposed to tobacco-flavored e-cigs and lymphoid cells exposed to fruit-flavored e-cigs. The up- and down-regulated genes are heavily associated with innate immune response. The authors suggest that a Ly6G-deficient subset of neutrophils is found to be increased in abundance for the treatment groups, while gene expression remains consistent, which could indicate impaired function. Increased expression of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells along with their associated markers for proliferation and cytotoxicity is thought to be a result of activation following this decline in neutrophil-mediated immune response.

      Strengths:

      - Single cell sequencing data can be very valuable in identifying potential health risks and clinical pathologies of lung conditions associated with e-cigarettes considering they are still relatively new.

      - Not many studies have been performed on cell-type specific differential gene expression following exposure to e-cig aerosols.

      - The assays performed address several factors of e-cig exposure such as metal concentration in the liquid and condensate, coil composition, cotinine/nicotine levels in serum and the product itself, cell types affected, which genes are up- or down-regulated and what pathways they control.

      - Considerations were made to ensure clinical relevance such as selecting mice whose ages corresponded with human adolescents so that data collected was relevant.

      Weaknesses:

      - The exposure period of 1 hour a day for 5 days is not representative of chronic use and this time point may be too short to see a full response in all cell types. The experimental design is not well-supported based on the literature available for similar mouse models. Clinical relevance of this short exposure remains unclear.

      - Several claims lack supporting evidence or use data that is not statistically significant. In particular, there were no statistical analyses to compare results across sex, so conclusions stating there is a sex bias for things like Ly6G+ neutrophil percentage by condition are observational.

      - Overall, the paper and its discussion are relatively surface-level and do not delve into the significance of the findings or how they fit into the bigger picture of the field. It is not clear whether this paper is intended to be used as a resource for other researchers or as an original research article.

      - The manuscript has some validation of findings but not very comprehensive.

      This paper provides a strong foundation for follow-up experiments that take a closer look at the effects of e-cig exposure on innate immunity. There is still room to elaborate on the differential gene expression within and between various cell types.

      Comments on revisions:

      The reviewers have addressed major concerns with better validation of data and improved organization of the paper. However, we still have some concerns and suggestions pertaining to the statistical analyses and justifications for experimental design.

      - We appreciate the nuance of this experimental design, and the reviewers have adequately commented on why they chose nose-only exposure over whole body exposure. However, the justification for the duration of the exposure, and the clinical relevance of a short exposure, have not been addressed in the revised manuscript.

      - The presentation of cell counts should be represented by a percentage/proportion rather than a raw number of cells. Without normalization to the total number of cells, comparisons cannot be made across groups/conditions. This comment applies to several figures.

      - We appreciate that the authors have taken the reviewers' advice to validate their findings. However, we have concerns regarding the immunofluorescent staining shown in Figure 4. If the red channel is showing a pan-neutrophil marker (S100A8) and the green channel is showing only a subset of neutrophils (LY6G+), then the green channel should have far less signal than the red channel. This expected pattern is not what is shown in the figure, with the Ly6G marker apparently showing more expression than S100A8. Additionally, the FACS data states that only 4-5% of cells are neutrophils, but the red channel co-localizes with far more than 4-5% of the DAPI stain, meaning this population is overrepresented, potentially due to background fluorescence (noise). In addition, some of the shapes in the staining pattern do not look like true neutrophils, although it is difficult to tell because there remains a lot of background staining. The authors need to verify that their S100A8 and Ly6G antibodies work and are specific to the populations they intend to target. It is possible that only the brightest spots are truly S100A8+ or Ly6G+.

      - Paraffin sections do not always yield the best immunostaining results and the images themselves are low magnification and low resolution.

      - Please change the scale bars to white so they are more visible in each channel.

      - We appreciate that this is a preliminary test used as a resource for the community, but there is interesting biology regarding immune cells that warrants DEG analysis by the authors. This computational analysis can be easily added with no additional experiments required.

    3. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the original reviews.

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors tackled the public concern about E-cigarettes among young adults by examining the lung immune environment in mice using single-cell RNA sequencing, discovering a subset of Ly6G- neutrophils with reduced IL-1 activity and increased CD8 T cells following exposure to tobaccoflavored e-cigarettes. Preliminary serum cotinine (nicotine metabolite) measurements validated the effective exposure to fruit, menthol, and tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes with air and PG:VG serving as control groups. They also highlighted the significance of metal leaching, which fluctuated over different exposure durations to flavored e-cigarettes, underscoring the inherent risks posed by these products. The scRNAseq analysis of e-cig exposure to flavors and tobacco demonstrated the most notable differences in the myeloid and lymphoid immune cell populations. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for each group and compared against the air control. Further subclustering revealed a flavor-specific rise in Ly6G- neutrophils and heightened activation of cytotoxic T cells in response to tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes. These effects varied by sex, indicating that immune changes linked to e-cig use are dependent on gender. By analyzing the expression of various genes and employing gene ontology and gene enrichment analysis, they identified key pathways involved in this immune dysregulation resulting from flavor exposure. Overall, this study affirmed that e-cigarette exposure can suppress the neutrophil-mediated immune response, subsequently enhancing T cell toxicity in the lung tissue of mice.

      Strengths:

      This study used single-cell RNA sequencing to comprehensively analyze the impact of e-cigarettes on the lung. The study pinpointed alterations in immune cell populations and identified differentially expressed genes and pathways that are disrupted following e-cigarette exposure. The manuscript is well written, the hypothesis is clear, the experiments are logically designed with proper control groups, and the data is thoroughly analyzed and presented in an easily interpretable manner. Overall, this study suggested novel mechanisms by which e-cigs impact lung immunity and created a dataset that could benefit the lung immunity field.

      Weaknesses:

      The authors included a valuable control group - the PG:VG group, since PG:VG is the foundation of the e-liquid formulation. However, most of the comparative analyses use the air group as the control. Further analysis comparing the air group to the PG:VG group, and the PG:VG group to the individual flavored e-cig groups will provide more clear insights into the true source of irritation. This is done for a few analyses but not consistently throughout the paper. Flavor-specific effects should be discussed in greater detail. For example, Figure 1E shows that the Fruit flavor group exhibits more severe histological pathology, but similar effects were not corroborated by the singlecell data.

      We thank the reviewer for this query. We agree that PG:VG group is the foundation of the e-liquid formulation and hence comparisons with this group are of significance to understand the effect of individual flavors on the cell population. Though we compared the flavored e-cig groups with PG:VG group, we did not discuss it in detail within the manuscript to avoid confusions in interpretation for this study. However, we have now included the comparisons with the PG:VG group as a Supplement File S13-S18 in our revised manuscript to facilitate proper interpretation of our omics data to interested readers.

      While we agree that flavor-specific effects might be of interest, we did not delve into exploring them in detail as the fruit flavor e-liquids have now been regulated/banned from sale in the US. Thus, from regulatory point of view, the effects of tobacco-flavored e-liquids hold most interest. Since at the time of conducting this study, fruit flavors were in the market, we have still included the data. However, studying it further was not the focus of this work.

      The characterization of Ly6g+ vs Ly6g- neutrophils is interesting and potentially very impactful. Key results like this from scRNAseq analyses should be validated by qPCR and flow cytometry.

      Also, a recent study by Ruscitti et al reported Ly6g+ macrophages in the lung which can potentially confound the cell type analysis. A more detailed marker gene and sub-population analysis of the myeloid clusters could rule out this potential confounding factor.

      We agree with the reviewer that the loss of Ly6G on neutrophils is a very interesting finding and we have designed a neutrophil specific experiment to study the impact of e-cig exposure on neutrophil maturation and function which will be discussed in subsequent work by our group. To address the concerns raised by the reviewer, we stained the lung tissue samples from air-and tobacco flavored e-cig aerosol exposed mouse lungs with Ly6G and S100A8 (universal marker for neutrophil) to see the infiltration of Ly6G+ vs Ly6G- neutrophils within the lungs of exposed and unexposed mice. Results from this study showed that exposure to tobacco-flavored e-cig aerosol affects the neutrophil population within the mouse lungs. In fact, the changes were more pronounced for female mice. The data have now been shown in Figure 4.

      Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      This study provides some interesting observations on how different flavors of e-cigarettes can affect lung immunology, however there are numerous flaws including a low number of replicates and a lack of effective validation methods which reduces the robustness and rigor of the findings.

      Strengths:

      The strength of the study is the successful scRNA-seq experiment which gives good preliminary data that can be used to create new hypotheses in this area.

      Weaknesses:

      The major weakness is the low number of replicates and the limited analysis methods. Two biological n per group is not acceptable to base any solid conclusions. Any validatory data was too little (only cell % data) and did not always support the findings (e.g. Figure 4D does not match 4C). Often n seems to be combined and only one data point is shown, it is not at all clear how the groups were analyzed and how many cells in each group were compared.

      We thank the reviewer for recognizing the strengths of this manuscript while pointing out the errors to allow us to improve our analyses. We understand that the low number of replicates in this work makes the analyses difficult to draw solid conclusions, but this was a pilot study to identify the changes in the mouse lung upon acute exposures to flavored e-cig aerosols at a single cell level. So far, the e-cig field has been primarily focused on conducting toxicological studies to help regulatory bodies to set standards and enforce laws to better regulate the manufacture, sale and distribution of e-cig products. However, adolescents and young adults are still getting access to these products, and there is little to no understanding of how this may affect the lung health upon acute and chronic exposures. Single cell technology is a powerful tool to analyze the gene expression changes within cell populations to study cell heterogeneity and function. Yet, it is a costly tool owing to which conducting such analyses on large sample sizes is not ideal. This pilot study was designed to get some initial leads for our future studies involving larger sample sizes and chronic exposures. However, due to the vast information that is provided by a single cell RNA sequencing experiment, we intend to share it with a larger audience to support research and further study in this area. We understand that the validations are limited in our current work and so we have now conducted coimmunostaining to validate the Ly6G+ and Ly6G- neutrophil population. We have now included single cell findings with the validating experiments using classical methods of experimentation including ELISA, immunostaining or flow cytometry and revamped the whole manuscript. However, it is important to mention that such validations are sometimes challenging as many of these techniques still investigate the tissue while the changes shown in single cell analyses are mainly pertaining to a single cell type. This could be well-understood by looking at the flow cytometry results for neutrophils where we use Ly6G as a marker to stain for neutrophils which is only found in mature neutrophil population.

      Only 71,725 cells mean only 7,172 per group, which is 3,586 per animal - how many of these were neutrophils, T-cells, and macrophages? This was not shown and could be too low.

      We do agree that the number of cells could be too low. To avoid this, we did not study gene expression variations at the finest level of cell identity. We classified the cell clusters into general annotations -myeloid, lymphoid, endothelial, stromal and epithelial- and identified the changes in the gene expressions. Of these, only two clusters (myeloid and lymphoid) with more than ~1000 cells per cell type per group were studied in detail. We have included the cell count information to allow better interpretation of our results in the revised manuscript. For a single cell point of view, a cell count of ~3500 each with over 20000 features (genes) has good statistical strength and merit in our opinion.

      The dynamic range of RNA measurement using scRNA seq is known to be limited - how do we know whether genes are not expressed or just didn't hit detection? This links into the Ly6G negative neutrophil comment, but in general, the lack of gene expression in this kind of data should be viewed with caution, especially with a low n number and few cells.

      This is a well-taken point, and we thank the reviewer for this comment. We agree that the dynamic range RNA measurement is limited low cell numbers that could lead to bias. However, none of the clusters with counts lower than 150 were included for differential gene analyses. To avoid confusion, we now show immunofluorescence results to validate the findings. We are certain that with the inclusion of these validation experiments, will convince the reviewer about the loss of Ly6G marker from neutrophils and lack of proper neutrophilic response in exposed mouse lungs as compared to the controls.

      There is no rigorous quantification of Ly6G+ and Ly6G- cells int he flow cytometry data.

      We understand that flow-based quantification of our scRNA seq findings would be interesting. However, flow cytometry and single cell suspension to perform sequencing were performed parallelly for this study. We used a basic flow panel using single markers to identify individual immune cell type. We did identify changes in the Ly6G population in our treated and control samples using scRNA seq and intend to exclude it as a marker for our future studies using flow cytometry. Unfortunately, the same analyses could not be performed for the current batch of samples. We have now included results from IHC staining to identify the Ly6G+ and Ly6G- population in the lung tissues from control and treated mice in revised manuscript to address some of the concerns raised here. 

      Eosinophils are heavily involved in lung biology but are missing from the analysis.

      We use RBC lysis buffer to remove the excess RBCs during lung digestion for preparation of single cell suspension for scRNA seq in this study. Reports suggest that RBC lysis could adversely affect the eosinophil number and function. We did not identify any cell cluster, representing markers for eosinophils through our scRNA seq data and we believe that our lung digestion protocol could be the reason for it. We have studied the eosinophil changes through flow cytometry in these samples and have found significant changes as well. However, due to our inability to find cell clusters for eosinophil through scRNA seq data, we did not include these results in the final manuscript previously. To avoid confusion and maintain transparency, we have now included the changes in eosinophils through flow cytometry in revised manuscript (Figure S4).

      The figures had no titles so were difficult to navigate.

      We have now revamped the figures to make it easier for the readers to navigate.

      PGVG is not defined and not introduced early enough.

      We have made the necessary changes in the revised manuscript.

      Neutrophils are not well known to proliferate, so any claims about proliferation need to be accompanied by validation such as BrdU or other proliferation assays.

      We have now removed the cell cycle scoring information from the revised manuscript. Performing BrDU assay was not possible for these tissues due to limited samples and resources. However, we may consider performing it in our future studies.

      It was not clear how statistics were chosen and why Table S2 had a good comparison (two-way ANOVA with gender as a variable) but this was not used for other data particularly when looking at more functional RNA markers (Table S2 also lacks the interaction statistic which is most useful here).

      We have now included the two-way ANOVA statistics (Supplementary File S3) for other data included in the revised manuscript. It is important to note that since we did not identify any significant changes upon two-way ANOVA, the interaction statistics were not available for the abovementioned statistical test. We have included the interaction information wherever available.

      Many statistics are only vs air control, but it would be more useful as a flavor comparison to see these vs PGVG. In some cases, the carrier PGVG looks worse than some of the flavors (which have nicotine).

      While we agree with this comment of the reviewer, comparisons with PG:VG were not included due to the low cell numbers for PG:VG samples obtained following quality control and filtering of scRNA seq analyses.  However, considering the reviewer’s question we still include the details of comparisons with PG:VG included as supplementary files S13-S18 in the revised manuscript.

      The n number is a large issue, but in Figures such as 4, 6, and 7 it could be a bigger factor. The number of significant genes identified has been determined by chance rather than any real difference, e.g. Is Il1b not identified in Fruit flavor vs air because there wasn't enough n, while in Air vs Tobacco, it randomly hit the significance mark. This is but an example of the problems with the analysis and conclusions.

      While we agree in part with the concern raised here. In our opinion, an omics study is not necessarily aimed at finding the changes at transcript level with absolute certainty, but rather to identify probable cell and gene targets to validate with subsequent work. We did not claim that our findings are absolute outcomes but rather add the limitation of sample number and need for further research at every step. The strength of this work is to be the first study of its kind looking at changes in the lung cell population at single cell level upon e-cig aerosol exposure. This study has provided us with interesting gene and cell targets that we are now validating with future work. We still strongly believe that a dataset like this is a useful resource for a wider audience.  

      The data in Figure 7A is confusing, if this is a comparison to air, then why does air vs air not equal 1? Even if this was the comparison to the average of air between males and females, then this doesn't explain why CCL12 is >1 in both. Is this z-score instead? Regardless the data is difficult to interpret in this format.

      We have now changed the format of data representation in the figure.

      Individual n was not shown for almost all experiments - e.g. Figure 1D - what is this representative of? Figure 2D - is this bulk-grouped data for all cells and all mice? The heatmaps are also pooled from 2n and don't show the variability.

      Wherever needed, the n number has been included in the Figure legend. Additionally, the n number is shown in Figure 1A. However, with respect to the second comment we would like to differ from the reviewer’s opinion. Each scRNA seq data had 2 samples – one for male and another for female which has been clearly shown in the current figures. The pooling of cells as mentioned in the comment happened at the stage of preparation of cell suspension from each sex/group at the start of the sequencing. We show the results of the pooled sample showing the variability amongst pooled samples, which we acknowledge is a shortcoming of our work. In terms of representation of the heat maps and data analyses we have included all the needed information to uphold transparency of our study design and data visualization for each figure and would like to stick to the current representations. However, validation cohort does not involve any pooling of sample and still agrees with most of the deductions made from this study. So we are confident that no over statements have been made in this work and we still provide a useful dataset to inform future research in this area.

      Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      This work aims to establish cell-type specific changes in gene expression upon exposure to different flavors of commercial e-cigarette aerosols compared to control or vehicle. Kaur et al. conclude that immune cells are most affected, with the greatest dysregulation found in myeloid cells exposed to tobacco-flavored e-cigs and lymphoid cells exposed to fruit-flavored e-cigs. The up-and-downregulated genes are heavily associated with innate immune response. The authors suggest that a Ly6G-deficient subset of neutrophils is found to be increased in abundance for the treatment groups, while gene expression remains consistent, which could indicate impaired function. Increased expression of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells along with their associated markers for proliferation and cytotoxicity is thought to be a result of activation following this decline in neutrophil-mediated immune response.

      Strengths:

      (1) Single-cell sequencing data can be very valuable in identifying potential health risks and clinical pathologies of lung conditions associated with e-cigarettes considering they are still relatively new.

      (2) Not many studies have been performed on cell-type specific differential gene expression following exposure to e-cig aerosols.

      (3) The assays performed address several factors of e-cig exposure such as metal concentration in the liquid and condensate, coil composition, cotinine/nicotine levels in serum and the product itself, cell types affected, which genes are up- or down-regulated and what pathways they control.

      (4)Considerations were made to ensure clinical relevance such as selecting mice whose ages corresponded with human adolescents so that the data collected was relevant.

      Weaknesses:

      The exposure period of 1 hour a day for 5 days is not representative of chronic use and this time point may be too short to see a full response in all cell types. The experimental design is not well-supported based on the literature available for similar mouse models.

      This study was not designed to study the effects of chronic exposures on lung tissues. We were interested in delineating the effect of acute exposures for which the proposed study design was chosen. Previous work by our group has performed similar exposures and has been well received by the community. We understand that chronic exposures will be interesting to look at, but that was beyond the scope of this pilot study. Longer / chronic exposures will be conducted considering disease modifying effects of e-cigarettes.

      Several claims lack supporting evidence or use data that is not statistically significant. In particular, there were no statistical analyses to compare results across sex, so conclusions stating there is a sex bias for things like Ly6G+ neutrophil percentage by condition are observational.

      We thank the reviewer for this observation, and we have now included the necessary validations and details of the sex-based statistical analyses in the revised version of this manuscript. 

      Statistical analyses lack rigor and are not always displayed with the most appropriate graphical representation.

      We thank the reviewer and have included all the necessary statistical details with more details in the revised manuscript.

      Overall, the paper and its discussion are relatively limited and do not delve into the significance of the findings or how they fit into the bigger picture of the field.

      As pointed out by the reviewers themselves the strength of this work is in the first ever scRNA seq analyses of mice exposed to differently flavored e-cig aerosols in vivo. We also show cellspecific differential gene expressions and address some of the major queries made around e-cig research including release of metals on a day-to-day basis from the same coil. The limited sample number makes it difficult to draw solid conclusions from this work, which has been discussed as a shortcoming. Nevertheless, the major strength of this work is not in identifying specific trends, but rather to determine the possible cell and gene targets to expand the study for longer (chronic) exposures with a larger sample group. We have mentioned the significance of the study with respect to vaping effects on cellular heterogeneity leading to deleterious effects.

      The manuscript lacks validation of findings in tissue by other methods such as staining.

      We have now included some validation experiments and revamped the revised manuscript to support scRNA seq findings.

      This paper provides a foundation for follow-up experiments that take a closer look at the effects of e-cig exposure on innate immunity. There is still room to elaborate on the differential gene expression within and between various cell types.

      We thank the reviewer for this observation. The cell numbers for some cell clusters (especially epithelial cells) were too low. So, though we have performed the differential gene expression analyses on all the cell clusters, we refrained from discussing it in the manuscript to avoid over interpretation of our results. Only clusters with high enough (> 150) cells per sex per group were used to plot the heatmaps. We have now included the cell numbers for each cell type in the revisions to allow better interpretation of our data. Furthermore, the raw data from this study will be freely available to the public upon publication of this manuscript. This would enable the interested readers to access the raw data and study the cell types of interest in detail based on their study requirements. This data will be a useful resource for all in this community to inform and design future studies. 

      Recommendation For The Author:

      Major comments

      Mouse experiments are extremely variable and an n of 2 is not enough. Because of the complexity of separating male and female mice, the analyses are not adequately powered to support conclusions. The two-way ANOVA style approach to consider sex as a separate variable was a great idea in Table S2 - but this was not used elsewhere, and there is a need to show the interaction statistic (which would say if there is a flavor effect dependent on sex).

      We thank the reviewers for this recommendation. We agree that the experiments are highly variable. However, it is not merely an outcome of a small sample size (which we address as one of the limitations). What is important to mention here is the fact that validating results from single cell technologies using regular molecular biology techniques is challenging and may not completely align. It is because we are comparing single cell population in the former and a heterogeneous cell population in latter. However, considering this comment, we have now toned down our conclusions and performed some extra experiments to validate single cell findings. We also provide the results from two-way ANOVA statistics for all the figures/experiments performed in this work. 

      More validatory data with PCR, immunostaining, and flow cytometry would be very helpful. This includes validating the neutrophil functional and phenotype data and the T-cell data by flow cytometry.

      To validate the presence of Ly6G+ and Ly6G- neutrophil population, we performed coimmunostaining experiments and proved that exposure to tobacco-flavored e-cig aerosols results in increase in cell percentages of two neutrophil population in female mice. We also re-analyzed our Flow cytometry data to align with scRNA seq results. Multiplex protein assay was another technique used to show altered innate/adaptive immune responses upon exposure to differently flavored e-cig aerosol. Of note, considering the short duration of exposure we did not identify significant changes in cell numbers or inflammatory responses. But we have now validated our scRNA seq results using various techniques to draw meaningful conclusions.

      The in vivo experimental design seems to model very short-term exposure. In the literature, including the papers cited in the references, much longer time points are used, extending from several weeks to months of exposure. There seem to be few examples of papers using 5-day exposure and those that do are inspired by traditional cigarette smoke rather than e-cig aerosols or model acute exposure by making the daily duration longer. It is important to consider the possibility that the greatest number of up- or down-regulated genes are found in immune cell populations solely because they are the first to be affected by e-cig exposure and the other cell types just do not have time to become dysregulated in 5 days.

      We thank the reviewers for this comment. We do not refute the fact that our observations of major changes in the immune cell population are due to the short duration of exposure. This was one of the first studies using single cell technologies to look at cell specific changes in the mouse lungs exposed to e-cig aerosols. However, the future experiments being conducted in our lab are using more controlled approach to mimic chronic exposures to e-cig aerosols to identify changes in other cell types and long-term effects of e-cig exposures in vivo. However, since this was not the focus of this work, we have not discussed it in detail.

      The validity of the claims pertaining to septal thickening and mean linear intercept (MLI) are questionable due to the poor lung inflation of the treatment group, which the authors acknowledge. Thus, MLI cannot be accurately used. It is contradictory to state that the fruit-flavored treatment group presented challenges with inflation but then concluded that there is a phenotype. In addition, inflation with low-melting agarose is not an ideal method because it does not use a liquid column to maintain constant pressure. For these metrics to be used and evaluated, it is imperative that all lobes are properly inflated. Therefore, these data should either be repeated or removed.

      We agree with this critique and have removed the MLI quantification from the revised manuscripts, we also do not make claims regarding much histological changes upon exposure. We suggest further work in future to get better understanding of the effect of differently flavored e-cig aerosol exposure on mouse lungs.

      What is the purpose of analyzing cell cycle scores? Why is it relevant that neutrophils are in G2M-phase? Figure 3B shows that neutrophils are clearly in both G1- and G2M-phase and this cluster includes both Ly6G+ and Ly6G- subsets, so it does not seem accurate to claim that they are in the G2M-phase of the cell cycle, nor does it reveal anything novel about Ly6G- neutrophils. Is it possible that the cell cycle score is noting a point in differentiation when neutrophils acquire/begin expressing Ly6G? Ly6G expression in neutrophils has been found to be associated with differentiation and maturation. To rule out the possibility that this is a cell state being identified, differential gene expression between the 2 neutrophil subsets should be shown in a volcano plot. It would also be useful to stain for Ly6G+/- neutrophils using either IF or RNAscope to prove they are present. If the claim is that Ly6G- neutrophils are a "unique" population, it must be established to what extent they are unique. Immune cells cluster together on UMAPs, so what if these are a different cell type entirely, like another immature myeloid lineage, and this is an artifact of clustering? This could be clarified with a trajectory analysis and further subsetting of the immune population.

      We thank the reviewers for this comment. We now realize that analyzing the cell cycle scores was not serving the intended purpose in this work. Moreover, due to the use of pooled samples for scRNA seq analyses, it may not be best to perform such downstream analyses in our datasets. We have thus removed these graphs from the revised version and have tried to simplify the conclusions of our study to the readers. 

      Our main take home from this study is the increase in number of mature (Ly6G+) and immature (Ly6G-) neutrophils in tobacco-flavored e-cig aerosol exposed mouse lungs as compared to air control. This result was validated using co-immunofluorescence in the revised manuscript (Figure 4).

      In vivo validation of findings should be included, especially for the claimed changes. As of now, this paper serves more as a dataset that could be further explored by other groups, which in itself is valuable, but it is just one single cell sequencing experiment without validation.

      We thank the reviewers for this comment. We have used multiple techniques (flow cytometry, multiplex protein assay, co-immunofluorescence) in the revised manuscript to validate the scRNA seq findings. However, this was a preliminary study which was designed to generate a small dataset for future experiments, and we do not have resources to add more validatory experiments for this study. We are currently designing chronic e-cig exposure studies to elaborate upon certain hypothesis generated through this study in future.

      Minor Comments

      There are several examples of typos or small errors in the text that would benefit from proofreading. Examples: line 51 "in the many countries including (the) United States (US), (the) United Kingdom..."; on line 54, the reference cited states that 9.4% of middle schoolers are daily users, not 9.2%; on line 55 the reference cited states that these are the most commonly used flavors, not the most preferred, which explains why the percentages do not add up to 100; line 120 "the lungs were in a collapsed state than the other groups"; line 127 "to confirm out speculations"; line 136 "PGVG" instead of the previously used "PG:VG"; line 140 "(single cell capture))"; line 999 "result in" rather than "results in" for Figure 4 title, etc.

      We thank the reviewer for this comment. The manuscript has been thoroughly proofread and edited to avoid typos and grammatical errors.

      If this is a "pilot study" (as it is stated in the introduction) it is meant to assess the validity of experimental design on a small scale to later test a hypothesis. The authors should change the phrasing.

      We have now changed the phrasing as suggested.

      The introduction lacked the necessary context and background. Some information described in the results section could be addressed in the intro. For example: What is the significance of neutrophils having a Ly6G deficiency? Why was the exposure duration of 1 hour a day for 5 days chosen? Why use nose-only exposure when many models use whole-body exposure? Why look at cell-type-specific changes?

      We have made the necessary amendments in the introduction.

      Some figure titles only address certain panels rather than summarizing the figure as a whole. For example, the title of Figure 1 only refers to panel D and is unrelated to serum cotinine levels, septa thickening, or mean linear intercept. The text discussed conclusions about septa thickening and Lm values for the fruit-flavored treatment group, so they are equally relevant to the figure compared to the metal levels.

      We have now changed the Figures and Figure legends to summarize the figure.

      significance level is not defined in Figure 1 legend although it is used in Figure 1C.

      The Figure legend has now been updated.

      Figure 1E does not include a scale bar.

      We have now included the scale bar in updated figures.

      The multiplex ELISA shown in the experimental design schematic is not further discussed in the paper. Flow cytometry plots should be displayed in addition to the data they generated.

      The flow cytometry plots have now been included (Figures 3&5) and the results for Multiplex ELISA are shown as Figure S3D and lines 327-342 of the revised manuscript.

      In Figure 1F, a multivariate ANOVA should be used so that multiple groups can be compared across sex, rather than plotting in a sex-specific manner and claiming there exists a sex bias. The small sample size also introduces an issue because a p-value cannot be generated with so few samples.

      Per the suggestions made previously, figure 1F has now been removed from the revised manuscript.

      The protocol for achieving a single-cell suspension should be detailed in the methods section. As is, it only describes the sample collection and preparation. This could help elucidate to the reader why the UMAP shows such a large abundance of immune cells.

      We have now included the protocol in the revised manuscript.

      Clarify whether PG:VG was used as a control in the scRNA sequencing in addition to air to generate the UMAP in Figure 2A.

      Yes, PG:VG was used as one of the controls which has now been illustrated as groupwise comparison in Figure 2D. We have also included the comparisons to identify DEGs in myeloid and lymphoid clusters upon comparison of various treatment groups versus PGVG (Supplementary Files S13-S18)

      A UMAP should be shown for each treatment group/flavor. The overall UMAP in Figure 1A is good, but there could be another panel with separate projections for each condition.

      A groupwise UMAP has now been included in Figure 2D.

      In Figure 2C, relative cell percentage is not a reliable method to quantify cell type and the histogram is not a great way to visualize the data or its statistical significance. These claims should also be validated in tissue.

      We thank the reviewers for this comment and have tried to validate the findings using Flow cytometry. However, we may want to add that the changes observed in single cell technologies cannot be validated using simple molecular biology techniques as the markers used to specify cell clusters in scRNA seq is too specific which was not the case for the design of flow panel in this work. Our major purpose of using cell percentages was to show the flavor-specific changes in generalized cell populations in mouse lungs. So, we have still included these graphs in the revised manuscript.

      Figure 2D could be better illustrated with a volcano plot to show which genes are being dysregulated rather than just how many. Knowing which genes are affected is more valuable than knowing just the number of genes.

      Figure 2D is no longer a part of the revised manuscript. For the other comparisons we have still used heatmaps as they also depict sex-specific changes in gene expressions, which would have been difficult to elucidate using volcano plots.

      Assuming Figure 3C is representative of all conditions, then Figures 3C and D demonstrate that Ly6G- neutrophils are present in all conditions including controls. To see whether they are truly present in different abundances between treatment and control groups, separate UMAPs of the neutrophil subsets should be made per condition or use a dot plot for Figure 3A. This also applies to Figure 3B.

      We thank the reviewers for pointing this out. We have now revamped the whole manuscript and used additional validation experiments to show the presence of Ly6G- and Ly6G+ neutrophil population upon exposure to tobacco-flavored e-cig aerosols. 

      Figure 3E shows that there is no statistically significant change in % of Ly6G+ neutrophils across treatment groups, but the text claims that there is "an increase in the levels of Ly6G+ neutrophils in lung digests from mouse lungs exposed to tobacco-flavored e-cig aerosols" (lines 207-209). The text also claims that "The observed increase was more pronounced in males as compared to females" (lines 209-210), but there was no statistical analysis across sexes to support this statement. It is clear that the change in % of Ly6G+ neutrophils is more pronounced in males than females, but it is still not statistically significant. This figure should also be repeated for analysis of Ly6G- neutrophils. Lines 272-274 mention that the % increase is higher for Ly6G- neutrophils than for Ly6G+ neutrophils, but there is not an analogous histogram to demonstrate this. The claims made in lines 275-280 are not clearly shown in any figure.

      We thank the reviewer for this query. This was an error on our part. We have now added sex-specific changes using scRNA seq, flow cytometry and co-immunofluorescence-based experiments to prove that more pronounces changes in the Ly6G+ and Ly6G- neutrophil population occurs in female mice and not males.

      Figures 4 and 6 have an overwhelming amount of heatmaps. Volcano plots with downstream analyses could be used to make some of this data more legible. The main findings should be validated in vivo/in tissue.

      We have now revamped the figures and data distribution to make the data legible and remove overwhelming amount of data from the slides.

      For Figure 5, show cell type by condition and do differential gene expression analysis displayed in a volcano plot. Then, stain tissue to validate the findings. Compare across sex during statistical analysis.

      The necessary changes have been made.

      Figure 6 error: panels E and F should be labeled as "tobacco" rather than "fruit".

      Error has now been fixed.

      Figure 7C can be placed in the supplemental materials.

      It has now been included in supplemental materials.

      The Figure 6E title should have been tobacco instead of fruit.

      This error has now been fixed.

      Line 381 mentioned the wrong subfigure. (Figure 7B instead of 7E).

      We have now made the necessary edits.

    4. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors assess the impact of E-cigarette smoke exposure on mouse lungs using single cell RNA sequencing. Air was used as control and several flavors (fruit, menthol, tobacco) were tested. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified for each group and compared against the air control. Changes in gene expression in either myeloid or lymphoid cells were identified for each flavor and the results varied by sex. The scRNAseq dataset will be of interest to the lung immunity and e-cig research communities and some of the observed effects could be important. Unfortunately, the revision did not address the reviewers' main concerns about low replicate numbers and lack of validations. The study remains preliminary and no solid conclusions could be drawn about the effects of E-cig exposure as a whole or any flavor-specific phenotypes.

      Strengths:

      The study is the first to use scRNAseq to systematically analyze the impact of e-cigarettes on the lung. The dataset will be of broad interest.

      Weaknesses:

      scRNAseq studies may have low replicate numbers due to the high cost of studies but at least 2 or 3 biological replicates for each experimental group is required to ensure rigor of the interpretation. This study had only N=1 per sex per group and some sex-dependent effects were observed. This could have been remedied by validating key observations from the study using traditional methods such as flow cytometry and qPCR, but the limited number of validation experiments did not support the conclusions of the scRNAseq analysis. An important control group (PG:VG) had extremely low cell numbers and was basically not useful. Statistical analysis is lacking in almost all figures. Overall, this is a preliminary study with some potentially interesting observations but no solid conclusions can be made from the data presented.

      (1) The only new validation experiment is the immunofluorescent staining of neutrophils in Figure 4. The images are very low resolution and low quality and it is not clear which cells are neutrophils. S100A8 (calprotectin) is highly abundant in neutrophils but not strictly neutrophil-specific. It's hard to distinguish positive cells from autofluorescence in both Ly6g and S100a8 channels. No statistical analysis in the quantification.

      (2) It is unclear what the meaning of Fig. 3A and B is, since these numbers only reflect the number of cells captured in the scRNAseq experiment and are not biologically meaningful. Flow cytometry quantification is presented as cell counts, but the percentage of cells from the CD45+ gate should be shown. No statistical analysis is shown, and flow cytometry results do not support the conclusions of scRNAseq data.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors revealed the cellular heterogeneity of companion cells (CCs) and demonstrated that the florigen gene FT is highly expressed in a specific subpopulation of these CCs in Arabidopsis. Through a thorough characterization of this subpopulation, they further identified NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR 1 (NIGT1)-like transcription factors as potential new regulators of FT. Overall, these findings are intriguing and valuable, contributing significantly to our understanding of florigen and the photoperiodic flowering pathway. However, there is still room for improvement in the quality of the data and the depth of the analysis. I have several comments that may be beneficial for the authors.

      Strengths:

      The usage of snRNA-seq to characterize the FT-expressing companion cells (CCs) is very interesting and important. Two findings are novel: 1) Expression of FT in CCs is not uniform. Only a subcluster of CCs exhibits high expression level of FT. 2) Based on consensus binding motifs enriched in this subcluster, they further identify NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR 1 (NIGT1)-like transcription factors as potential new regulators of FT.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) Title: "A florigen-expressing subpopulation of companion cells". It is a bit misleading. The conclusion here is that only a subset of companion cells exhibit high expression of FT, but this does not imply that other companion cells do not express it at all.

      (2) Data quality: Authors opted for fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting (FANS) instead of traditional cell sorting method. What is the rationale behind this decision? Readers may wonder, especially given that RNA abundance in single nuclei is generally lower than that in single cells. This concern also applies to snRNA-seq data. Specifically, the number of genes captured was quite low, with a median of only 149 genes per nucleus. Additionally, the total number of nuclei analyzed was limited (1,173 for the pFT:NTF and 3,650 for the pSUC2:NTF). These factors suggest that the quality of the snRNA-seq data presented in this study is quite low. In this context, it becomes challenging for the reviewer to accurately assess whether this will impact the subsequent conclusions of the paper. Would it be possible to repeat this experiment and get more nuclei?

      (3) Another disappointment is that the authors did not utilize reporter genes to identify the specific locations of the FT-high expressing cells (cluster 7 cells) within the CC population in vivo. Are there any discernible patterns that can be observed?

      (4) The final disappointment is that the authors only compared FT expression between the nigtQ mutants and the wild type. Does this imply that the mutant does not have a flowering time defect particularly under high nitrogen conditions?

      Comments on revisions:

      I think the authors took my comments seriously and addressed most of my concerns. Overall, I find this to be a very interesting paper.

    2. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the original reviews.

      Reviewer #1 (Public review): 

      Summary: 

      The authors revealed the cellular heterogeneity of companion cells (CCs) and demonstrated that the florigen gene FT is highly expressed in a specific subpopulation of these CCs in Arabidopsis. Through a thorough characterization of this subpopulation, they further identified NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR 1 (NIGT1)-like transcription factors as potential new regulators of FT. Overall, these findings are intriguing and valuable, contributing significantly to our understanding of florigen and the photoperiodic flowering pathway. However, there is still room for improvement in the quality of the data and the depth of the analysis. I have several comments that may be beneficial for the authors. 

      Strengths: 

      The usage of snRNA-seq to characterize the FT-expressing companion cells (CCs) is very interesting and important. Two findings are novel: 1) Expression of FT in CCs is not uniform. Only a subcluster of CCs exhibits high expression level of FT. 2) Based on consensus binding motifs enriched in this subcluster, they further identify NITRATE-INDUCIBLE GARP-TYPE TRANSCRIPTIONAL REPRESSOR 1 (NIGT1)-like transcription factors as potential new regulators of FT. 

      We are pleased to hear that reviewer 1 noted the novelty and importance of our work. As reviewer 1 mentioned, we are also excited about the identification of a subcluster of companion cells with very high FT expression. We believe that this work is an initial step to describe the molecular characteristics of these FT-expressing cells. We are also excited to share our new findings on NIGT1s as potential FT regulators. We believe this finding will attract a broader audience, as the molecular factor coordinating plant nutrition status with flowering time remains largely unknown despite its well-known phenomenon.

      Weaknesses: 

      (1) Title: "A florigen-expressing subpopulation of companion cells". It is a bit misleading. The conclusion here is that only a subset of companion cells exhibit high expression of FT, but this does not imply that other companion cells do not express it at all. 

      We agree with this comment, as it was not our intention to sound like that FT is not produced in other companion cells than the subpopulation we identified. We revised the title to more accurately reflect the point. The new title is “Companion cells with high florigen production express other small proteins and reveal a nitrogen-sensitive FT repressor.”

      (2) Data quality: Authors opted for fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting (FANS) instead of traditional cell sorting method. What is the rationale behind this decision? Readers may wonder, especially given that RNA abundance in single nuclei is generally lower than that in single cells. This concern also applies to snRNA-seq data. Specifically, the number of genes captured was quite low, with a median of only 149 genes per nucleus. Additionally, the total number of nuclei analyzed was limited (1,173 for the pFT:NTF and 3,650 for the pSUC2:NTF). These factors suggest that the quality of the snRNA-seq data presented in this study is quite low. In this context, it becomes challenging for the reviewer to accurately assess whether this will impact the subsequent conclusions of the paper. Would it be possible to repeat this experiment and get more nuclei?

      We appreciate this comment; we noticed that we did not clearly explain the rationale for using single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) instead of single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq). As reviewer 1 mentioned, RNA abundance in scRNA-seq is higher than in snRNA-seq. To conduct scRNA-seq using plant cells, protoplasting is the necessary step. However, in our study, protoplasting has many drawbacks in isolating our target cells from the phloem. First, it is technically challenging to efficiently isolate protoplasts from highly embedded phloem companion cells from plant tissues. Typically, at least several hours of enzymatic incubation are required to obtain protoplasts from companion cells (often using semi-isolated vasculatures), and the efficiency of protoplasting vasculature cells remains low. Secondly, for our analysis, restoring the time information within a day is also crucial. Therefore, we employed a more rapid isolation method. In the revision, we will explain our rationale for choosing snRNA-seq due to the technical limitations. In the revised manuscripts, we added four new sentences in the Introduction section to clearly explain these points.

      Reviewer 1 also raised a concern about the quality of our snRNA-seq data, referring to the relatively low readcounts per nucleus. Although we believe that shallow reads do not necessarily indicate low quality and are confident in the accuracy of our snRNA-seq data, as supported by the detailed follow-up experiments (e.g., imaging analysis in Fig. 4B), we agree that it is important to address this point in the revision and alleviate readers’ concerns regarding the data quality. 

      We believe the primary reason for the low readcounts per cell is the small amount of RNA present in each Arabidopsis vascular cell nucleus that we isolated. For bulk nuclei RNAseq, we collected 15,000 nuclei. However, the total RNA amount was approximately 3 ng. It indicates that each nucleus isolated contains a very limited amount of RNA (by the simple calculation, 3,000 pg / 15,000 nuclei = 0.2 pg/nucleus). It appears that the size of cells and nuclei was still small in 2-week-old seedlings; thus, each nucleus may contain lower levels of RNA. During the optimization process, we also tried to fix the tissues that we hoped to restore nuclear retained RNA, but unfortunately, in our hands, we encountered the technical issue of nuclei aggregation that hindered the sorting process, which is not suitable for single-nucleus RNA-seq.

      Reviewer 1 suggested that we repeat the same snRNA-seq experiment. We agree that having more cells increases the reliability of data. However, to our knowledge, higher cell numbers enhance the confidence of clustering, but not readcounts per cell. In our snRNAseq data, our target, FT-expressing cells, were observed in cluster 7, which projected at an obvious distance from other cell clusters. Therefore, we think that having more nuclei does not significantly help in separating high FT-expressing cluster 7 cells and different types of cells, although we may obtain more DEGs from the cluster 7 cells. Considering the costs and time required for additional snRNA-seq experiments, we think that adding more followup molecular biology experiment data would be more practical. We clearly stated the limitations of our approach in the Discussion section. “A drawback of our snRNA-seq analysis was shallow reads per nucleus. It appears mainly due to the low abundance of mRNA in nuclei from 2-week-old leaves. Based on our calculation, the average mRNA level per nucleus is approximately 0.2 pg (3,000 pg mRNA from 15,000 sorted nuclei). Future technological advance is needed to improve the data quality“

      In this revised version of the manuscript, we silenced FT gene expression using an amiRNA against FT driven by tissue-specific promoters [pROXY10, cluster 7; pSUC2, companion cells; pPIP2.6, cluster 4 (for the spatial expression pattern of PIP2.6, please see the new data shown in Fig. S8F); pGC1, guard cells]. Given that both FT and ROXY10 were highly expressed in cluster 7 of our snRNA-seq dataset, we anticipated the late flowering phenotype of pROXY10:amiRNA-ft. As we expected, pROXY10:amiR-ft but not pPIP2.6:amiR-ft lines showed delayed flowering phenotypes (Fig. S14A), supporting the validity of our snRNA-seq approach. We are also now more confident in the resolution of our snRNA-seq analysis, since cluster 4-specific PIP2.6 did not cause late flowering despite its higher basal expression than ROXY10 (Fig. S14B).

      (3) Another disappointment is that the authors did not utilize reporter genes to identify the specific locations of the FT-high expressing cells (cluster 7 cells) within the CC population in vivo. Are there any discernible patterns that can be observed? 

      In the original manuscript, as we showed only limited spatial images of overlap between FT and other cluster 7 genes in Fig. 4B, this comment is totally understandable. To respond to it, we added whole leaf images showing the spatial expression of FT and other cluster 7 genes (Fig. S12). These data indicate that cluster 7 genes including FT are expressed highly in minor veins in the distal part of the leaf but weakly in the main vein. We also added enlarged images of spatial expression of FT and cluster 7 genes (FLP1 and ROXY10) to note that those genes do not overlap completely (Fig. S13).

      In contrast to cluster 7 genes, genes highly expressed in cluster 4, such as LTP1 and MLP28, are reportedly highly expressed in the main leaf vein. To further confirm it, we established a transgenic line that expresses a GFP-fusion protein controlled by the promoter of a cluster 4-specific gene PIP2.6 (Fig. S8F). It also showed strong GFP signals in the main vein, consistent with previous observations of LTP1 and MLP28.   In summary, FT-expressing cells (cluster 7 cells) are enriched in companion cells in the minor vein, and their expression patterns show a clear distinction from genes expressed in the main vein (e.g., cluster 4-specific genes). 

      (4) The final disappointment is that the authors only compared FT expression between the nigtQ mutants and the wild type. Does this imply that the mutant does not have a flowering time defect particularly under high nitrogen conditions? 

      We agree with reviewer 1 that more experiments are required to conclude the role of NIGT1 on FT regulation, in addition to our Y1H data, flowering time data of NIGT1 overexpressors, and FT expression in NIGT1 overexpressors and nigtQ mutant.

      First, to test the direct regulation of NIGT1s on FT transcription, we conducted a transient luciferase (LUC) assay in tobacco leaves using effectors (p35S:NIGT1.2, p35S:NIGT1.4, and p35S:GFP) and reporters [pFT:LUC (FT promoter fused with LUC) and pFTm:LUC (the same FT promoter with mutations in NIGT1-binding sites fused with LUC)]. Our result showed that NIGT1.2 and NIGT1.4, but not GFP, decreased the activity of pFT:LUC but not pFTm:LUC (Fig. 5C). This indicates that NIGT1s directly repress the FT gene.

      Second, to address reviewer 1’s suggestion about the effect of of nigtQ mutation on flowering time, we have grown WT and nigtQ plants on 20 mM and 2 mM NH<sub>4</sub>NO<sub>3</sub>. Under 20 mM NH<sub>4</sub>NO<sub>3</sub>, the nigtQ line bolted at earlier days than WT; under 2 mM NH<sub>4</sub>NO<sub>3</sub>, nigtQ and WT bolted at almost same timing (Fig. S17D and E). This result suggests that the nigtQ mutation affects flowering timing depending on nitrogen nutrient status. However, leaf numbers of bolted plants were not different between WT and nigtQ lines (Fig. S17E). Therefore, it appears that nigtQ mutation also accelerated overall growth of plants rather than flowering promotion. We also have measured flowering time by counting leaf numbers of the nigtQ and WT plants at bolting on nitrogen-rich soil. The mutant generated slightly more leaves than WT when they flowered (Fig. S17G). These results suggest that the NIGT-derived fine-tuning of FT regulation is conditional on higher nitrogen conditions. 

      Minor: 

      (1) Abstract: "Our bulk nuclei RNA-seq demonstrated that FT-expressing cells in cotyledons and in true leaves differed transcriptionally.". This sentence is not informative. What exactly is the difference in FT-expressing cells between cotyledons and true leaves? 

      We modified the sentence to clarify the differences between cotyledons and true leaves. “Our bulk nuclei RNA-seq demonstrated that FT-expressing cells in cotyledons and true leaves showed differences especially in FT repressor genes.”

      (2) As a standard practice, to support the direct regulation of FT by NIGT1, the authors should provide EMSA and ChIP-seq data. Ideally, they should also generate promoter constructs with deletions or mutations in the NIGT1 binding sites. 

      To test direct interaction of NIGT1 to the FT promoter sequences, we performed the transient reporter assay using FT promoter driven luciferase reporter (Fig. 5C). NIGT1.2 and NIGT1.4 repressed the FT promoter activity; however, with NIGT1 binding site mutations, this repression was not observed, indicating that NIGT1 binds to the ciselements in the FT promoter to repress its transcription.

      (3) Sorting: Did the authors fix the samples before preparing the nuclei suspension? If not, could this be the reason the authors observed the JA-responsive clusters (Fig. 2J)? Please provide more details related to nuclei sorting in the Methods section. 

      We added a new subsection in the Materials and Methods section to explain a detail of the nuclei sorting procedure. We did not include a sample fixation step. We have tried formaldehyde fixation; however, it clumped nuclei, which was not suitable for snRNA-seq. Moreover, fixation steps generally reduce readcounts of single-cell RNA-seq according to the 10X Genomics’ guideline.

      We agree that JA responses were triggered during the FANS nuclei isolation. Therefore, we added the following sentence. “Since our FANS protocol did not include a sample fixation step to avoid clumping, these cells likely triggered wounding responses during the chopping and sorting process (Fig. S1B).  

      Reviewer #2 (Public review): 

      This manuscript submitted by Takagi et al. details the molecular characterization of the FTexpressing cell at a single-cell level. The authors examined what genes are expressed specifically in FT-expressing cells and other phloem companion cells by exploiting bulk nuclei and single-nuclei RNA-seq and transgenic analysis. The authors found the unique expression profile of FT-expressing cells at a single-cell level and identified new transcriptional repressors of FT such as NIGT1.2 and NIGT1.4. 

      Although previous researchers have known that FT is expressed in phloem companion cells, they have tended to neglect the molecular characterization of the FT-expressing phloem companion cells. To understand how FT, which is expressed in tiny amounts in phloem companion cells that make up a very small portion of the leaf, can be a key molecule in the regulation of the critical developmental step of floral transition, it is important to understand the molecular features of FT-expressing cells in detail. In this regard, this manuscript provides insight into the understanding of detailed molecular characteristics of the FT-expressing cell. This endeavor will contribute to the research field of flowering time. 

      We are grateful that reviewer 2 recognizes the importance of transcriptome profiling of FTexpressing cells at the single-cell level.

      Here are my comments on how to improve this manuscript. 

      (1) The most noble finding of this manuscript is the identification of NTGI1.2 as the upstream regulator of FT-expressing cluster 7 gene expression. The flowering phenotypes of the nigtQ mutant and the transgenic plants in which NIGT1.2 was expressed under the SUC2 gene promoter support that NIGT1.2 functions as a floral repressor upstream of the FT gene. Nevertheless, the expression patterns of NIGT1.2 genes do not appear to have much overlap with those of NIGT1.2-downstream genes in the cluster 7 (Figs S14 and F3). An explanation for this should be provided in the discussion section. 

      We agree with reviewer 2 that the spatial expression patterns of NIGT1.2 and cluster 7 genes do not overlap much, and some discussion should be provided in the manuscript. Although we do not have a concrete answer for this phenomenon, we obtained the new data showing that NIGT1.2 and NIGT1.4 directly repress the FT gene in planta (Fig. 5C).  As NIGT1.2/1.4 are negative regulators of FT, it is plausible that NIGT1.2/1.4 may suppress FT gene expression in non-cluster 7 cells to prevent the misexpression of FT. We added this point in the Results section.

      (2) To investigate gene expression in the nuclei of specific cell populations, the authors generated transgenic plants expressing a fusion gene encoding a Nuclear Targeting Fusion protein (NTF) under the control of various cell type-specific promoters. Since the public audience would not know about NTF without reading reference 16, some explanation of NTF is necessary in the manuscript. Please provide a schematic of constructs the authors used to make the transformants.

      As reviewer 2 pointed out, we lacked a clear explanation of why we used NTF in this study. NTF is the fusion protein that consists of a nuclear envelope targeting WPP domain, GFP, and a biotin acceptor peptide. It was initially designed for the INTACT (isolation of nuclei tagged in specific cell types) method, which enables us to isolate bulk nuclei from specific tissues. Although our original intention was to profile the bulk transcriptome of mRNAs that exist in nuclei of the FT-expressing cells using INTACT, we utilized our NTF transgenic lines for snRNA-seq analysis. To explain what NTF is to readers, we included a schematic diagram of NTF (Fig. S1A) and more explanation about NTF in the Results section.

      Again, we appreciate all reviewers’ careful and constructive comments. With these changes, we hope our revised manuscript is now satisfactory.

    1. Joint Public Review:

      Summary:

      Klug et al. use monosynaptic rabies tracing of inputs to D1- vs D2-SPNs in the striatum to study how separate populations of cortical neurons project to D1- and D2-SPNs. They use rabies to express ChR2, then patch D1-or D2-SPNs to measure synaptic input. They report that cortical neurons labeled as D1-SPN-projecting preferentially project to D1-SPNs over D2-SPNs. In contrast, cortical neurons labeled as D2-SPN-projecting project equally to D1- and D2-SPNs. They go on to conduct pathway-specific behavioral stimulation experiments. They compare direct optogenetic stimulation of D1- or D2-SPNs to stimulation of MCC inputs to DMS and M1 inputs to DLS. In three different behavioral assays (open field, intra-cranial self-stimulation, and a fixed ratio 8 task), they show that stimulating MCC or M1 cortical inputs to D1-SPNs is similar to D1-SPN stimulation, but that stimulating MCC or M1 cortical inputs to D2-SPNs does not recapitulate the effects of D2-SPN stimulation (presumably because both D1- and D2-SPNs are being activated by these cortical inputs).

      Strengths:

      Showing these same effects in three distinct behaviors is strong. Overall, the functional verification of the consequences of the anatomy is very nice to see. It is a good choice to patch only from mCherry-negative non-starter cells in the striatum. This study adds to our understanding of the logic of corticostriatal connections, suggesting a previously unappreciated structure.

      Editors' note:

      The concerns raised by Reviewers #1, and #2, have been addressed during the first round of revision. The specific concern raised by Reviewer #3 is about the Rabis virus-based circuit tracing itself. This version of the work has been assessed by the editors without going back to the reviewers.

    2. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the previous reviews

      Reviewer #1 (Public review): 

      Summary: 

      The study by Klug et al. investigated the pathway specificity of corticostriatal projections, focusing on two cortical regions. Using a G-deleted rabies system in D1-Cre and A2a-Cre mice to retrogradely deliver channelrhodopsin to cortical inputs, the authors found that M1 and MCC inputs to direct and indirect pathway spiny projection neurons (SPNs) are both partially segregated and asymmetrically overlapping. In general, corticostriatal inputs that target indirect pathway SPNs are likely to also target direct pathway SPNs, while inputs targeting direct pathway SPNs are less likely to also target indirect pathway SPNs. Such asymmetric overlap of corticostriatal inputs has important implications for how the cortex itself may determine striatal output. Indeed, the authors provide behavioral evidence that optogenetic activation of M1 or MCC cortical neurons that send axons to either direct or indirect pathway SPNs can have opposite effects on locomotion and different effects on action sequence execution. The conclusions of this study add to our understanding of how cortical activity may influence striatal output and offer important new clues about basal ganglia function. 

      The conceptual conclusions of the manuscript are supported by the data, but the details of the magnitude of afferent overlap and causal role of asymmetric corticostriatal inputs on some behavioral outcomes may be a bit overstated given technical limitations of the experiments. 

      For example, after virally labeling either direct pathway (D1) or indirect pathway (D2) SPNs to optogenetically tag pathway-specific cortical inputs, the authors report that a much larger number of "non-starter" D2-SPNs from D2-SPN labeled mice responded to optogenetic stimulation in slices than "non-starter" D1 SPNs from D1-SPN labeled mice did. Without knowing the relative number of D1 or D2 SPN starters used to label cortical inputs, it is difficult to interpret the exact meaning of the lower number of responsive D2-SPNs in D1 labeled mice (where only ~63% of D1-SPNs themselves respond) compared to the relatively higher number of responsive D1-SPNs (and D2-SPNs) in D2 labeled mice. While relative differences in connectivity certainly suggest that some amount of asymmetric overlap of inputs exists, differences in infection efficiency and ensuing differences in detection sensitivity in slice experiments make determining the degree of asymmetry problematic. 

      It is also unclear if retrograde labeling of D1-SPN- vs D2-SPN- targeting afferents labels the same densities of cortical neurons. This gets to the point of specificity in some of the behavioral experiments. If the target-based labeling strategies used to introduce channelrhodopsin into specific SPN afferents label significantly different numbers of cortical neurons, might the difference in the relative numbers of optogenetically activated cortical neurons itself lead to behavioral differences? 

      We thank the reviewer for the comments and for raising additional interpretations of our results. We agree that determining the relative number of D1- versus D2-SPN starter cells would allow a more accurate estimate of connectivity. However, due to current technical limitations, achieving this level of precision remains challenging. As the reviewer also noted, differences in the number of cortical neurons targeting D1- versus D2-SPNs could introduce additional complexity to the functional effects observed in the behavioral experiments. Moreover, functional heterogeneity is likely to exist not only among cortical neurons projecting to striatal D1- or D2-SPNs, but also within the striatal D1- and D2-SPN populations themselves. Addressing these questions at the single-neuron level will require more refined viral tools in combination with improved recording and manipulation techniques. Despite these limitations, our results suggest that a subpopulation of cortical neurons selectively targets striatal D1-SPNs, supporting a functional dichotomy of pathway-specific corticostriatal subcircuits in the control of behavior.   

      Reviewer #2 (Public review): 

      Summary: 

      Klug et al. use monosynaptic rabies tracing of inputs to D1- vs D2-SPNs in the striatum to study how separate populations of cortical neurons project to D1- and D2-SPNs. They use rabies to express ChR2, then patch D1-or D2-SPNs to measure synaptic input. They report that cortical neurons labeled as D1-SPN-projecting preferentially project to D1-SPNs over D2-SPNs. In contrast, cortical neurons labeled as D2-SPN-projecting project equally to D1- and D2-SPNs. They go on to conduct pathway-specific behavioral stimulation experiments. They compare direct optogenetic stimulation of D1- or D2-SPNs to stimulation of MCC inputs to DMS and M1 inputs to DLS. In three different behavioral assays (open field, intra-cranial self-stimulation, and a fixed ratio 8 task), they show that stimulating MCC or M1 cortical inputs to D1-SPNs is similar to D1-SPN stimulation, but that stimulating MCC or M1 cortical inputs to D2-SPNs does not recapitulate the effects of D2-SPN stimulation (presumably because both D1- and D2-SPNs are being activated by these cortical inputs). 

      Strengths: 

      Showing these same effects in three distinct behaviors is strong. Overall, the functional verification of the consequences of the anatomy is very nice to see. It is a good choice to patch only from mCherry-negative non-starter cells in the striatum. This study adds to our understanding of the logic of corticostriatal connections, suggesting a previously unappreciated structure. 

      Weaknesses: 

      One limitation is that all inputs to SPNs are expressing ChR2, so they cannot distinguish between different cortical subregions during patching experiments. Their results could arise because the same innervation patterns are repeated in many cortical subregions or because some subregions have preferential D1-SPN input while others do not. 

      Thank you for raising this thoughtful concern. It is indeed not feasible to restrict ChR2 expression to a specific cortical region using the first-generation rabies-ChR2 system alone. A more refined approach would involve injecting Cre-dependent TVA and RG into the striatum of D1- or A2A-Cre mice, followed by rabies-Flp infection. Subsequently, a Flp-dependent ChR2 virus could be injected into the MCC or M1 to selectively label D1- or D2-projecting cortical neurons. This strategy would allow for more precise targeting and address many of the current limitations.

      However, a significant challenge lies in the cytotoxicity associated with rabies virus infection. Neuronal health begins to deteriorate substantially around 10 days post-infection, which provides an insufficient window for robust Flp-dependent ChR2 expression. We have tested several new rabies virus variants with extended survival times (Chatterjee et al., 2018; Jin et al., 2024), but unfortunately, they did not perform effectively or suitably in the corticostriatal systems we examined.

      In our experimental design, the aim is to delineate the connectivity probabilities to D1 or D2-SPNs from cortical neurons. Our hypothesis considered includes the possibility that similar innervation patterns could occur across multiple cortical subregions, or that some subregions might show preferential input to D1-SPNs while others do not, or a combination of both scenarios. This leads us to perform a series behavior test that using optogenetic activation of the D1- or D2-projecting cortical populations to see which could be the case.

      In the cortical areas we examined, MCC and M1, during behavioral testing, there is consistency with our electrophysiological results. Specifically, when we stimulated the D1-projecting cortical neurons either in MCC or in M1, mice exhibited facilitated local motion in open field test, which is the same to the activation of D1 SPNs in the striatum along (MCC: Fig 3C & D vs. I; M1: Fig 3F & G vs. L). Conversely, stimulation of D2-projecting MCC or M1 cortical neurons resulted in behavioral effects that appeared to combine characteristics of both D1- and D2-SPNs activation in the striatum (MCC: Fig 3C & D vs. J; M1: Fig 3F & G vs. M). The similar results were observed in the ICSS test. Our interpretation of these results is that the activation of D1-projecting neurons in the cortex induces behavior changes akin to D1 neuron activation, while activation of D2-projecting neurons in the cortex leads to a combined effect of both D1 and D2 neuron activation. This suggests that at least some cortical regions, the ones we tested, follow the hypothesis we proposed.

      There are also some caveats with respect to the efficacy of rabies tracing. Although they only patch non-starter cells in the striatum, only 63% of D1-SPNs receive input from D1-SPN-projecting cortical neurons. It's hard to say whether this is "high" or "low," but one question is how far from the starter cell region they are patching. Without this spatial indication of where the cells that are being patched are relative to the starter population, it is difficult to interpret if the cells being patched are receiving cortical inputs from the same neurons that are projecting to the starter population. The authors indicate they are patching from mCherry-negative neurons within the region of the mCherry-positive neurons, but since the mCherry population will include both true starter cells and monosynaptically connected cells, this is not perfectly precise. Convergence of cortical inputs onto SPNs may vary with distance from the starter cell region quite dramatically, as other mapping studies of corticostriatal inputs have shown specialized local input regions can be defined based on cortical input patterns (Hintiryan et al., Nat Neurosci, 2016, Hunnicutt et al., eLife 2016, Peters et al., Nature, 2021). 

      This is a valid concern regarding anatomical studies. Investigating cortico-striatal connectivity at the single-cell level remains technically challenging due to current methodological limitations. At present, we rely on rabies virus-mediated trans-synaptic retrograde tracing to identify D1- or D2-projecting cortical populations. This anatomical approach is coupled with ex vivo slice electrophysiology to assess the functional connectivity between these projection-defined cortical neurons and striatal SPNs. This enables us to quantify connection ratios, for example, the proportion of D1-projecting cortical neurons that functionally synapse onto non-starter D1-SPNs.

      To ensure the robustness of our conclusions, it is essential that both the starter cells and the recorded non-starter SPNs receive comparable topographical input from the cortex and other brain regions. Therefore, we carefully designed our experiments so that all recorded cells were located within the injection site, were mCherry-negative (i.e., non-starter cells), and were surrounded by ChR2-mCherry-positive neurons. This configuration ensured that the distance between recorded and starter cells did not exceed 100 µm, maintaining close anatomical proximity and thereby preserving the likelihood of shared cortical innervation within the examined circuitry.

      These methodological details are also described in the section on ex vivo brain slice electrophysiology, specifically in the Methods section, lines 453–459:

      “D1-SPNs (eGFP-positive in D1-eGFP mice, or eGFP-negative in D2-eGFP mice) or D2-SPNs (eGFP-positive in D2-eGFP mice, or eGFP-negative in D1-eGFP mice) that were ChR2-mCherry-negative, but in the injection site and surrounded by cells expressing ChR2-mCherry were targeted for recording. This configuration ensured that the distance between recorded and starter cells did not exceed 100 µm, maintaining close anatomical proximity and thereby preserving the likelihood of shared cortical innervation within the examined circuitry.”

      This experimental strategy was implemented to control for potential spatial biases and to enhance the interpretability of our connectivity measurements.

      A caveat for the optogenetic behavioral experiments is that these optogenetic experiments did not include fluorophore-only controls, although a different control (with light delivered in M1) is provided in Supplementary Figure 3. Another point of confusion is that other studies (Cui et al, J Neurosci, 2021) have reported that stimulation of D1-SPNs in DLS inhibits rather than promotes movement. This study may have given different results due to subtly different experimental parameters, including fiber optic placement and NA.

      We appreciate the reviewer’s thoughtful evaluation and comments. We have added a short discussion of Cui et al.’s study on optogenetic stimulation of D1-SPNs in the DLS (lines 341-343), which reports findings that contrast with ours and those of other studies.

      Reviewer #3 (Public review): 

      Review of resubmission: The authors provided a response to the reviews from myself and other reviewers. While some points were made satisfactorily, particularly in clarification of the innervation of cortex to striatum and the effects of input stimulation, many of my points remain unaddressed. In several cases, the authors chose to explain their rationale rather than address the issues at hand. A number of these issues (in fact, the majority) could be addressed simply by toning done the confidence in conclusions, so it was disappointing to see that the authors by and large did not do this. I repeat my concerns below and note whether I find them to have been satisfactorily addressed or not. 

      In the manuscript by Klug and colleagues, the investigators use a rabies virus-based methodology to explore potential differences in connectivity from cortical inputs to the dorsal striatum. They report that the connectivity from cortical inputs onto D1 and D2 MSNs differs in terms of their projections onto the opposing cell type, and use these data to infer that there are differences in cross-talk between cortical cells that project to D1 vs. D2 MSNs. Overall, this manuscript adds to the overall body of work indicating that there are differential functions of different striatal pathways which likely arise at least in part by differences in connectivity that have been difficult to resolve due to difficulty in isolating pathways within striatal connectivity, and several interesting and provocative observations were reported. Several different methodologies are used, with partially convergent results, to support their main points. 

      However, I have significant technical concerns about the manuscript as presented that make it difficult for me to interpret the results of the experiments. My comments are below. 

      Major: 

      There is generally a large caveat to the rabies studies performed here, which is that both TVA and the ChR2-expressing rabies virus have the same fluorophore. It is thus essentially impossible to determine how many starter cells there are, what the efficiency of tracing is, and which part of the striatum is being sampled in any given experiment. This is a major caveat given the spatial topography of the cortico-striatal projections. Furthermore, the authors make a point in the introduction about previous studies not having explored absolute numbers of inputs, yet this is not at all controlled in this study. It could be that their rabies virus simply replicates better in D1-MSNs than D2-MSNs. No quantifications are done, and these possibilities do not appear to have been considered. Without a greater standardization of the rabies experiments across conditions, it is difficult to interpret the results. 

      This is still an issue. The authors point out why they chose various vectors. I can understand why the authors chose the fluorophores etc. that they did, yet the issues I raised previously are still valid. The discussion should mention that this is a potential issue. It does not necessarily invalidate results, but it is an issue. Furthermore, it is possible (in all systems) that rabies replicates better/more efficiently in some cells than others. This is one possible interpretation that has not really been explored in any study. I don't suggest the authors attempt to do that, but it should be raised as a potential interpretation. If the rabies results could mean several different things, the authors owe it to the readership to state all possible interpretations of data.

      We thank the reviewer for the comments and suggestions. Because the same fluorophore (mCherry) was used in both TVA- and ChR2-expressing viruses, it was not possible to distinguish true starter SPNs from TVA-only SPNs or monosynaptically labeled SPNs. This limitation makes it difficult to precisely assess the efficiency of rabies labeling and retrograde tracing in our experimental setup. Moreover, differences in rabies replication efficiency between D1- and D2-SPNs could potentially lead to an apparent lower connection probability from D1-projecting cortical neurons to D2-SPNs than from D2-projecting cortical neurons to D1-SPNs. We have added this clarification to the Discussion (lines 280-297).

      The authors claim using a few current clamp optical stimulation experiments that the cortical cells are healthy, but this result was far from comprehensive. For example, membrane resistance, capacitance, general excitability curves, etc are not reported. In Figure S2, some of the conditions look quite different (e.g., S2B, input D2-record D2, the method used yields quite different results that the authors write off as not different). Furthermore, these experiments do not consider the likely sickness and death that occurs in starter cells, as has been reported elsewhere. Health of cells in the circuit is overall a substantial concern that alone could invalidate a large portion, if not all, of the behavioral results. This is a major confound given those neurons are thought to play critical roles in the behaviors being studied. This is a major reason why first-generation rabies viruses have not been used in combination with behavior, but this significant caveat does not appear to have been considered, and controls e.g., uninfected animals, infected with AAV helpers, etc, were not included. 

      This issue remains unaddressed. I did not request clarity about experimental design, but rather, raised issues about the potential effects of toxicity. I believe this to be a valid concern that needs to be discussed in the manuscript, especially given what look visually like potential differences in S2. 

      We understand and appreciate the reviewer’s concern regarding the potential cytotoxicity of rabies virus infection. Although we performed the in vivo optogenetic behavioral experiments during a period when rabies-infected cells are generally considered relatively healthy, some deficits in starter cells may still occur and could contribute to the observed effects of optogenetic cortical stimulation. We have added this clarification to the Discussion (lines 298-306).

      The overall purity (e.g., EnvA pseudotyping efficiency) of the RABV prep is not shown. If there was a virus that was not well EnvA-pseudotyped and thus could directly infect cortical (or other) inputs, it would degrade specificity. This issue has not been addressed. Viral strain is irrelevant. The quality of the specific preparations used is what matters.

      While most of the study focuses on the cortical inputs, in slice recordings, inputs from the thalamus are not considered, yet likely contribute to the observed results. Related to this, in in vivo optogenetic experiments, technically, if the thalamic or other inputs to the dorsal striatum project to the cortex, their method will not only target cortical neurons but also terminals of other excitatory inputs. If this cannot be ruled it, stating that the authors are able to selectively activate the cortical inputs to one or the other population should be toned down. 

      The authors added text to the discussion to address this point. While it largely does what is intended, based on the one study cited, I disagree with the authors' conclusions that it is "clear" that potential contamination from other sites does not play a role. The simplest interpretation is the one the authors state, and there is some supporting evidence to back up that assertion, but to me that falls short of making the point "clear" that there are no other interpretations. 

      The statements about specificity of connectivity are not well founded. It may be that in the specific case where they are assessing outside of the area of injections, their conclusions may hold (e.g., excitatory inputs onto D2s have more inputs onto D1s than vice versa). However, how this relates to the actual site of injection is not clear. At face value, if such a connectivity exists, it would suggest that D1-MSNs receive substantially more overall excitatory inputs than D2s. It is thus possible that this observation would not hold over other spatial intervals. This was not explored and thus the conclusions are over-generalized. e.g., the distance from the area of red cells in the striatum to recordings was not quantified, what constituted a high level of cortical labeling was not quantified, etc. Without more rigorous quantification of what was being done, it is difficult to interpret the results. 

      Again, the goal here would be to make a statement about this in the discussion to clarify limitations of the study. I don't expect the authors to re-do all of these experiments, but since they are discussing the corticostriatal circuits, which have multiple subdomains, this remains a relevant point. It has not been addressed. 

      The results in Figure 3 are not well controlled. The authors show contrasting effects of optogenetic stimulation of D1-MSNs and D2-MSNs in the DMS and DLS, results which are largely consistent with the canon of basal ganglia function. However, when stimulating cortical inputs, stimulating the inputs from D1-MSNs gives the expected results (increased locomotion) while stimulating putative inputs to D2-MSNs had no effect. This is not the same as showing a decrease in locomotion - showing no effect here is not possible to interpret. 

      I think that the caveat of showing no clear effects of inputs to D2 stimulation should be pointed out. Yes, I understand that the viruses appeared to express etc., but again it remains possible that the results are driven by a lack of e.g., sufficient ChR2 expression. Aside from a full quantification of the number of cells expressing ChR2, overlap in fiber placement and ChR2 expression (which I don't suggest), this remains a possibility and should be pointed out, as it remains a possibility. 

      In the light of their circuit model, the result showing that inputs to D2-MSNs drive ICSS is confusing. How can the authors account for the fact that these cells are not locomotor-activating, stimulation of their putative downstream cells (D2-MSNs) does not drive ICSS, yet the cortical inputs drive ICSS? Is the idea that these inputs somehow also drive D1s? If this is the case, how do D2s get activated, if all of the cortical inputs tested net activate D1s and not D2s? Same with the results in Figure 4 - the inputs and putative downstream cells do not have the same effects. Given potential caveats of differences in viral efficiency, spatial location of injections, and cellular toxicity, I cannot interpret these experiments. 

      The explanation the authors provide in their rebuttal makes sense, however this should be included in the discussion of the manuscript, as it is interesting and relevant. 

      We thank the reviewer for the valuable comments and suggestions. In line with the reviewer’s recommendation, we have incorporated these explanations into the Discussion (lines 242–279) to help interpret the complex behavioral outcomes of optogenetic stimulation of cortical neurons projecting to D1- or D2-SPNs.

      Reviewer #2 (Recommendations for the authors): 

      I appreciate the authors' responses, which helped clarify some experimental choices. I appreciate that the experiment in Fig S3 serves as a reasonable light control for optogenetics experiments. The careful comparison with methods in Cui et al (2021) is useful, although not added to the main manuscript. Some of the other citations here don't really address the controversy, e.g. Kravitz at al is in DMS, but perhaps fully addressing this issue is outside the scope of the current manuscript and awaits further experiments. I also appreciate the clarification for recording locations that "This configuration ensured that the distance between recorded and starter cells did not exceed 100 µm, maintaining close anatomical proximity and thereby preserving the likelihood of shared cortical innervation within the examined circuitry." However, the statement in the reviewer response does not seem to be added to the manuscript's methods, which I think would be helpful. The criteria for choosing recorded cells are still a bit fuzzy without a map of recording locations and histology. There is also a problem that mCherry-positive cells could be starter cells or could be monosynaptically traced cells, so it is hard to know the area of the starter cell population in these experiments for sure. My evaluation of the manuscript remains largely the same as the original. However, I have adjusted my public review a bit to incorporate the authors' responses. I still think this paper has valuable information, suggesting an interesting and previously unappreciated structure of corticostriatal inputs that I hope this group and others will continue to investigate and incorporate into models of basal ganglia function.

      We thank the reviewer for the valuable suggestions. We have now included a comparison with Cui et al. in the Discussion. In addition, we have added the criteria for selecting recorded cells to the Methods section: ‘This configuration ensured that the distance between recorded and starter cells did not exceed 100 µm, maintaining close anatomical proximity and thereby preserving the likelihood of shared cortical innervation within the examined circuitry.’

    1. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      This paper introduces the Avian Vocalization Network (AVN), a novel birdsong analysis pipeline using deep learning. By automating vocal annotation tasks, the AVN generates interpretable song features and song similarity scores on novel datasets without retraining. The performance of the network is solid and is comparable to that of human annotators.

      The authors have improved the manuscript in several aspects, such as the comparison with the Goffinet work. Overall, the AVN feature set could become a useful tool for evaluating birdsongs. But the authors also chose not to address a certain number of criticisms, and some issues remain poorly addressed, and the work is not reproducible at this stage. With a little effort, these issues could get resolved in my view. I will just pick on four issues that I think can be easily addressed:

      (1) Limitation of feature set: They claim that AVN satisfies the criteria (line 60) of "creating a common feature space for the comparison of behavioural phenotypes ..."(line 51), but then on LDA analysis, explained on line 910 they say "excluding amplitude and amplitude modulation features as they were found to vary". Since their feature set is not stable and not truly 'common' to all tasks, this limitation needs addressing in the discussion (that some features seem to vary undesirably, and they need exclusion based on some criteria to be defined).

      (2) Missing information on classification training loss: The Authors insist that their triplet loss is not related to classification, and they brush off my request for more information. In their rebuttal, they write: 'The loss function is related to the relative distance between embeddings of syllables with the same or different labels, not the classification of syllables as same or different.' Perplexingly, however, in the revised paper, authors speak themselves of 'classes', in Line 1004: this allows the model to begin learning an easier task, of separating syllables of different classes by a smaller margin.' So it seems the authors actually agree with me that there is an underlying classification task. I am therefore going to make it a bit more explicit here what I'm asking for, hoping this will better resonate with them.

      In line 984 they define their loss function and in lines 994-996 they define 'hard' and 'semi-hard' triplets. Authors then train a system to minimize the loss with a ratio of 75 percent semi-hard triplets and 25 percent hard triplets and a final weighing parameter value alpha=0.7. What I'm asking for is this 'classification' loss their trained model achieves, or in other words, the fraction of triplets that end up producing a loss, either of the 'hard' or 'semi-hard' type. For example, if their model manages to separate all 'possible triplets' by a margin of at least alpha, then the loss would be zero. If the model achieves to separate all triplets except one, then the loss would correspond to the amount by which the separation differences between the anchor and the positive vs negative samples exceeds alpha. So, an important number to provide in the paper is the fraction of triplets that incur a nonzero loss, i.e., the fraction of semi-hard triplets. And another important quantity is the fraction of hard triplets, i.e. the fraction of triplets that would incur a loss if alpha were set to zero, or, in other words, the triplets for which the negative sample is closer to the anchor than the positive sample. By the way, I assume this latter fraction of hard cases will be zero - that their model does not confuse any positive and negative training samples...<br /> Note: the quantification chosen by the authors termed 'contrast index' is interesting, but it is a derived quantity, it is not the quantity authors chose to optimize during training. If authors were to report both the training loss achieved and the 'contrast index', follow-up work could be benchmarked against both these quantities. If for example, a follow-up model achieves smaller loss but worse contrast, then the loss is not a good placeholder measure for optimizing contrast. Alternatively, follow-up work could focus on the contrast index as training objective, obliterating the need for the triplet loss as an intermediate step (I don't buy the authors' argument that such an optimization would be infeasible).

      (3) Reproducibility: they explain the way they train the CNN with triplet loss to produce the embeddings, but we're missing both actual scripts on GitHub to train and inference from scratch, and model weights, or even hyper parameters they used. Authors only provide the architecture, and I don't think that's enough to be considered replicable in today's standards. I would suggest they release complete model checkpoint weights for the result they report, the exact data splits, the hyper parameters they used and training and testing code, so that one can very easily verify their claims and apply their methods to other datasets. Note: for example, the code to extract the embeddings is incomplete (the function definition of single_bird_extract_embeddings cannot be found on GitHub) and the model weights they used are missing.

      (4) With regards to the age prediction model, the authors should specify that this model is mainly useful for comparisons across studies but less so for precise evaluation of the effects of a treatment within a study. Namely, the effect on song of a treatment is best assessed by comparison to within-subject past song, and by comparison to age-matched control birds (ideally siblings) raised in identical conditions, rather than to invoke a generic model trained on other birds and from different colonies and breeding conditions as authors propose to do. In other words, to introduce a generic model for evaluation of song maturity introduces measurement noise in terms of the additional birds and their variable conditions, which can hinder precise assessment of treatment effects. Note that to state that in past work such maturity models were used is not a good justification, scientifically speaking.

      Finally, the authors write that methods for syllable segmentation have not been systematically compared but the whisperseg work they use did such a comparison. So the authors should revise their novelty claim of being the first to compare syllable segmentation methods.

    2. Author Response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the original reviews.

      Reviewer #1 (Public Review):

      Summary: 

      This paper applies methods for segmentation, annotation, and visualization of acoustic analysis to zebra finch song. The paper shows that these methods can be used to predict the stage of song development and to quantify acoustic similarity. The methods are solid and are likely to provide a useful tool for scientists aiming to label large datasets of zebra finch vocalizations. The paper has two main parts: 1) establishing a pipeline/ package for analyzing zebra finch birdsong and 2) a method for measuring song imitation. 

      Strengths: 

      It is useful to see existing methods for syllable segmentation compared to new datasets.

      It is useful, but not surprising, that these methods can be used to predict developmental stage, which is strongly associated with syllable temporal structure.

      It is useful to confirm that these methods can identify abnormalities in deafened and isolated songs. 

      Weaknesses: 

      For the first part, the implementation seems to be a wrapper on existing techniques. For instance, the first section talks about syllable segmentation; they made a comparison between whisperseg (Gu et al, 2024), tweetynet (Cohen et al, 2022), and amplitude thresholding. They found that whisperseg performed the best, and they included it in the pipeline. They then used whisperseg to analyze syllable duration distributions and rhythm of birds of different ages and confirmed past findings on this developmental process (e.g. Aronov et al, 2011). Next, based on the segmentation, they assign labels by performing UMAP and HDBScan on the spectrogram (nothing new; that's what people have been doing). Then, based on the labels, they claimed they developed a 'new' visualization - syntax raster ( line 180 ). That was done by Sainburg et. al. 2020 in Figure 12E and also in Cohen et al, 2020 - so the claim to have developed 'a new song syntax visualization' is confusing. The rest of the paper is about analyzing the finch data based on AVN features (which are essentially acoustic features already in the classic literature). 

      First, we would like to thank this reviewer for their kind comments and feedback on this manuscript. It is true that many of the components of this song analysis pipeline are not entirely novel in isolation. Our real contribution here is bringing them together in a way that allows other researchers to seamlessly apply automated syllable segmentation, clustering, and downstream analyses to their data. That said, our approach to training TweetyNet for syllable segmentation is novel. We trained TweetyNet to recognize vocalizations vs. silence across multiple birds, such that it can generalize to new individual birds, whereas Tweetynet had only ever been used to annotate song syllables from birds included in its training set previously. Our validation of TweetyNet and WhisperSeg in combination with UMAP and HDBSCAN clustering is also novel, providing valuable information about how these systems interact, and how reliable the completely automatically generated labels are for downstream analysis. We have added a couple sentences to the introduction to emphasize the novelty of this approach and validation.

      Our syntax raster visualization does resemble Figure 12E in Sainburg et al. 2020, however it differs in a few important ways, which we believe warrant its consideration as a novel visualization method. First, Sainburg et al. represent the labels across bouts in real time; their position along the x axis reflects the time at which each syllable is produced relative to the start of the bout. By contrast, our visualization considers only the index of syllables within a bout (ie. First syllable vs. second syllable etc) without consideration of the true durations of each syllable or the silent gaps between them. This makes it much easier to detect syntax patterns across bouts, as the added variability of syllable timing is removed. Considering only the sequence of syllables rather than their timing also allows us to more easily align bouts according to the first syllable of a motif, further emphasizing the presence or absence of repeating syllable sequences without interference from the more variable introductory notes at the start of a motif. Finally, instead of plotting all bouts in the order in which they were produced, our visualization orders bouts such that bouts with the same sequence of syllables will be plotted together, which again serves to emphasize the most common syllable sequences that the bird produces. These additional processing steps mean that our syntax raster plot has much starker contrast between birds with stereotyped syntax and birds with more variable syntax, as compared to the more minimally processed visualization in Sainburg et al. 2020. There doesn’t appear to be any similar visualizations in Cohen et al. 2020. 

      The second part may be something new, but there are opportunities to improve the benchmarking. It is about the pupil-tutor imitation analysis. They introduce a convolutional neural network that takes triplets as an input (each tripled is essentially 3 images stacked together such that you have (anchor, positive, negative), Anchor is a reference spectrogram from, say finch A; positive means a different spectrogram with the same label as anchor from finch A, and negative means a spectrogram not related to A or different syllable label from A. The network is then trained to produce a low-dimensional embedding by ensuring the embedding distance between anchor and positive is less than anchor and negative by a certain margin. Based on the embedding, they then made use of earth mover distance to quantify the similarity in the syllable distribution among finches. They then compared their approach performance with that of sound analysis pro (SAP) and a variant of SAP. A more natural comparison, which they didn't include, is with the VAE approach by Goffinet et al. In this paper (https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.67855, Fig 7), they also attempted to perform an analysis on the tutor pupil song.  

      We thank the reviewer for this suggestion. We have included a comparison of our triplet loss embedding model to the VAE model proposed in Goffinet et al. 2021. We also included comparisons of similarity scoring using each of these embedding models combined with either earth mover’s distance (EMD) or maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) to calculate the similarity of the embeddings, as was done in Goffinet et al. 2021. As discussed in the updated results section of the paper and shown in the new Figure 6–figure supplement 1, the Triplet loss model with MMD performs best for evaluating song learning on new birds, not included in model training. We’ve updated the main text of the paper to reflect this switch from EMD to MMD for the primary similarity scoring approach.

      Reviewer #2 (Public Review):

      Summary: 

      In this work, the authors present a new Python software package, Avian Vocalization Network (AVN) aimed at facilitating the analysis of birdsong, especially the song of the zebra finch, the most common songbird model in neuroscience. The package handles some of the most common (and some more advanced) song analyses, including segmentation, syllable classification, featurization of song, calculation of tutor-pupil similarity, and age prediction, with a view toward making the entire process friendlier to experimentalists working in the field.

      For many years, Sound Analysis Pro has served as a standard in the songbird field, the first package to extensively automate songbird analysis and facilitate the computation of acoustic features that have helped define the field. More recently, the increasing popularity of Python as a language, along with the emergence of new machine learning methods, has resulted in a number of new software tools, including the vocalpy ecosystem for audio processing, TweetyNet (for segmentation), t-SNE and UMAP (for visualization), and autoencoder-based approaches for embedding.

      Strengths: 

      The AVN package overlaps several of these earlier efforts, albeit with a focus on more traditional featurization that many experimentalists may find more interpretable than deep learning-based approaches. Among the strengths of the paper are its clarity in explaining the several analyses it facilitates, along with high-quality experiments across multiple public datasets collected from different research groups. As a software package, it is open source, installable via the pip Python package manager, and features high-quality documentation, as well as tutorials. For experimentalists who wish to replicate any of the analyses from the paper, the package is likely to be a useful time saver.

      Weaknesses: 

      I think the potential limitations of the work are predominantly on the software end, with one or two quibbles about the methods.

      First, the software: it's important to note that the package is trying to do many things, of which it is likely to do several well and few comprehensively. Rather than a package that presents a number of new analyses or a new analysis framework, it is more a codification of recipes, some of which are reimplementations of existing work (SAP features), some of which are essentially wrappers around other work (interfacing with WhisperSeg segmentations), and some of which are new (similarity scoring). All of this has value, but in my estimation, it has less value as part of a standalone package and potentially much more as part of an ecosystem like vocalpy that is undergoing continuous development and has long-term support. 

      We appreciate this reviewer’s comments and concerns about the structure of the AVN package and its long-term maintenance. We have considered incorporating AVN into the VocalPy ecosystem but have chosen not to for a few key reasons. (1) AVN was designed with ease of use for experimenters with limited coding experience top of mind. VocalPy provides excellent resources for researchers with some familiarity with object-oriented programming to manage and analyze their datasets; however, we believe it may be challenging for users without such experience to adopt VocalPy quickly. AVN’s ‘recipe’ approach, as you put it, is very easily accessible to new users, and allows users with intermediate coding experience to easily navigate the source code to gain a deeper understanding of the methodology. AVN also consistently outputs processed data in familiar formats (tables in .csv files which can be opened in excel), in an effort to make it more accessible to new users, something which would be challenging to reconcile with VocalPy’s emphasis on their `dataset`classes. (2) AVN and VocalPy differ in their underlying goals and philosophies when it comes to flexibility vs. standardization of analysis pipelines. VocalPy is designed to facilitate mixing-and-matching of different spectrogram generation, segmentation, annotation etc. approaches, so that researchers can design and implement their own custom analysis pipelines. This flexibility is useful in many cases. For instance, it could allow researchers who have very different noise filtering and annotation needs, like those working with field recordings versus acoustic chamber recordings, to analyze their data using this platform. However, when it comes to comparisons across zebra finch research labs, this flexibility comes at the expense of direct comparison and integration of song features across research groups. This is the context in which AVN is most useful. It presents a single approach to song segmentation, labeling, and featurization that has been shown to generalize well across research groups, and which allows direct comparisons of the resulting features. AVN’s single, extensively validated, standard pipeline approach is fundamentally incompatible with VocalPy’s emphasis on flexibility. We are excited to see how VocalPy continues to evolve in the future, and recognize the value that both AVN and VocalPy bring to the songbird research community, each with their own distinct strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases. 

      While the code is well-documented, including web-based documentation for both the core package and the GUI, the latter is available only on Windows, which might limit the scope of adoption. 

      We thank the reviewer for their kind words about AVN’s documentation. We recognize that the GUI’s exclusive availability on Windows is a limitation, and we would be happy to collaborate with other researchers and developers in the future to build a Mac compatible version, should the demand present itself. That said, the python package works on all operating systems, so non-Windows users still have the ability to use AVN that way.

      That is to say, whether AVN is adopted by the field in the medium term will have much more to do with the quality of its maintenance and responsiveness to users than any particular feature, but I believe that many of the analysis recipes that the authors have carefully worked out may find their way into other code and workflows. 

      Second, two notes about new analysis approaches:

      (1) The authors propose a new means of measuring tutor-pupil similarity based on first learning a latent space of syllables via a self-supervised learning (SSL) scheme and then using the earth mover's distance (EMD) to calculate transport costs between the distributions of tutors' and pupils' syllables. While to my knowledge this exact method has not previously been proposed in birdsong, I suspect it is unlikely to differ substantially from the approach of autoencoding followed by MMD used in the Goffinet et al. paper. That is, SSL, like the autoencoder, is a latent space learning approach, and EMD, like MMD, is an integral probability metric that measures discrepancies between two distributions. (Indeed, the two are very closely related: https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/400180/earth-movers-distance-andmaximum-mean-discrepency.) Without further experiments, it is hard to tell whether these two approaches differ meaningfully. Likewise, while the authors have trained on a large corpus of syllables to define their latent space in a way that generalizes to new birds, it is unclear why such an approach would not work with other latent space learning methods.  

      We recognize the similarities between these approaches and have included comparisons of the VAE and MMD as in the Goffinet paper to our triplet loss model and EMD.  As discussed in the updated results section of the paper and shown in the new Figure 6–figure supplement 1, the Triplet loss model with MMD performs best for evaluating song learning on new birds, not included in model training. We’ve updated the main text of the paper to reflect this switch from EMD to MMD for the primary similarity scoring approach. 

      (2) The authors propose a new method for maturity scoring by training a model (a generalized additive model) to predict the age of the bird based on a selected subset of acoustic features. This is distinct from the "predicted age" approach of Brudner, Pearson, and Mooney, which predicts based on a latent representation rather than specific features, and the GAM nicely segregates the contribution of each. As such, this approach may be preferred by many users who appreciate its interpretability.  

      In summary, my view is that this is a nice paper detailing a well-executed piece of software whose future impact will be determined by the degree of support and maintenance it receives from others over the near and medium term.

      Reviewer #3 (Public Review):

      Summary: 

      The authors invent song and syllable discrimination tasks they use to train deep networks. These networks they then use as a basis for routine song analysis and song evaluation tasks. For the analysis, they consider both data from their own colony and from another colony the network has not seen during training. They validate the analysis scores of the network against expert human annotators, achieving a correlation of 80-90%. 

      Strengths: 

      (1) Robust Validation and Generalizability: The authors demonstrate a good performance of the AVN across various datasets, including individuals exhibiting deviant behavior. This extensive validation underscores the system's usefulness and broad applicability to zebra finch song analysis, establishing it as a potentially valuable tool for researchers in the field.

      (2) Comprehensive and Standardized Feature Analysis: AVN integrates a comprehensive set of interpretable features commonly used in the study of bird songs. By standardizing the feature extraction method, the AVN facilitates comparative research, allowing for consistent interpretation and comparison of vocal behavior across studies.

      (3) Automation and Ease of Use. By being fully automated, the method is straightforward to apply and should introduce barely an adoption threshold to other labs.

      (4) Human experts were recruited to perform extensive annotations (of vocal segments and of song similarity scores). These annotations released as public datasets are potentially very valuable. 

      Weaknesses: 

      (1) Poorly motivated tasks. The approach is poorly motivated and many assumptions come across as arbitrary. For example, the authors implicitly assume that the task of birdsong comparison is best achieved by a system that optimally discriminates between typical, deaf, and isolated songs. Similarly, the authors assume that song development is best tracked using a system that optimally estimates the age of a bird given its song. My issue is that these are fake tasks since clearly, researchers will know whether a bird is an isolated or a deaf bird, and they will also know the age of a bird, so no machine learning is needed to solve these tasks. Yet, the authors imagine that solving these placeholder tasks will somehow help with measuring important aspects of vocal behavior.  

      We appreciate this reviewer’s concerns and apologize for not providing sufficiently clear rationale for the inclusion of our phenotype classifier and age regression models in the original manuscript. These tasks are not intended to be taken as a final, ultimate culmination of the AVN pipeline. Rather, we consider the carefully engineered 55-interpretable feature set to be AVN’s final output, and these analyses serve merely as examples of how that feature set can be applied. That said, each of these models do have valid experimental use cases that we believe are important and would like to bring to the attention of the reviewer.

      For one, we showed how the LDA model that can discriminate between typical, deaf, and isolate birds’ songs not only allows us to evaluate which features are most important for discriminating between these groups, but also allows comparison of the FoxP1 knock-down (FP1 KD) birds to each of these phenotypes. Based on previous work (Garcia-Oscos et al. 2021), we hypothesized that FP1 KD in these birds specifically impaired tutor song memory formation while sparing a bird’s ability to refine their own vocalizations through auditory feedback. Thus, we would expect their songs to resemble those of isolate birds, who lack a tutor song memory, but not to resemble deaf birds who lack a tutor song memory and auditory feedback of their own vocalizations to guide learning. The LDA model allowed us to make this comparison quantitatively for the first time and confirm our hypothesis that FP1 KD birds’ songs are indeed most like isolates’. In the future, as more research groups publish their birds’ AVN feature sets, we hope to be able to make even more fine-grained comparisons between different groups of birds, either using LDA or other similar interpretable classifiers. 

      The age prediction model also has valid real-world use cases. For instance, one might imagine an experimental manipulation that is hypothesized to accelerate or slow song maturation in juvenile birds. This age prediction model could be applied to the AVN feature sets of birds having undergone such a manipulation to determine whether their predicted ages systematically lead or lag their true biological ages, and which song features are most responsible for this difference. We didn’t have access to data for any such birds for inclusion in this paper, but we hope that others in the future will be able to take inspiration from our methodology and use this or a similar age regression model with AVN features in their research. We have added a couple lines to the ‘Comparing Song Disruptions with AVN Features’ and ‘Tracking Song Development with AVN Features’ sections of the results to make this more clear. 

      Along similar lines, authors assume that a good measure of similarity is one that optimally performs repeated syllable detection (i.e. to discriminate same syllable pairs from different pairs). The authors need to explain why they think these placeholder tasks are good and why no better task can be defined that more closely captures what researchers want to measure. Note: the standard tasks for self-supervised learning are next word or masked word prediction, why are these not used here? 

      This reviewer appears to have misunderstood our similarity scoring embedding model and our rationale for using it. We will explain it in more depth here and have added a paragraph to the ‘Measuring Song Imitation’ section of the results explaining this rationale more briefly.

      First, nowhere are we training a model to discriminate between same and different syllable pairs. The triplet loss network is trained to embed syllables in an 8-dimensional space such that syllables with the same label are closer together than syllables with different labels. The loss function is related to the relative distance between embeddings of syllables with the same or different labels, not the classification of syllables as same or different. This approach was chosen because it has repeatedly been shown to be a useful data compression step (Schorff et al. 2015, Thakur et al. 2019) before further downstream tasks are applied on its output, particularly in contexts where there is little data per class (syllable label). For example, Schorff et al. 2015 trained a deep convolutional neural network with triplet loss to embed images of human faces from the same individual closer together than images of different individuals in a 128dimensional space. They then used this model to compute 128-dimensional representations of additional face images, not included in training, which were used for individual facial recognition (this is a same vs. different category classifier), and facial clustering, achieving better performance than the previous state of the art. The triplet loss function results in a model that can generate useful embeddings of previously unseen categories, like new individuals’ faces, or new zebra finches’ syllables, which can then be used in downstream analyses. This meaningful, lower dimensional space allows comparisons of distributions of syllables across birds, as in Brainard and Mets 2008, and Goffinet et al. 2021. 

      Next word and masked word prediction are indeed common self-supervised learning tasks for models working with text data, or other data with meaningful sequential organization. That is not the case for our zebra finch syllables, where every bird’s syllable sequence depends only on its tutor’s sequence, and there is no evidence for strong universal syllable sequencing rules (James et al. 2020). Rather, our embedding model is an example of a computer vision task, as it deals with sets of two-dimensional images (spectrograms), not sequences of categorical variables (like text). It is also not, strictly speaking, a selfsupervised learning task, as it does require syllable labels to generate the triplets. A common selfsupervised approach for dimensionality reduction in a computer vision task such as this one would be to train an autoencoder to compress images to a lower dimensional space, then faithfully reconstruct them from the compressed representation.  This has been done using a variational autoencoder trained on zebra finch syllables in Goffinet et al. 2021. In keeping with the suggestions from reviewers #1 and #2, we have included a comparison of our triplet loss model with the Goffinet et al. VAE approach in the revised manuscript. 

      (2) The machine learning methodology lacks rigor. The aims of the machine learning pipeline are extremely vague and keep changing like a moving target. Mainly, the deep networks are trained on some tasks but then authors evaluate their performance on different, disconnected tasks. For example, they train both the birdsong comparison method (L263+) and the song similarity method (L318+) on classification tasks. However, they evaluate the former method (LDA) on classification accuracy, but the latter (8-dim embeddings) using a contrast index. In machine learning, usually, a useful task is first defined, then the system is trained on it and then tested on a held-out dataset. If the sensitivity index is important, why does it not serve as a cost function for training?

      Again, this reviewer seems not to understand our similarity scoring methodology. Our similarity scoring model is not trained on a classification task, but rather on an embedding task. It learns to embed spectrograms of syllables in an 8-dimensional space such that syllables with the same label are closer together than syllables with different labels. We could report the loss values for this embedding task on our training and validation datasets, but these wouldn’t have any clear relevance to the downstream task of syllable distribution comparison where we are using the model’s embeddings. We report the contrast index as this has direct relevance to the actual application of the model and allows comparisons to other similarity scoring methods, something that the triplet loss values wouldn’t allow. 

      The triplet loss method was chosen because it has been shown to yield useful low-dimensional representations of data, even in cases where there is limited labeled training data (Thakur et al. 2019). While we have one of the largest manually annotated datasets of zebra finch songs, it is still quite small by industry deep learning standards, which is why we chose a method that would perform well given the size of our dataset. Training a model on a contrast index directly would be extremely computationally intensive and require many more pairs of birds with known relationships than we currently have access to. It could be an interesting approach to take in the future, but one that would be unlikely to perform well with a dataset size typical to songbird research. 

      Also, usually, in solid machine learning work, diverse methods are compared against each other to identify their relative strengths. The paper contains almost none of this, e.g. authors examined only one clustering method (HDBSCAN).  

      We did compare multiple methods for syllable segmentation (WhisperSeg, TweetyNet, and Amplitude thresholding) as this hadn’t been done previously. We chose not to perform extensive comparison of different clustering methods as Sainburg et al. 2020 already did so and we felt no need to reduplicate this effort. We encourage this reviewer to refer to Sainburg et al.’s excellent work for comparisons of multiple clustering methods applied to zebra finch song syllables.

      (3) Performance issues. The authors want to 'simplify large-scale behavioral analysis' but it seems they want to do that at a high cost. (Gu et al 2023) achieved syllable scores above 0.99 for adults, which is much larger than the average score of 0.88 achieved here (L121). Similarly, the syllable scores in (Cohen et al 2022) are above 94% (their error rates are below 6%, albeit in Bengalese finches, not zebra finches), which is also better than here. Why is the performance of AVN so low? The low scores of AVN argue in favor of some human labeling and training on each bird.  

      Firstly, the syllable error rate scores reported in Cohen et al. 2022 are calculated very differently than the F1 scores we report here and are based on a model trained with data from the same bird as was used in testing, unlike our more general segmentation approach where the model was tested on different birds than were used in training. Thus, the scores reported in Cohen et al. and the F1 scores that we report cannot be compared. 

      The discrepancy between the F1<sub>seg</sub> scores reported in Gu et al. 2023 and the segmentation F1 scores that we report are likely due to differences in the underlying datasets. Our UTSW recordings tend to have higher levels of both stationary and non-stationary background noise, which make segmentation more challenging. The recordings from Rockefeller were less contaminated by background noise, and they resulted in slightly higher F1 scores. That said, we believe that the primary factor accounting for this difference in scores with Gu et al. 2023 is the granularity of our ‘ground truth’ syllable segments. In our case, if there was never any ambiguity as to whether vocal elements should be segmented into two short syllables with a very short gap between them or merged into a single longer syllable, we chose to split them. WhisperSeg had a strong tendency to merge the vocal elements in ambiguous cases such as these. This results in a higher rate of false negative syllable onset detections, reflected in the low recall scores achieved by WhisperSeg (see Figure 2–figure supplement 1b), but still very high precision scores (Figure 2–figure supplement 1a). While WhisperSeg did frequently merge these syllables in a way that differed from our ground truth segmentation, it did so consistently, meaning it had little impact on downstream measures of syntax entropy (Figure 3c) or syllable duration entropy (Figure 3–figure supplement 2a). It is for that reason that, despite a lower F1 score, we still consider AVN’s automatically generated annotations to be sufficiently accurate for downstream analyses. 

      Should researchers require a higher degree of accuracy and precision with their annotations (for example, to detect very subtle changes in song before and after an acute manipulation) we suggest they turn toward one of the existing tools for supervised song annotation, such as TweetyNet.

      (4) Texas bias. It is true that comparability across datasets is enhanced when everyone uses the same code. However, the authors' proposal essentially is to replace the bias between labs with a bias towards birds in Texas. The comparison with Rockefeller birds is nice, but it amounts to merely N=1. If birds in Japanese or European labs have evolved different song repertoires, the AVN might not capture the associated song features in these labs well.  

      We appreciate the author’s concern about a bias toward birds from the UTSW colony. However, this paper shows that despite training (for the similarity scoring) and hyperparameter fitting (for the HDBSCAN clustering) on the UTSW birds, AVN performs as well if not better on birds from Rockefeller than from UTSW. To our knowledge, there are no publicly available datasets of annotated zebra finch songs from labs in Europe or in Asia but we would be happy to validate AVN on such datasets, should they become available. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that there is dramatic drift in zebra finch vocal repertoire between continents which would necessitate such additional validation. While we didn’t have manual annotations for this dataset (which would allow validation of our segmentation and labeling methods), we did apply AVN to recordings shared with us by the Wada lab in Japan, where visual inspection of the resulting annotations suggested comparable accuracy to the UTSW and Rockefeller datasets. 

      (5) The paper lacks an analysis of the balance between labor requirement, generalizability, and optimal performance. For tasks such as segmentation and labeling, fine-tuning for each new dataset could potentially enhance the model's accuracy and performance without compromising comparability. E.g. How many hours does it take to annotate hundred song motifs? How much would the performance of AVN increase if the network were to be retrained on these? The paper should be written in more neutral terms, letting researchers reach their own conclusions about how much manual labor they want to put into their data.  

      With standardization and ease of use in mind, we designed AVN specifically to perform fully automated syllable annotation and downstream feature calculations. We believe that we have demonstrated in this manuscript that our fully automated approach is sufficiently reliable for downstream analyses across multiple zebra finch colonies. That said, if researchers require an even higher degree of annotation precision and accuracy, they can turn toward one of the existing methods for supervised song annotation, such as TweetyNet. Incorporating human annotations for each bird processed by AVN is likely to improve its performance, but this would require significant changes to AVN’s methodology, and is outside the scope of our current efforts.

      (6) Full automation may not be everyone's wish. For example, given the highly stereotyped zebra finch songs, it is conceivable that some syllables are consistently mis-segmented or misclassified. Researchers may want to be able to correct such errors, which essentially amounts to fine-tuning AVN. Conceivably, researchers may want to retrain a network like the AVN on their own birds, to obtain a more fine-grained discriminative method.  

      Other methods exist for supervised or human-in-the-loop annotation of zebra finch songs, such as TweetyNet and DAN (Alam et al. 2023). We invite researchers who require a higher degree of accuracy than AVN can provide to explore these alternative approaches for song annotation. Incorporating human feedback into AVN was never the goal of our pipeline, would require significant changes to AVN’s design and is outside the scope of this manuscript.

      (7) The analysis is restricted to song syllables and fails to include calls. No rationale is given for the omission of calls. Also, it is not clear how the analysis deals with repeated syllables in a motif, whether they are treated as two-syllable types or one.  

      It is true that we don’t currently have any dedicated features to describe calls. This could be a useful addition to AVN in the future. 

      What a human expert inspecting a spectrogram would typically call ‘repeated syllables’ in a bout are almost always assigned the same syllable label by the UMAP+HDBSCAN clustering. The syntax analysis module includes features examining the rate of syllable repetitions across syllable types, as mentioned in lines 222-226 of the revised manuscript. See https://avn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/syntax_analysis_demo.html#Syllable-Repetitions for further details.

      (8) It seems not all human annotations have been released and the instruction sets given to experts (how to segment syllables and score songs) are not disclosed. It may well be that the differences in performance between (Gu et al 2023) and (Cohen et al 2022) are due to differences in segmentation tasks, which is why these tasks given to experts need to be clearly spelled out. Also, the downloadable files contain merely labels but no identifier of the expert. The data should be released in such a way that lets other labs adopt their labeling method and cross-check their own labeling accuracy.  

      All human annotations used in this manuscript have indeed been released as part of the accompanying dataset. Syllable annotations are not provided for all pupils and tutors used to validate the similarity scoring, as annotations are not necessary for similarity comparisons. We have expanded our description of our annotation guidelines in the methods section of the revised manuscript. All the annotations were generated by one of two annotators. The second annotator always consulted with the first annotator in cases of ambiguous syllable segmentation or labeling, to ensure that they had consistent annotation styles. Unfortunately, we haven’t retained records about which birds were annotated by which of the two annotators, so we cannot share this information along with the dataset. The data is currently available in a format that should allow other research groups to use our annotations either to train their own annotation systems or check the performance of their existing systems on our annotations.  

      (9) The failure modes are not described. What segmentation errors did they encounter, and what syllable classification errors? It is important to describe the errors to be expected when using the method. 

      As we discussed in our response to this reviewer’s point (3), WhisperSeg has a tendency to merge syllables when the gap between them is very short, which explains its lower recall score compared to its precision on our dataset (Figure 2–figure supplement 1). In rare cases, WhisperSeg also fails to recognize syllables entirely, again impacting its precision score. TweetyNet hardly ever completely ignores syllables, but it does tend to occasionally merge syllables together or over-segment them. Whereas WhisperSeg does this very consistently for the same syllable types within the same bird, TweetyNet merges or splits syllables more inconsistently. This inconsistent merging and splitting has a larger effect on syllable labeling, as manifested in the lower clustering v-measure scores we obtain with TweetyNet compared to WhisperSeg segmentations. TweetyNet also has much lower precision than WhisperSeg, largely because TweetyNet often recognizes background noises (like wing flaps or hopping) as syllables whereas WhisperSeg hardly ever segments non-vocal sounds. 

      Many errors in syllable labeling stem from differences in syllable segmentation. For example, if two syllables with labels ‘a’ and ‘b’ in the manual annotation are sometimes segmented as two syllables, but sometimes merged into a single syllable, the clustering is likely to find 3 different syllable types; one corresponding to ‘a’, one corresponding to ‘b’ and one corresponding to ‘ab’ merged. Because of how we align syllables across segmentation schemes for the v-measure calculation, this will look like syllable ‘b’ always has a consistent cluster label (or is missing a label entirely), but syllable ‘a’ can carry two different cluster labels, depending on the segmentation. In certain cases, even in the absence of segmentation errors, a group of syllables bearing the same manual annotation label may be split into 2 or 3 clusters (it is extremely rare for a single manual annotation group to be split into more than 3 clusters). In these cases, it is difficult to conclusively say whether the clustering represents an error, or if it actually captured some meaningful systematic difference between syllables that was missed by the annotator. Finally, sometimes rare syllable types with their own distinct labels in the manual annotation are merged into a single cluster. Most labeling errors can be explained by this kind of merging or splitting of groups relative to the manual annotation, not to occasional mis-classifications of one manual label type as another.

      For examples of these types of errors, we encourage this reviewer and readers to refer to the example confusion matrices in figure 2f and Figure 2–figure supplement 3b&e. We also added two paragraphs to the end of the ‘Accurate, fully unsupervised syllable labeling’ section of the Results in the revised manuscript. 

      (10) Usage of Different Dimensionality Reduction Methods: The pipeline uses two different dimensionality reduction techniques for labeling and similarity comparison - both based on the understanding of the distribution of data in lower-dimensional spaces. However, the reasons for choosing different methods for different tasks are not articulated, nor is there a comparison of their efficacy.  

      We apologize for not making this distinction sufficiently clear in the manuscript and have added a paragraph to the ‘Measuring Song Imitation’ section of the Results explaining the rational for using an embedding model for similarity scoring. 

      We chose to use UMAP for syllable labeling because it is a common embedding methodology to precede hierarchical clustering and has been shown to result in reliable syllable labels for birdsong in the past (Sainburg et al. 2020). However, it is not appropriate for similarity scoring, because comparing EMD or MMD scores between birds requires that all the birds’ syllable distributions exist within the same shared embedding space. This can be achieved by using the same triplet loss-trained neural network model to embed syllables from all birds. This cannot be achieved with UMAP because all birds whose scores are being compared would need to be embedded in the same UMAP space, as distances between points cannot be compared across UMAPs. In practice, this would mean that every time a new tutor-pupil pair needs to be scored, their syllables would need to be added to a matrix with all previously compared birds’ syllables, a new UMAP would need to be computed, and new EMD or MMD scores between all bird pairs would need to be calculated using their new UMAP embeddings. This is very computationally expensive and quickly becomes unfeasible without dedicated high power computing infrastructure. It also means that similarity scores couldn’t be compared across papers without recomputing everything each time, whereas EMD and MMD scores obtained with triplet loss embeddings can be compared, provided they use the same trained model (which we provide as part of AVN) to embed their syllables in a common latent space. 

      (11) Reproducibility: are the measurements reproducible? Systems like UMAP always find a new embedding given some fixed input, so the output tends to fluctuate.

      There is indeed a stochastic element to UMAP embeddings which will result in different embeddings and therefore different syllable labels across repeated runs with the same input. We observed that v-measures scores were quite consistent within birds across repeated runs of the UMAP, and have added an additional supplementary figure to the revised manuscript showing this (Figure 2–figure supplement 4).

      Reviewer #1 (Recommendations For The Authors):

      (1) Benchmark their similarity score to the method used by Goffinet et al, 2021 from the Pearson group. Such a comparison would be really interesting and useful.  

      This has been added to the paper. 

      (2) Please clarify exactly what is new and what is applied from existing methods to help the reader see the novelty of the paper.  

      We have added more emphasis on the novel aspects of our pipeline to the paper’s introduction. 

      Minor:

      It's unclear if AVN is appropriate as the paper deals only with zebra finch song - the scope is more limited than advertised.

      We assume this is in reference to ‘Birdsong’ in the paper’s title and ‘Avian’ in Avian Vocalization Network. There is a brief discussion of how these methods are likely to perform on other commonly studied songbird species at the end of the discussion section.

      Reviewer #2 (Recommendations For The Authors):

      A few points for the authors to consider that might strengthen or inform the paper:

      (1) In the public review, I detailed some ways in which the SSL+EMD approach is unlikely to be appreciably distinct from the VAE+MMD approach -- in fact, one could mix and match here. It would strengthen the authors' claim if they showed via experiments that their method outperforms VAE+MMD, but in the absence of that, a discussion of the relation between the two is probably warranted.  

      This comparison has been added to the paper.

      (2) ll. 305-310: This loss of accuracy near the edge is expected on general Bayesian grounds. Any regression approach should learn to estimate the conditional mean of the age distribution given the data, so ages estimated from data will be pulled inward toward the location of most training data. This bias is somewhat mitigated in the Brudner paper by a more flexible model, but it's a general (and expected) feature of the approach.

      (3) While the online AVA documentation looks good, it might benefit from a page on design philosophy that lays out how the various modules fit together - something between the tutorials and the nitty-gritty API. That way, users would be able to get a sense of where they should look if they want to harness pieces of functionality beyond the tutorials.

      Thank you for this suggestion. We will add a page on AVN’s design philosophy to the online documentation. 

      (4) While the manuscript does compare AVN to packages like TweetyNet and AVA that share some functionality, it doesn't really mention what's been going on with the vocalpy ecosystem, where the maintainers have been doing a lot to standardize data processing, integrate tools, etc. I would suggest a few words about how AVN might integrate with these efforts.

      We thank the reviewer for this suggestion.

      (5) ll. 333-336: It would be helpful to provide a citation to some of the self-supervised learning literature this procedure is based on. Some citations are provided in methods, but the general approach is worth citing, in my opinion. 

      We have added a paragraph to the results section with more background on self-supervised learning for dimensionality reduction, particularly in the context of similarity scoring.

      (6) One software concern for medium-term maintenance: AVN docs say to use Python 3.8, and GitHub says the package is 3.9 compatible. I also saw in the toml file that 3.10 and above are not supported. It's worth noting that Python 3.9 reaches its end of life in October 2025, so some dependencies may have to be altered or changed for the package to be viable going forward.  

      Thank you for this comment. We will continue to maintain AVN and update its dependencies as needed.

      Minor points:

      (1) It might be good to note that WhisperSeg is a different install from AVN. May be hard for novice users, though there's a web interface that's available. 

      We’ve added a line to the methods section making this clear. 

      (2) Figure 6b: Some text in the y-axis labels is overlapping here. 

      This has been fixed. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. 

      (3) The name of the Python language is always capitalized.  

      We’ve fixed this capitalization error throughout the manuscript. Thank you.

      Reviewer #3 (Recommendations For The Authors):

      (1) I recommend that the authors improve the motivation of the chosen tasks and data or choose new tasks that more clearly speak to the optimizations they want to perform. 

      We have included more details about the motivation for our LDA classification analysis, age prediction model and embedding model for similarity scoring in the results of the revised manuscript, as discussed in more detail in the above responses to this reviewer. Thank you for these suggestions. 

      (2) They need to rigorously report the (classification) scores on the test datasets: these are the scores associated with the cost function used during training.  

      Based on this reviewer’s ‘Weaknesses: 3’ comment in the public reviews, we believe that they are referring to a classification score for the triplet loss model. As we explained in response to that comment, this is not a classification task, therefor there is no classification score to report. The loss function used to train the model was a triplet loss function. While we could report these values, they are not informative for how well this approach would perform in a similarity scoring context, as explained above. As such, we prefer to include contrast index and tutor contrast index scores to compare the models’ performance for similarity score, as these are directly relevant to the task and are established in the field for said task.

      (3) They need to explain the reasons for the poor performance (or report on the inconsistencies with previous work) and why they prefer a fully automated system rather than one that needs some fine-tuning on bird-specific data.

      We’ve addressed this comment in the public response to this reviewer’s weakness points 3, 5, and 6. 

      (4) They should consider applying their method to data from Japanese and European labs.  

      We’ve addressed this comment in the public response to this reviewer’s weakness point 4.

      (5) The need to document the failure modes and report all details about the human annotations.  

      We’ve added additional description of the failure modes for our segmentation and labeling approaches in the results section of the revised manuscript.

      Details: 

      The introduction is very vague, it fails to make a clear case of what the problem is and what the approach is. It reads a bit like an advertisement for machine learning: we are given a hammer and are looking for a nail.  

      We thank the reviewer for this viewpoint; however, we disagree and have decided to keep our Introduction largely unchanged. 

      L46 That interpretability is needed to maximize the benefits of machine learning is wrong, see self-driving cars and chat GPT.  

      This line states that ‘To truly maximize the benefits of machine learning and deep learning methods for behavior analysis, their power must be balanced with interpretability and generalizability’. We firmly believe that interpretability is critically important when using machine learning tools to gain a deeper scientific understanding of data, including animal behavior data in a neuroscience context. We believe that the introduction and discussion of this paper already provide strong evidence for this claim. 

      L64 What about zebra finches that repeat a syllable in the motif, how are repetitions dealt with by AVN?  

      This is already described in the results section in lines 222-226, and in the methods in the ‘Syntax Features: Repetition Bouts’ section.

      L107 Say a bit more here, what exactly has been annotated?  

      We’ve added a sentence in the introduction to clarify this. Line 113-115. 

      L112 Define spectrogram frames. Do these always fully or sometimes partially contain a vocalization? 

      Spectrogram frames are individual time bins used to compute the spectrogram using a short-term Fourier transform. As described in the ‘Methods; Labeling : UMAP Dimensionality Reduction” section, our spectrograms are computed using ‘The short term Fourier transform of the normalized audio for each syllable […] with a window length of 512 samples and a hop length of 128 samples’. Given that the song files have a standard sampling rate of 44.1kHz, this means each time bin represents 11.6ms of song data, with successive frames advancing in time by 2.9ms. These contain only a small fraction of a vocalization. 

      L122 The reported TweetyNet score of 0.824 is lower than the one reported in Figure 2a.  

      The center line in the box plot in Figure 2a represents the median of the distribution of TweetyNet vmeasure scores. Given that there are a couple outlying birds with very low scores, the mean (0.824 as reported in the text of the results section) is lower than the median. This is not an error.

      L155 Some of the differences in performance are very small, reporting of the P value might be necessary. 

      These methods are unlikely to statistically significantly differ in their validation scores. This doesn’t mean that we cannot use the mean/median values reported to justify favoring one method over another. This is why we’ve chosen not to report p-values here.

      L161 The authors have not really tested more than a single clustering method, failing to show a serious attempt to achieve good performance.  

      We’ve addressed this comment in the public response to this reviewer’s weakness point 2.

      L186 Did isolate birds produce stereotyped syllables that can be clustered? 

      Yes, they did. The validation for clustering of isolate bird songs can be found in Figure 2–figure supplement 4. 

      Fig. 3e: How were the multiple bouts aligned?

      This is described in lines 857-876 in the ‘Methods: Song Timing Features: Rhythm Spectrograms” section of the paper.

      L199 There is a space missing in front of (n=8).  

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It’s been corrected in the updated manuscript. 

      L268 Define classification accuracy.  

      We’ve added a sentence in lines 953-954 of the methods section defining classification accuracy. 

      L325 How many motifs need to be identified, why does this need to be done manually? There are semiautomated methods that can allow scaling, these should be  cited here. Also, the mention of bias here should be removed in favor of a more extensive discussion on the experimenter bias (traditionally vs Texas bias (in this paper).  

      All of the methods cited in this line have graphical user interfaces that require users to select a file containing song and manually highlight the start and end each motif to be compared. The exact number of motifs required varies depending on the specific context (e.g. more examples are needed to detect more subtle differences or changes in song similarity) but it is fairly standard for reviewers to score 30 – 100 pairs of motifs. 

      We’ve discussed the tradeoffs between full automation and supervised or human-in-the loop methods in response to this reviewer’s public comment ‘weakness #5 and 6’. Briefly, AVN’s aim is to standardize song analysis, to allow direct comparisons between song features and similarity scores across research groups. We believe, as explained in the paper, that this can be best achieve by having different research groups use the same deep learning models, which perform consistently well across those groups. Introducing semi-automated methods would defeat this benefit of AVN. 

      We’ve also addressed the question of ‘Texas bias’ in response to their reviewer’s public comment ‘Weakness #4’. 

      L340 How is EMD applied? Syllables are points in 8-dim space, but now suddenly authors talk about distributions without explaining how they got from points to distributions. Same in L925.  

      We apologize for the confusion here. The syllable points in the 8-d space are collectively an empirical distribution, not a probability distribution. We referred to them simply as ‘distributions’ to limit technical jargon in the results of the paper, but have changed this to more precise language in the revised manuscript.

      L351 Why do authors now use 'contrast index' to measure performance and no longer 'classification accuracy'?  

      We’ve addressed this comment in the public response to this reviewer’s weakness points 1 and 2.

      Figure 6 What is the confusion matrix, i.e. how well can the model identify pupil-pupil pairings from pupiltutor and from pupil-unrelated pairings? I guess that would amount to something like classification accuracy.  

      There is no model classifying comparisons as pupil-pupil vs. pupil-tutor etc. These comparisons exist only to show the behavior of the similarity scoring approach, which consists of a dissimilarity measure (MMD or EMD) applied to low dimensional representations of syllable generated by the triplet loss model or VAE. This was clarified further in our public response to this reviewer’s weakness points 1 and 2. 

      L487 What are 'song files', and what do they contain?   

      ‘Song files’ are .wav files containing recordings of zebra finch song. They typically contain a single song bout, but they can include multiple song bouts if they are produced close together, or incomplete song bouts if the introductory notes were very soft or the bouts were very long (>30s from the start of the file). Details of these recordings are provided in the ‘Methods: Data Acquisition: UTSW Dataset’ section of the manuscript.

      L497 Calls were only labelled for tweetynet but not for other tasks.  

      That is correct. The rationale for this is provided in the ‘Methods: Manual Song Annotation’ section of the manuscript. 

      L637 There is a contradiction (can something be assigned to the 'own manual annotation category' when the same sentence states that this is done 'without manual annotation'?) 

      We believe there is confusion here between automated annotation and validation. Any bird can be automatically annotated without the need for any existing manual annotations for that individual bird. However, manual labels are required to compare automatically generated annotations against for validation of the method.

      L970 Spectograms of what? (what is the beginning of a song bout, L972). 

      The beginning of a song bout is the first introductory note produced by a bird after a period without vocalizations. This is standard.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This paper investigates the control signals that drive event model updating during continuous experience. The authors apply predictions from previously published computational models to fMRI data acquired while participants watched naturalistic video stimuli. They first examine the time course of BOLD pattern changes around human-annotated event boundaries, revealing pattern changes preceding the boundary in anterior temporal and then parietal regions, followed by pattern stabilization across many regions. The authors then analyze time courses around boundaries generated by a model that updates event models based on prediction error and another that uses prediction uncertainty. These analyses reveal overlapping but partially distinct dynamics for each boundary type, suggesting that both signals may contribute to event segmentation processes in the brain.

      Strengths:

      (1) The question addressed by this paper is of high interest to researchers working on event cognition, perception, and memory. There has been considerable debate about what kinds of signals drive event boundaries, and this paper directly engages with that debate by comparing prediction error and prediction uncertainty as candidate control signals.

      (2) The authors use computational models that explain significant variance in human boundary judgments, and they report the variance explained clearly in the paper.

      (3) The authors' method of using computational models to generate predictions about when event model updating should occur is a valuable mechanistic alternative to methods like HMM or GSBS, which are data-driven.

      (4) The paper utilizes an analysis framework that characterizes how multivariate BOLD pattern dissimilarity evolves before and after boundaries. This approach offers an advance over previous work focused on just the boundary or post-boundary points.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) While the paper raises the possibility that both prediction error and uncertainty could serve as control signals, it does not offer a strong theoretical rationale for why the brain would benefit from multiple (empirically correlated) signals. What distinct advantages do these signals provide? This may be discussed in the authors' prior modeling work, but is left too implicit in this paper.

      (2) Boundaries derived from prediction error and uncertainty are correlated for the naturalistic stimuli. This raises some concerns about how well their distinct contributions to brain activity can be separated. The authors should consider whether they can leverage timepoints where the models make different predictions to make a stronger case for brain regions that are responsive to one vs the other.

      (3) The authors refer to a baseline measure of pattern dissimilarity, which their dissimilarity measure of interest is relative to, but it's not clear how this baseline is computed. Since the interpretation of increases or decreases in dissimilarity depends on this reference point, more clarity is needed.

      (4) The authors report an average event length of ~20 seconds, and they also look at +20 and -20 seconds around each event boundary. Thus, it's unclear how often pre- and post-boundary timepoints are part of adjacent events. This complicates the interpretations of the reported time courses.

      (5) The authors describe a sequence of neural pattern shifts during each type of boundary, but offer little setup of what pattern shifts we might expect or why. They also offer little discussion of what cognitive processes these shifts might reflect. The paper would benefit from a more thorough setup for the neural results and a discussion that comments on how the results inform our understanding of what these brain regions contribute to event models.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal progression of the neural response to event boundaries in relation to uncertainty and error. Specifically, the authors asked (1) how neural activity changes before and after event boundaries, (2) if uncertainty and error both contribute to explaining the occurrence of event boundaries, and (3) if uncertainty and error have unique contributions to explaining the temporal progression of neural activity.

      Strengths:

      One strength of this paper is that it builds on an already validated computational model. It relies on straightforward and interpretable analysis techniques to answer the main question, with a smart combination of pattern similarity metrics and FIR. This combination of methods may also be an inspiration to other researchers in the field working on similar questions. The paper is well written and easy to follow. The paper convincingly shows that (1) there is a temporal progression of neural activity change before and after an event boundary, and (2) event boundaries are predicted best by the combination of uncertainty and error signals.

      Weaknesses:

      Regarding question 3, I am less convinced by the results. They show that overlapping but somewhat distinct sets of brain regions relate to uncertainty and error boundaries over time. And that some regions show distinct patterns of temporal progressions in pattern change with both types of boundaries. However, most of the effects they observe in this analysis may still be driven by shared variance, as suggested by the results in Figure 6 and the high correlation between the two boundary time series. More specific comments are provided below.

      Impact:

      If these comments can be addressed sufficiently, I expect that this work will impact the field in its thinking on what drives event boundaries and spur interest in understanding the mechanisms behind the temporal progression of neural activity around these boundaries.

      Comments

      (1) The current analysis of the neural data does not convincingly show that uncertainty and prediction error both contribute to the neural responses. As both terms are modelled in separate FIR models, it may be that the responses we see for both are mostly driven by shared variance. Given that the correlation between the two is very high (r=0.49), this seems likely. The strong overlap in the neural responses elicited by both, as shown in Figure 6, also suggests that what we see may mainly be shared variance. To improve the interpretability of these effects, I think it is essential to know whether uncertainty and error explain similar or unique parts of the variance. The observation that they have distinct temporal profiles is suggestive of some dissociation, but not as convincing as adding them both to a single model.

      (2) The results for uncertainty and error show that uncertainty has strong effects before or at boundary onset, while error is related to more stabilization after boundary onset. This makes me wonder about the temporal contribution of each of these. Could it be the case that increases in uncertainty are early indicators of a boundary, and errors tend to occur later?

      (3) Given that there is a 24-second period during which the neural responses are shaped by event boundaries, it would be important to know more about the average distance between boundaries and the variability of this distance. This will help establish whether the FIR model can properly capture a return to baseline.

      (4) Given that there is an early onset and long-lasting response of the brain to these event boundaries, I wonder what causes this. Is it the case that uncertainty or errors already increase at 12 seconds before the boundaries occur? Or if there are other makers in the movie that the brain can use to foreshadow an event boundary? And if uncertainty or errors do increase already 12 seconds before an event boundary, do you see a similar neural response at moments with similar levels of error or uncertainty, which are not followed by a boundary? This would reveal whether the neural activity patterns are specific to event boundaries or whether these are general markers of error and uncertainty.

      (5) It is known that different brain regions have different delays of their BOLD response. Could these delays contribute to the propagation of the neural activity across different brain areas in this study?

      (6) In the FIR plots, timepoints -12, 0, and 12 are shown. These long intervals preclude an understanding of the full temporal progression of these effects.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Weiss et. al. seek to delineate the mechanisms by which antigen-specific CD8+ T cells outcompete bystanders in the epidermis when active TGF-b is limiting, resulting in selective retention of these cells and more complete differentiation into the TRM phenotype.

      Strengths:

      They begin by demonstrating that at tissue sites where cognate antigen was expressed, CD8+ T cells adopt a more mature TRM transcriptome than cells at tissue sites where cognate antigen was never expressed. By integrating their scRNA-Seq data on TRM with the much more comprehensive ImmGenT atlas, the authors provide a very useful resource for future studies in the field. Furthermore, they conclusively show that these "local antigen-experienced" TRM have increased proliferative capacity and that TCR avidity during TRM formation positively correlates with their future fitness. Finally, using an elegant experimental strategy, they establish that TCR signaling in CD8+ T cells in the epidermis induces TGFBRIII expression, which likely contributes to endowing them with a competitive advantage over antigen-inexperienced TRM.

      Weaknesses:

      The main weakness in this paper lies in the authors' reliance on a single experimental model to derive conclusions on the role of local-antigen during the acute phase of the response by comparing T cells in model antigen-vaccinia virus (VV-OVA) exposed skin to T cells in contralateral skin exposed to DNFB 5 days after the VV-OVA exposure. In this setting, antigen-independent factors may contribute to the difference in CD8+ T cell number and phenotype at the two sites. For example, it was recently shown that very early memory precursors (formed 2 days after exposure) are more efficient at seeding the epithelial TRM compartment than those recruited to skin at later times (Silva et al, Sci Immunol, 2023). DNFB-treated skin may therefore recruit precursors with reduced TRM potential. In addition, TRM-skewed circulating memory precursors have been identified (Kok et al, JEM, 2020), and perhaps VV-OVA exposed skin more readily recruits this subset compared to DNFB-exposed skin. Therefore, when the DNFB challenge is performed 5 days after vaccinia virus, the DNFB site may already be at a disadvantage in the recruitment of CD8+ T cells that can efficiently form TRM. In addition, CD8+ T cell-extrinsic mechanisms may be at play, such as differences in myeloid cell recruitment and differentiation or local cytokine and chemokine levels in VV-infected and DNFB-treated skin that could account for differences seen in TRM phenotype and function between these two sites. Although the authors do show that providing exogenous peptide antigen at the DNFB-site rescues their phenotype in relation to the VV-OVA site, the potential antigen-independent factors distinguishing these two sites remain unaddressed. In addition, there is a possibility that peptide treatment of DNFB-treated skin initiates a second phase of priming of new circulatory effectors in the local-draining lymph nodes that are then recruited to form TRM at the DFNB-site, and that the effect does not solely rely on TRM precursors at the DNFB-treated skin site at the time of peptide treatment. These concerns are somewhat alleviated by the fact that in a prior publication (PMID: 33212014), the group has already established a role for local antigen encounter in skin in a setting where they compared contralateral ears infected with VV-OVA and VV expressing an irrelevant antigen.

      Secondly, although the authors conclusively demonstrate that TGFBRIII is induced by TCR signals and required for conferring increased fitness to local-antigen experienced CD8+ TRM compared to local antigen-inexperienced cells, this is done in only one experiment, albeit repeated 3 times. The data suggest that antigen encounter during TRM formation induces sustained TGFBRIII expression that persists during the antigen-independent memory phase. It remains however, unclear why only antigen encounter in skin, but not already in the draining lymph nodes, induces sustained TGFBRIII expression. Further characterizing the dynamics of TGFBRIII expression on CD8+ T cells during priming in draining lymph nodes and over the course of TRM formation and persistence may shed more light on this question. Probing the role of this mechanism at other sites of TRM formation would also further strengthen their conclusions and enhance the significance of this finding.

      A minor caveat of the study pertains to the use of FTY720 to block T cell egress from lymphoid tissues and thereby prevent a contribution of circulating memory OT-I T cells to the local recall response in skin. Since the half-life of FTY720 is less than a day in mice, its effects wear off rapidly. In their experiments, the authors discontinued treatment at the time of re-challenge, which may have allowed circulating T cells to contribute to the local recall response in skin, limiting the interpretability of the results somewhat. This concern is alleviated by the use of a second method (anti-Thy1.1-depleting antibodies) to eliminate circulating memory cells. For the benefit of readers intending to use this experimental strategy, it should however, be noted that FTY720 needs to be dosed continually (e.g. 3x/week at an appropriate dose) in order to sustain its effect.

    2. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors set out to dissect the mechanistic basis of their previously published finding that encountering cutaneous antigen augments the persistence of CD8+ memory T cells that enter skin (TRM) (Hirai et al., 2021, Immunity). Here they use the same murine model to study the fate of CD8+ T cells after antigen-priming in the lymph nodes, (1) those that re-encounter antigen in the skin via vaccinia virus (VV) versus (2) those that do not encounter antigen in skin but rather are recruited via topical dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) (so-called "bystander TRM"). The authors' previous publication establishes that this first group of CD8+ TRM has a persistence advantage over bystander TRM under TGFb-limiting conditions. The current paper advances this finding by elucidating the role of TGFBR3 in regulating CD8+ TRM skin persistence upon topical antigen exposure. Key novelty of the work lies in generation and use of the CD8+ T cell-specific TGFBR3 knockout model, which allows them to demonstrate the role of TGFBR3 in fine tuning the degree of CD8+ T cell skin persistence and that TGFBR3 expression is promoted by CD8+ TRM encountering their cognate antigen upon initial skin entry. Future work directly measuring active TGFb in the skin under different conditions would help identify physiologic scenarios which yield active TGFb-limiting conditions, thus establishing physiologic relevance.

      Strengths:

      Technical strengths of the paper include (1) complementary imaging and flow cytometry analyses, (2) integration of their scRNA-seq data with the existing CD8+ TRM literature via pathway analysis, and (3) use of orthogonal models where possible. Using a vaccina virus (VV) model, with and without ovalbumin (OVA), the authors investigate how topical antigen exposure and TCR strength regulate CD8+ TRM skin recruitment and retention. The authors use both FTY720 and a Thy1.1 depleting antibody to demonstrate that skin CD8+ TRM expand locally following both a primary and secondary recall response to topical OVA application.

      A conceptual strength of the paper is the authors' observation that TCR signal strength upon initial TRM tissue entry helps regulate the extent of their local re-expansion on subsequent antigen re-exposure. They achieved this by applying peptides of varying affinity for the OT-I TCR on the DNFB-exposed flank in tandem with initial VV-OVA + DNFB treatment. They then measured TRM expansion after OVA peptide rechallenge, revealing that encountering a higher affinity peptide upon skin entry leads to greater subsequent re-expansion. Additionally, by generating an OT-I Thy1.1+ E8i-creERT2 huNGFR Tgfbr3fl/fl (Tgfbr3∆CD8) mouse, the authors were able to elucidate a unique role for TGFBR3 in CD8+TRM persistence when active TGFb in skin is limited.

      Weaknesses:

      Overall, the authors' conclusions are well supported although there are some instances where additional controls, experiments, or clarifications would add rigor. The conclusions regarding skin localized TCR signaling leading to increased skin CD8+ TRM proliferation in-situ and increased TGFBR3 expression would be strengthened by assessing skin CD8+ TRM proliferation and TGFBR3 expression in models of high versus low avidity topical OVA-peptide exposure. The authors could further increase the impact of the paper by fully exploring whether TGFBR3 is regulated at the RNA or protein level; analysis of scRNAseq data included in the rebuttal did show an increase in Tgfbr3 RNA transcript levels in VV-treated compared to DNFB-treated back skin.

      Quantification of the skin TRM population relies primarily on imaging analysis, which the authors indicate is more sensitive and consistent for quantifying this population. While flow cytometry is used to perform some phenotyping of TRMs, there remain some missed opportunities for more extensive analysis of markers expressed by this population. Finally, quantifying right and left skin draining lymph node CD8+ T cell numbers would clarify the skin specificity and cell trafficking dynamics of the authors' model.

      This work heavily utilizes models developed and defined in previously published work (Hirai, T., et al., Competition for Active TGFβ Cytokine Allows for Selective Retention of Antigen-Specific Tissue- Resident Memory T Cells in the Epidermal Niche. Immunity, 2021. 54(1): p. 84-98.e5). Rather than repeating control experiments for this manuscript, the authors reference data included in this prior work. Thus, readers interested in a more in-depth understanding of these tools and concepts would be encouraged to read both papers.

    1. Author response:

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This study investigates how collective navigation improvements arise in homing pigeons. Building on the Sasaki & Biro (2017) experiment on homing pigeons, the authors use simulations to test seven candidate social learning strategies of varying cognitive complexity, ranging from simple route averaging to potentially cognitively demanding selective propagation of superior routes. They show that only the simplest strategy-equal route averaging-quantitatively matches the experimental data in both route efficiency and social weighting. More complex strategies, while potentially more effective, fail to align with the observed data. The authors also introduce the concept of "effective group size," showing that the chaining design leads to a strong dilution of earlier individuals' contributions. Overall, they conclude that cognitive simplicity rather than cumulative cultural evolution explains collective route improvements in pigeons.

      Strengths:

      The manuscript addresses an important question and provides a compelling argument that a simpler hypothesis is necessary and sufficient to explain findings of a recent influential study on pigeon route improvements, via a rigorous systematic comparison of seven alternative hypotheses. The authors should be commended for their willingness to critically re-examine established interpretations. The introduction and discussion are broad and link pigeon navigation to general debates on social learning, wisdom of crowds, and CCE.

      We thank the reviewer for their positive comments.

      Weaknesses:

      The lack of availability of codes and data for this manuscript, especially given that it critically examines and proposes alternative hypotheses for an important published work.

      We thank the reviewer for their comment. The code and data for our manuscript are an important aspect of the study, and we had intended to make them publicly available upon publication. The link to our code and data on figshare can be found here: (https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28950032.v1). We will further add this link to the Data Availability Statement of our revised version.  

      Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The manuscript investigates which social navigation mechanisms, with different cognitive demands, can explain experimental data collected from homing pigeons. Interestingly, the results indicate that the simplest strategy - route averaging - aligns best with the experimental data, while the most demanding strategy - selectively propagating the best route - offers no advantage. Further, the results suggest that a mixed strategy of weighted averaging may provide significant improvements.

      The manuscript addresses the important problem of identifying possible mechanisms that could explain observed animal behavior by systematically comparing different candidate models. A core aspect of the study is the calculation of collective routes from individual bird routes using different models that were hypothesized to be employed by the animals, but which differ in their cognitive demands.

      The manuscript is well-written, with high-quality figures supporting both the description of the approach taken and the presentation of results. The results should be of interest to a broad community of researchers investigating (collective) animal behavior, ranging from experiment to theory. The general approach and mathematical methods appear reasonable and show no obvious flaws. The statistical methods also appear.

      Strengths:

      The main strength of the manuscript is the systematic comparison of different meta-mechanisms for social navigation by modeling social trajectories from solitary trajectories and directly comparing them with experimental results on social navigation. The results show that the experimentally observed behavior could, in principle, arise from simple route averaging without the need to identify "knowledgeable" individuals. Another strength of the work is the establishment of a connection between social navigation behavior and the broader literature on the wisdom of crowds through the concept of effective group size.

      We thank the reviewer for their positive comments.

      Weaknesses:

      However, there are two main weaknesses that should be addressed:

      (1) The first concerns the definition of "mechanism" as used by the authors, for example, when writing "navigation mechanism." Intuitively, one might assume that what is meant is a behavioral mechanism in the sense of how behavior is generated as a dynamic process. However, here it is used at a more abstract (meta) level, referring to high-level categories such as "averaging" versus "leader-follower" dynamics. It is not used in the sense of how an individual makes decisions while moving, where the actual route followed in a social context emerges from individuals navigating while simultaneously interacting with conspecifics in space and time. In the presented work, the approach is to directly combine (global) route data of solitary birds according to the considered "meta-mechanisms" to generate social trajectories. Of course, this is not how pigeon social navigation actually works-they do not sit together before the flight and say, "This is my route, this is your route, let's combine them in this way." A mechanistic modeling approach would instead be some form of agent-based model that describes how agents move and interact in space and time. Such a "bottom-up" approach, however, has its drawbacks, including many unknown parameters and often strongly simplifying (implicit) assumptions. I do not expect the authors to conduct agent-based modeling, but at the very least, they should clearly discuss what they mean by "mechanism" and clarify that while their approach has advantages-such as naturally accounting for the statistical features of solitary routes and allowing a direct comparison of different meta-mechanisms is also limited, as it does not address how behavior is actually generated. For example, the approach lacks any explicit modeling of errors, uncertainty, or stochasticity more broadly (e.g., due to environmental influences). Thus, while the presented study yields some interesting results, it can only be considered an intermediate step toward understanding actual behavioral mechanisms.

      We thank the reviewer for their comment and thoughtful suggestions. We agree that the inherent behavioral mechanisms and the biological basis of these mechanisms cannot be determined just through the navigational data alone. For instance, it remains unexplored if pigeons are adapting their behavior based only on social cues from their partners or using other navigational features such as landmarks or roads, location of the sun, geomagnetic cues or prior learnt routes. However, we do agree (as also pointed by the reviewer) that these behavioral rules generate an emergent ‘meta-mechanism’ where the bird pairs are behaving as if their preferred routes are averaged during a flight. It will be important in future work to explore the biological basis of these mechanisms, but our current approach allows us to only describe the mechanisms in a meta sense with any confidence. Considering this, we believe that our analysis is a more top-down approach towards describing the outcomes of these underlying mechanisms in an abstract sense. We would also like to point the reviewer to Dalmaijer, 2024 [1] who used a bottom up approach, using naive agents and showed that cumulative route improvements emerged in the absence of any sophisticated communication in the same dataset, in agreement with our approach. Considering these points, we will make changes in our revised version to clearly elaborate on what the definition of ‘mechanism’ should include in line with the reviewer’s feedback.

      (2) While the presented study raises important questions about the applicability and viability of cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) in explaining certain animal behaviors such as social navigation, I find that it falls short in discussing them. What are the implications regarding the applicability of CCE to animal data and to previously claimed experimental evidence for CCE? Should these experiments be re-analyzed or critically reassessed? If not, why? What are good examples from animal behavior where CCE should not be doubted? Furthermore, what about the cited definitions and criteria of CCE? Are they potentially too restrictive? Should they be revised-and if so, how? Conversely, if the definitions become too general, is CCE still a useful concept for studying certain classes of animal behavior? I think these are some of the very important questions that could be addressed or at least raised in the discussion to initiate a broader debate within the community.

      We thank the reviewer for their comments and interesting questions regarding our study. We agree with the reviewer that our study opens up new avenues for critically analysing the criteria previous studies have used for providing evidence of CCE in non-human animals. According to our literature review, we found that the field has been usually motivated in thinking about CCE in a ‘process’ focused manner (Reindl et al. [2]) in regards to individuals being able to compare strategies and selecting ones resulting in higher individual fitness. This preferential selection of strategies – termed innovations — allows for the stereotypical ratcheting effect seen in CCE. In our study, we propose that in the case of homing pigeons, the ratcheting effect is more of a statistical outcome rather than deliberate individual judgement. We believe that this strategy is also amenable to certain task types (which in our study was homing route choice) and may change for others (for example solving a puzzle box) and the task also needs to be sufficiently complex for animals to benefit from the use of social information (Caldwell et al. 2008 [3]). Thus, we recommend future work to address what classes of problems would fit well within the definition of “emergent” CCE and which ones don’t. Keeping this framework in mind, studies should clearly state what definition of CCE they are using and should be critically evaluated for their underlying task type and cognitive mechanisms to deem them as CCE. Considering these points we will expand our discussion to highlight these key questions that could be critical to think upon for future research.

      References:

      (1) Dalmaijer ES (2024) Cumulative route improvements spontaneously emerge in artificial navigators even in the absence of sophisticated communication or thought. PLoS Biol. 22:e3002644.

      (2) Reindl, E., Gwilliams, A.L., Dean, L.G. et al. (2020) Skills and motivations underlying children’s cumulative cultural learning: case not closed. Palgrave Commun 6, 106.

      (3) Caldwell CA, Millen AE (2008) Studying cumulative cultural evolution in the laboratory. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 363:3529-3539.

    1. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This manuscript investigates the role of EV-D68 proteases 2A and 3C in nuclear pore complex (NPC) dysfunction and their contribution to motor neuron toxicity. The authors demonstrate that both proteases cleave only a limited number of nucleoporins, with 2A^pro showing the strongest impact by inhibiting nuclear import and export of proteins and disrupting NPC permeability without affecting RNA export. Importantly, treatment with the 2A^pro inhibitor telaprevir reduced neuronal cell death in a dose-dependent manner, achieving neuroprotection at concentrations below those required to inhibit viral replication. The study addresses a relevant mechanism underlying EV-D68-induced neuropathology and explores a potential therapeutic intervention.

      Strengths:

      (1) Provides significant mechanistic insight into how EV-D68 proteases alter NPC function and contribute to neuronal toxicity.

      (2) The use of recombinant 2A and 3C proteins allows clear dissection of the specific contribution of each protease.

      (3) Demonstrates a therapeutic effect of telaprevir, with neuroprotection independent of viral replication inhibition, adding translational value to the findings.

      (4) The topic is highly relevant given the association of EV-D68 with acute flaccid myelitis.

      Weaknesses:

      (1) Most experiments were performed with recombinant proteases, lacking validation in the context of viral infection, where both proteases act simultaneously.

      (2) The conclusion that RNA export is unaffected requires confirmation during actual infection.

      (3) The reduction of neurotoxicity by telaprevir does not fully demonstrate that the protective effect is solely mediated through NPC preservation; additional analyses of eIF4G cleavage, nucleoporin integrity, and stress granules are needed.

      (4) The study would be strengthened by including another 2A inhibitor (e.g., boceprevir) to confirm the specificity of telaprevir's protective effects.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The author showed expression of the viral proteases 2Apro and 3Cpro of EV-D68, which cleaved specific components of the nuclear pore complex (Nup98 and POM121 by 2Apro), and 2A but not 3C expression altered nuclear import and export. Similar nucleocytoplasmic transport deficits are observed in EV-D68-infected RD cells and iPSC-derived motor neurons (diMNs). 2A inhibitor telaprevir partially rescued the nucleocytoplasmic transport deficits and suppressed neuronal cell death after infection. While it's clear that 2A can cleave NPC proteins and affect nuclear transport, the link to neurotoxicity after EV-D68 infection is less convincing.

      This study opens up a very intriguing hypothesis: that EV-D68 2Apro could be directly responsible for motor neuron cell death, mediated by POM121 and possibly Nup98 cleavage, that ultimately results in paralysis known as acute flaccid myelitis. This hypothesis notably does run counter to other published data showing that human neuronal organoids derived from iPSCs can support productive EV-D68 infection for weeks without cell death and that EV-D68-infected mice can have paralysis prevented by depletion of CD8 T cells, still with EV-D68 infection of the spinal cord. However, even if 2Apro is not ultimately responsible for motor neurons dying in human infections, that does not exclude the possibility that cleavage of nups could still disrupt motor neuron function. Notably, most children with AFM have some amount of motor function return after their acute period of paralysis, but most still have some residual paralysis for years to life. It is possible that 2A pro could mediate the acute onset of weakness, while T cells killing neurons could determine the amount of long-term, residual paralysis.

      Strengths:

      The characterization of nuclear pore complex components that appear to be targets of both poliovirus and EV-D68 proteases is quite thorough and expansive, so this data set alone will be useful for reference to the field. And the process by which the authors narrowed their focus to EV-D68 2Apro reducing Nup98 and POM121 as consequential to both import and export of nuclear cargo but not RNA was technically impressive, thorough, and convincing. As will be detailed below, when the authors move from studying over-expressed proteases in transformed cell lines to studying actual virus infection in both transformed cell lines and iPSC-derived neurons, some of the data only indirectly support their conclusions; however, the quality of the experiments performed is still high. So even if the claim that 2Apro causes neurotoxicity is circumstantial, the data certainly are intriguing and certainly justify further study of the effects of EV-D68 2Apro on the NPC and how this impacts pathogenesis. This is a convincing start to an intriguing line of inquiry.

      Weaknesses:

      This study falls a bit shy of actually showing that 2Apro effects are causing motor neuron toxicity because the evidence of this is fairly indirect. At points, the authors do admit these limitations, but at other times, they claim to have shown the link directly. The following are reasons why these claims are only indirectly supported:

      (1) Cleavage of Nup98 and POM121 after EV-D68 infection in RD cells and diMNs is never demonstrated.

      (2) Telaprevir was able to rescue nucleocytoplasmic transport in RD cells at low concentrations (Figure 4A). It is not shown if this correlates with its antiviral effect in RD cells, or could this correlate with inhibition of 2A cleavage of Nup98 or POM121, which is never measured.

      (3) Building off of the prior point, the authors' claim that the neuroprotective effect of telaprevir is independent of its antiviral effect is not well-founded. Figure 4E (neuroprotection) was done with MOI 5, and Figure 4G (virus growth) was MOI 0.5. Telaprevir neuroprotection is not shown at MOI 0.5, nor is the neuroprotective effect correlated with inhibition of 2A cleavage of Nup98 or POM121.

      (4) The use of mixed virus isolates only in the diMNs is problematic because different EV-D68 isolates are known to have drastically different effects on pathogenesis in mice. Since all initial data were generated with the MO isolate, adding the additional MD isolate to the diMN experiments actually adds uncertainty to the conclusions. It is not clear if the authors infected different cultures with the different isolates and combined the data or infected all cultures with a mixture of the two isolates. If the former, then the data should be reported separately to see the effect of each individual strain, which would be interesting to EV-D68 virologists. If the latter, then there is no way to know from these data whether one of the two isolates had increased fitness over the other and exerted a dominant effect. If the MD isolate overtook the MO isolate, from which all other data in this manuscript are derived, then we have much less of an idea how much the data from the first three figures supports the final figure.

    3. Author response:

      We thank the reviewers for their detailed and thoughtful comments on the manuscript.  In general, the reviewers found the data supporting the role of Enterovirus D68 proteases in disrupting the composition of the nuclear pore complex, the 2A protease disrupting nucleocytoplasmic transport of protein cargoes, and the mechanistic dissection of this process to be convincing and potentially relevant to the pathogenesis of AFM.  Reviewers requested additional experiments evaluating our observation that RNA export was not similarly impaired, particularly in the context of viral infection rather than solely expression of recombinant proteases.  They also requested that cleavage of POM121 and Nup98 by 2A protease, which was demonstrated in 2A<sup>pro</sup> transfected cells and in biochemical assays, also be demonstrated in motor neurons infected by EV-D68.  Finally, reviewers noted that while suggestive, the evidence falls short of demonstrating that the toxicity of 2A<sup>pro</sup> is mediated through nuclear pore complex dysfunction.

      To address these critiques, we aim to do the following:

      (1) Determine the impact of live virus infection on RNA export by repeating the ethinyl uridine pulse-chase assay in the setting of live virus infection.  We will also provide representative images for these data and the previously reported data from transfection with GFP-2A<sup>pro</sup> and GFP-3C<sup>pro</sup>.

      (2) Evaluate cleavage of POM121 and Nup98 in EV-D68-infected diMNs and inhibition of cleavage by telaprevir by Western blot.

      (3) Present motor neuron survival data in figure 4 as separate graphs for each of the viral strains tested, rather than pooling the data.  To clarify reviewer #3’s concern, these were not mixed cultures.

      We agree that we have not demonstrated conclusively that the mechanism by which 2A<sup>pro</sup> is toxic to motor neurons is via NPC dysfunction.  Future work will determine the extent to which NPC dysfunction contributes to 2A<sup>pro</sup>-mediated motor neuron toxicity versus other potential targets of 2A<sup>pro</sup>.  We feel that the additional experiments required to achieve this will be extensive and are beyond the scope of the present manuscript, which represents a key first step in this line of inquiry.

      In addition to the above, there were several points of disagreement between reviewers.  We would like to respond to those as follows:

      Reviewer #1: “The hypothesis that infection of motoneurons is the cause of EVD68-induced neurological complications so far is supported by only one autopsy report.  Other data suggest that infection of other cell types, such as astrocytes, and/or inflammatory cell infiltration in the CNS, are likely to be responsible for the symptoms.”

      Reviewer #3: “This study opens up a very intriguing hypothesis: that EV-D68 2Apro could be directly responsible for motor neuron cell death, mediated by POM121 and possibly Nup98 cleavage, that ultimately results in paralysis known as acute flaccid myelitis. This hypothesis notably does run counter to other published data showing that human neuronal organoids derived from iPSCs can support productive EV-D68 infection for weeks without cell death and that EV-D68-infected mice can have paralysis prevented by depletion of CD8 T cells, still with EV-D68 infection of the spinal cord. However, even if 2Apro is not ultimately responsible for motor neurons dying in human infections, that does not exclude the possibility that cleavage of nups could still disrupt motor neuron function. Notably, most children with AFM have some amount of motor function return after their acute period of paralysis, but most still have some residual paralysis for years to life. It is possible that 2A pro could mediate the acute onset of weakness, while T cells killing neurons could determine the amount of long-term, residual paralysis.”

      The infection of motor neurons is strongly supported not only by the aforementioned autopsy data[1], but also by mouse model data demonstrating replication of EV-D68 within motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord.[2 ] There are also extensive reports of electromyography and nerve conduction studies from human AFM patients demonstrating that the site of pathology is the spinal motor neuron.[3-10]. By contrast, infection of astrocytes has been demonstrated only in primary murine astrocyte cultures in which no neurons were present.[11] .Therefore, while the available data suggest that EV-D68 infection of astrocytes is possible, in the in vivo context of human and mouse spinal cord, tropism to motor neurons appears to be preferential.  The relative contributions to toxicity of neuron-autonomous vs non-autonomous processes such as glial dysfunction and inflammatory cell infiltration remain to be elucidated, and are not mutually exclusive.

      Our working hypothesis is more in line with that of Reviewer #3.  Motor neuron dysfunction and motor neuron death may ultimately prove to have dissociable causes, each of which may be neuron-autonomous, non-neuron-autonomous, or a mixture thereof.  The infection of motor neurons is likely the initiating event, with multiple downstream consequences.  Much additional work will be required to resolve this controversy.

      Reviewer #1: “Demonstrates a therapeutic effect of telaprevir, with neuroprotection independent of viral replication inhibition, adding translational value to the findings.”

      Reviewer #3: “The authors' claim that the neuroprotective effect of telaprevir is independent of its antiviral effect is not well-founded. Figure 4E (neuroprotection) was done with MOI 5, and Figure 4G (virus growth) was MOI 0.5. Telaprevir neuroprotection is not shown at MOI 0.5, nor is the neuroprotective effect correlated with inhibition of 2A cleavage of Nup98 or POM121.”

      The selection of MOIs for these two experiments was limited by technical considerations.  If the viral growth curve were to be performed at MOI 5, it would be confounded by cell death.  Further, a low MOI is required in order to allow multiple rounds of infection, replication, and spread within the culture, and is therefore more sensitive for assaying the effect of telaprevir on viral replication.  On the other hand, at MOI 0.5 diMN death is very gradual, and in the neuroprotection assay we would have lacked the statistical power to determine whether a rescue of this small magnitude of toxicity is significant.  The EC<sub>50</sub> of telaprevir is not expected to vary significantly at different MOIs.

      References:

      (1) Vogt, M. R. et al. Enterovirus D68 in the Anterior Horn Cells of a Child with Acute Flaccid Myelitis. N Engl J Med 386, 2059-2060 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2118155

      (2) Hixon, A. M. et al. A mouse model of paralytic myelitis caused by enterovirus D68. PLoS Pathog 13, e1006199 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006199

      (3) Andersen, E. W., Kornberg, A. J., Freeman, J. L., Leventer, R. J. & Ryan, M. M. Acute flaccid myelitis in childhood: a retrospective cohort study. Eur J Neurol 24, 1077-1083 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.13345

      (4) Elrick, M. J. et al. Clinical Subpopulations in a Sample of North American Children Diagnosed With Acute Flaccid Myelitis, 2012-2016. JAMA Pediatr 173, 134-139 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.4890

      (5) Hovden, I. A. & Pfeiffer, H. C. Electrodiagnostic findings in acute flaccid myelitis related to enterovirus D68. Muscle Nerve 52, 909-910 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1002/mus.24738

      (6) Knoester, M. et al. Twenty-Nine Cases of Enterovirus-D68 Associated Acute Flaccid Myelitis in Europe 2016; A Case Series and Epidemiologic Overview. Pediatr Infect Dis J 38, 16-21 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000002188

      (7) Martin, J. A. et al. Outcomes of Colorado children with acute flaccid myelitis at 1 year. Neurology 89, 129-137 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000004081

      (8) Saltzman, E. B. et al. Nerve Transfers for Enterovirus D68-Associated Acute Flaccid Myelitis: A Case Series. Pediatr Neurol 88, 25-30 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2018.07.018

      (9) Van Haren, K. et al. Acute Flaccid Myelitis of Unknown Etiology in California, 2012-2015. JAMA 314, 2663-2671 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.17275

      (10) Natera-de Benito, D. et al. Acute Flaccid Myelitis With Early, Severe Compound Muscle Action Potential Amplitude Reduction: A 3-Year Follow-up of a Child Patient. J Clin Neuromuscul Dis 20, 100-101 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1097/CND.0000000000000217

      (11) Rosenfeld, A. B., Warren, A. L. & Racaniello, V. R. Neurotropism of Enterovirus D68 Isolates Is Independent of Sialic Acid and Is Not a Recently Acquired Phenotype. Mbio (2019). https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio

    1. In terms of affect: I LOVE it! In terms of behavior: I frequently eat chocolate ice cream. In terms of cognitions: Chocolate ice cream has a smooth texture and a rich, strong taste.

      Example 3

    1. Author response:

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      For summary:

      Thank you for your insightful and rigorous review. We fully agree with your core concern: establishing a causal link between MORC2 phase separation (PS) and its gene regulatory function is not only a key need in the phase separation field but also essential to elevating the overall utility of our work. To resolve the current gap in causal evidence, we will design experiments that explicitly distinguish the role of phase-separated condensates from soluble MORC2 complexes: We will generate a phase-separation-deficient but dimerization-competent MORC2 mutant by mutating key hydrophobic residues in the IDRa region (critical for IDR-IBD multivalent interactions driving phase separation) without disrupting the CC3 domain’s dimerization interface. In addition, we plan to investigate whether introducing a KS sequence[1] at the C-terminus can effectively attenuate the phase separation propensity of MORC2. These mutants will allow us to decouple “phase separation capacity” from “protein dimerization” (a prerequisite for both soluble complex formation and condensates).

      For strengths:

      We appreciate the reviewer’s recognition of our characterization of MORC2 phase separation and its structural basis. Our understanding of the CW domain’s function remains preliminary. Although we observed that the CW domain can influence condensate size, the IDR, IBD, and CC3 domains constitute the core structural elements driving phase separation. Consequently, the CW domain was not a primary focus of the current study. Nonetheless, investigating its functional contributions represents an interesting avenue for future work.

      For weaknesses:

      (1) We appreciate the reviewer’s rigorous concern. Our RNA-seq data were generated from fully independent transfections performed in triplicate across different time points and cell culture batches, aiming to maximize sample independence. However, for sensitive sequencing experiments, we observed that variability in transfection efficiency and cell culture across batches can introduce experimental differences, resulting in variable regulation of differentially expressed genes across samples. During differential gene analysis, p-value filtering excluded an additional 40 overlapping genes. In total, 61 genes overlapped with those reported in reference 22[2] (ZNF91, ZNF721, ZNF66, ZNF493, ZNF462, ZNF221, ZNF121, VGLL3, TUFT1, TLE4, TGFB2, SYS1-DBNDD2, STXBP6, SPRY2, SAMD9, ROR1, PTGES, PLK2, PLCXD2, PEA15, PDE2A, OLR1, NYAP2, NTN4, NRXN3, NEXN, MYLK, MPP7, MDGA1, MAMDC2, LBH, KRT80, ITGB8, IGFBP3, IGF2BP2, ICAM1, HIVEP3, GRB14, GPRC5A, GLCE, GJB3, GADD45B, GADD45A, FOXE1, FOSL1, FGF2, ETV5, ERBB3, DNAJC22, DIRAS1, DBNDD2, CXCL16, CRB2, COL9A3, CLDN1, BDNF, ATP8A1, AMOTL2, AHNAK2, ADAMTS16, ACSF2). To further enhance reproducibility, we will perform additional sequencing experiments.

      (2).Disease-associated mutants of MORC2

      At the current stage, the results for disease-associated mutations are descriptive. While we observed that certain mutations clustered at the N-terminus can affect MORC2 condensate formation, ATPase activity, and DNA binding, we did not identify a mechanistic explanation for these correlations. Notably, the T424R mutation, previously reported to significantly enhance ATPase activity, also increased both intracellular condensate formation and in vitro DNA binding in our experiments. In contrast, other mutations did not show such consistent effects. Previous studies have established that MORC2’s ATP-binding and DNA-binding activities are independent[2]. Our results further suggest that MORC2’s phase separation behavior is also independent of both ATP and DNA binding, although existing evidence hints at potential cross-regulatory interactions among these three functions.

      We are fully committed to implementing these revisions with strict rigor and plan to complete them within 8–10 weeks. We will submit a comprehensive response letter alongside the revised manuscript, explicitly mapping how each of your concerns has been addressed, and ensuring that our conclusions about MORC2 PS’s functional role are supported by solid, reproducible data. We believe these revisions will transform our study from a strong “mechanism-focused” work to a comprehensive one that bridges PS mechanisms and biological function—aligning with the high standards of the phase separation field. Thank you again for your invaluable guidance in improving our work.

      Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      For summary:

      Thank you for your thorough and constructive review of our manuscript. We fully agree with the key concerns you raised and have developed a detailed revision plan to address each point comprehensively. We will perform additional control and validation experiments to directly link MORC2’s condensate-forming capacity with its gene silencing function. At the current stage, the results for disease-associated mutations are descriptive. While we observed that certain mutations clustered at the N-terminus can affect MORC2 condensate formation, ATPase activity, and DNA binding, we did not identify a mechanistic explanation for these correlations. Notably, the T424R mutation, previously reported to significantly enhance ATPase activity[3], also increased both intracellular condensate formation and in vitro DNA binding in our experiments. In contrast, other mutations did not show such consistent effects. Previous studies have established that MORC2’s ATP-binding and DNA-binding activities are independent[4]. Our results further suggest that MORC2’s phase separation behavior is also independent of both ATP and DNA binding, although existing evidence hints at potential cross-regulatory interactions among these three functions.

      For strengths:

      We thank the reviewer for their appreciation of the key findings presented in this manuscript.

      For weaknesses:

      We thank the reviewer for their careful assessment of MORC2’s DNA-binding properties and its relationship with ATPase and transcriptional activities. We would like to offer the following clarifications to address these concerns, which will also be incorporated into the Discussion section of the revised manuscript.

      (1) Recent work by Tan et al.[4] similarly identified multiple DNA-binding sites in MORC2, consistent with our findings, though there are discrepancies in the precise binding regions. In particular, they reported that isolated CC1 and CC2 domains do not bind 60 bp dsDNA, which contrasts with our observations. We attribute this difference to the types of DNA used in the assays. In our study, we employed 601 DNA, a defined nucleosome-positioning sequence, which differs substantially from randomly designed short dsDNA. For instance, prior work by Christopher H. Douse et al.[3] also confirmed that MORC2’s CC1 domain can bind 601 DNA.

      (2) In the study by Fendler et al.², DNA binding was reported to reduce MORC2’s ATPase activity—an observation that appears inconsistent with the results presented in our Fig. 5j. A critical distinction between the two studies lies in the experimental systems used: Fendler et al. employed a truncated MORC2 construct (residues 1–603) and 35 bp double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), whereas our experiments utilized full-length MORC2 and 601 bp DNA (a sequence with high nucleosome assembly potential). These differences—including the absence of potentially regulatory C-terminal regions in the truncated construct and the varying length/structural properties of the DNA substrates—introduce variables that substantially complicate direct comparative analysis of ATPase activity outcomes.

      Separately, Douse et al.³ demonstrated that the efficiency of HUSH complex-dependent epigenetic silencing decreases as MORC2’s ATP hydrolysis rate increases, implying an inverse relationship between ATPase activity and silencing function. Notably, our current work has not established a direct mechanistic link between MORC2 phase separation and its ATPase activity. Thus, we refrain from inferring that the effect of MORC2 phase separation on transcriptional repression is mediated through modulation of its ATPase function—this remains an important question to address in future studies.

      (3) Finally, we plan to perform additional experiments to rule out the potential effects of CC3 dimerization. We will generate a phase-separation-deficient but dimerization-competent MORC2 mutant by mutating key hydrophobic residues in the IDRa region (critical for IDR-IBD multivalent interactions driving phase separation) without disrupting the CC3 domain’s dimerization interface. In addition, we plan to investigate whether introducing a KS sequence[1] at the C-terminus can effectively attenuate the phase separation propensity of MORC2. These mutants will allow us to decouple “phase separation capacity” from “protein dimerization”.

      We are committed to implementing these revisions with strict rigor and plan to complete them within 8–10 weeks. We will submit a detailed response letter alongside the revised manuscript, explicitly mapping how each of your concerns has been addressed, and ensuring the Discussion section is robust, context-rich, and fully integrates our work with the existing literature. We believe these improvements will significantly enhance the reliability, contextual relevance, and impact of our study, and we sincerely thank you for guiding us to elevate its quality.

      Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      For summary:

      Thank you for your insightful review and constructive suggestions, which have been invaluable in refining our manuscript. We greatly appreciate your recognition of the study’s strengths, including its logical structure, integration of multi-disciplinary approaches (in vitro LLPS assays, cellular studies, NMR, and crystallography), and the establishment of a functional link between MORC2 phase separation, DNA binding, and transcriptional control. Your identification of areas needing stronger evidence has provided clear, actionable directions for improvement, and we are fully committed to addressing each point comprehensively.

      For Major comments:

      To strengthen the manuscript as per your recommendations:

      (1) For the characterization of IDR-IBD interactions in PS: We will perform systematic in vitro assays, including PS turbidity measurements and confocal imaging of MORC2 variants lacking IDR or IBD (ΔIDR, ΔIBD) and truncated constructs (IDR alone, IBD alone). These experiments will quantify how each domain individually or synergistically contributes to phase separation propensity (e.g., critical concentration, condensate size/distribution).

      (2) To assess DNA’s influence on PS: We will generate phase diagrams by testing a range of MORC2 concentrations (0.5–10 μM) or with 601 DNA (147bp) and concentrations (0–2 μM), using turbidity assays and microscopy to map phase boundaries. This will systematically clarify how DNA modulates MORC2 phase separation.

      We plan to complete these experiments within 3–4 weeks, with rigorous quantification and statistical analysis to support our conclusions. The revised manuscript will include a detailed response letter mapping each of your suggestions to specific data additions, ensuring enhanced robustness and conviction. We believe these revisions will significantly strengthen the study’s conclusions, and we sincerely thank you for guiding us to improve its quality.

      Reference:

      [1] Mensah, M. A., Niskanen, H., Magalhaes, A. P., Basu, S., Kircher, M., Sczakiel, H. L., Reiter, A. M. V., Elsner, J., Meinecke, P., Biskup, S., et al. (2023). Aberrant phase separation and nucleolar dysfunction in rare genetic diseases. Nature 614, 564-571. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05682-1.

      [2] Fendler, N. L., Ly, J., Welp, L., Lu, D., Schulte, F., Urlaub, H., and Vos, S. M. (2024). Identification and characterization of a human MORC2 DNA binding region that is required for gene silencing. Nucleic Acids Res 53, gkae1273. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkae1273.

      [3] Douse, C. H., Bloor, S., Liu, Y. C., Shamin, M., Tchasovnikarova, I. A., Timms, R. T., Lehner, P. J., and Modis, Y. (2018). Neuropathic MORC2 mutations perturb GHKL ATPase dimerization dynamics and epigenetic silencing by multiple structural mechanisms. Nat Commun 9, 651. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03045-x.

      [4] Tan, W., Park, J., Venugopal, H., Lou, J. Q., Dias, P. S., Baldoni, P. L., Moon, K. W., Dite, T. A., Keenan, C. R., Gurzau, A. D., et al. (2025). MORC2 is a phosphorylation-dependent DNA compaction machine. Nat Commun 16, 5606. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60751-z.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The manuscript by Zhang et al. demonstrates that MORC2 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to form nuclear condensates critical for transcriptional repression. Using a combination of in vitro LLPS assays, cellular studies, NMR spectroscopy, and crystallography, the authors show that a dimeric scaffold formed by CC3 drives phase separation, while multivalent interactions between an intrinsically disordered region (IDR) and a newly defined IDR-binding domain (IBD) further promote condensate formation. Notably, LLPS enhances MORC2 ATPase activity in a DNA-dependent manner and contributes to transcriptional regulation, establishing a functional link between phase separation, DNA binding, and transcriptional control. Overall, the manuscript is well-organized and logically structured, offering mechanistic insights into MORC2 function, and most conclusions are supported by the presented data. Nevertheless, some of the claims are not sufficiently supported by the current data and would benefit from additional evidence to strengthen the conclusions.

      The following suggestions may help strengthen the manuscript:

      Major comments:

      (1) The central model proposes that multivalent interactions between the IDR and IBD promote MORC2 LLPS. However, the characterization of these interactions is currently limited. It is recommended that the authors perform more systematic analyses to investigate the contribution of these interactions to LLPS, for example, by in vitro assays assessing how the IDR or IBD individually influence MORC2 phase separation.

      (2) The authors mention that DNA binding can promote MORC2 LLPS. It is recommended that they generate a phase diagram to systematically assess how DNA influences phase separation.

      (3) The authors use the N39A mutant as a negative control to study the effect of DNA binding on ATP hydrolysis. Given that N39A is defective in DNA binding, it could also be employed to directly test whether DNA binding influences MORC2 phase separation.

      (4) Many of the cellular and in vitro LLPS experiments employ EGFP fusions. The authors should evaluate whether the EGFP tag influences MORC2 phase separation behavior.

    3. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The study by Zhang et al. focuses on how phase separation of a chromatin-associated protein MORC2, could regulate gene expression. Their study shows that MORC2 forms dynamic nuclear condensates in cells. In vitro, MORC2 phase separation is driven by dimerization and multivalent interactions involving the C-terminal domain. A key finding is that the intrinsically disordered region (IDR) of MORC2 exhibits strong DNA binding. They report that DNA binding enhances MORC2's phase separation and its ATPase activity, offering new insights into how MORC2 contributes to chromatin organization and gene regulation. The authors try to correlate MORC2's condensate-forming ability with its gene silencing function, but this warrants additional controls and validation. Moreover, they investigate the effect of disease-linked mutations in the N-terminal domain of MORC2 on its ability to form cellular condensates, ATPase activity, and DNA-binding, though the findings appear inconclusive in the manuscript's current form.

      Strengths:

      The authors determined a 3.1 Å resolution crystal structure of the dimeric coiled-coil 3 (CC3) domain of MORC2, revealing a hydrophobic interface that stabilizes dimer formation. They present extensive evidence that MORC2 undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) across multiple contexts, including in vitro, in cellulo, and in vivo. Through systematic cellular screening, they identified the C-terminal domain of MORC2 as a key driver of condensate formation. Biophysical and biochemical analyses further show that the IDR within the C-terminal domain interacts with the C-terminal end region (IBD) and also exhibits strong DNA-binding capacity, both of which promote MORC2 phase separation. Together, this study emphasizes that interactions mediated by multiple domains-CC3, IDR, and IBD- drives MORC2 phase separation. Finally, the authors quantified the effect of removing the CC3 on the upregulation and downregulation of target gene expression.

      Weaknesses:

      Though the findings appear compelling in isolation, the study lacks discussion on how its findings compare with previous studies. Particularly in the context of MORC2-DNA binding, there are previous studies extensively exploring MORC2-DNA binding (Tan, W., Park, J., Venugopal, H. et al. Nat Commun 2025), and its effect on ATPase activity (ref 22). The contradictory results in ref 22 about the impact of DNA-binding on ATPase activity, and ATPase activity on transcriptional repression, warrant proper discussion. The authors performed extensive in-cellulo screening for the investigation of domain contribution in MORC2 condensate formation, but the study does not consider/discuss the possibility of some indirect contributions from the complex cellular environment. Alternatively, the domain-specific contributions could be quantified in vitro by comparing phase diagrams for their variants. While the basis of this study is to investigate the mechanism of MORC2 condensate-mediated gene silencing, the findings in Figure 6 appear incomplete because the CC3 deletion not only affects phase separation of MORC2 but also dimerization. Furthermore, their investigation on disease-linked MORC2 mutations appears very preliminary and inconclusive because there are no obvious trends from the data. Overall, the discussion appears weak as it is missing references to previous studies and, most importantly, how their findings compare to others'.

    4. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This work demonstrates that MORC2 undergoes phase separation (PS) in cells to form nuclear condensates, and the authors demonstrate convincingly the interactions responsible for this phase separation. Specifically, the authors make good use of crystallography and NMR to identify multiple protein:protein interactions and use EMSA to confirm protein:DNA interactions. These interactions work together to promote in vitro and in cell phase separation and boost ATPase activity by the catalytic domain of MORC2.

      However, the authors have very weak evidence supporting their potentially valuable claim that MORC2 PS is important for the appropriate gene regulatory role of MORC2 in cells. Exploring causal links between PS and function is an important need in the phase separation field, particularly as regards the role of condensates in gene regulation, and is a non-trivial matter. Any study with convincing data on this matter will be very important. For this reason, it is crucial to properly explore the alternative possibility that soluble complexes, existing in the same conditions as phase-separated condensates, are the functional species. It is also critical to keep in mind that, while a specific protein domain may be essential for PS, this does not mean its only important function pertains to PS.

      In this study, the authors do not sufficiently explore the role that soluble MORC2 complexes may play alongside MORC2 condensates. Neither do they include enough data to solidly show that domain deletion leads to phenotypes via a loss of phase separation per se, rather than the loss of phase separation being a microscopically visible result, not cause, of an underlying shift in protein function. For these reasons, the authors' conclusions regarding the functional role of MORC2 condensates are based on incomplete data. This also dampens the utility of this work as a whole, since the very nice work detailing the mechanism of MORC2 PS is not paired with strong data showing the importance of this observation.

      Strengths:

      Static light scattering and crystallography are nicely used to demonstrate the dimerization of MORC2FL and to discover the structure of the CC3 domain dimer, presumably responsible for the dimerization of MORC2FL (Figure 1).

      Extensive use of deletion mutants in multiple cell lines is used to identify regions of MORC2 that are important for forming condensates in the nucleus: the IBD, IDR, and CC3 domains are found to be essential for condensate formation, while the CW domain plays an unknown role in condensate morphology (Figure 3). The authors use NMR to further identify that the IBD domain seems to interact with the first third of the centrally located IDR, termed IDRa, but not with the latter two-thirds of the IDR domain (Figure 4). This leads them to propose that phase separation is the product of IDB:IDRa interaction, CC3 dimerization, and an unknown but important role for the CW domain.

      Based on the observation that removal of the NLS resulted in diffuse cytoplasmic localization, they hypothesized that DNA may play an important role in MORC2 PS. EMSA was used to demonstrate interaction between DNA and several MORC2 domains: CC1, CC2, IDR, and TCD-CC3-IBD. Further in vitro microscopy with purified MORC2 showed that DNA addition significantly reduces MORC2 saturation concentration (Figure 5).

      These assays convincingly demonstrate that MORC2 phase separates in cells, and identify the protein domains and interactions responsible for this phenomenon, with the notable caveat that the role of the CW domain here is left unexplored.

      Weaknesses:

      Although the authors demonstrated phase separation of MORC2FL, their evidence that this plays a functional role in the cell is incomplete.

      Firstly, looking at differentially upregulated genes under MORC2FL overexpression, the authors acknowledge that only 10% are shared with differentially regulated genes identified in other MORC2FL overexpression studies (Figure 6c,d). No explanation is given for why this overlap is so low, making it difficult to trust conclusions from this data set.

      Secondly, of the 21 genes shared in this study and in earlier studies, the authors note that the differential regulation is less pronounced when a phase-separation-deficient MORC2 mutant is overexpressed, rather than MORC2FL (Figure 6e). This is taken as evidence that phase separation is important for the proper function of MORC2. However, no consideration is made for the alternative possibility that the mutant, lacking the CC3 dimerization domain, may result in non-functional complexes involving MORC2, eliminating the need for a PS-centric conclusion. To take the overexpression data as solid evidence for a functional role of MORC2 PS, the authors would need to test the alternative, soluble complex hypothesis. Furthermore, there seems to be low replicate consistency for the MORC2 mutant condition (Figure S6a), with replicate 3 being markedly upregulated when compared to replicates 1 and 2.

      Thirdly, the authors close by examining the in-cell PS capabilities and ATPase activity of several disease-associated mutants of MORC2 ( Figure 7). However, the relevance of these mutants to the past 6 figures is unclear. None of these mutations is in regions identified as important for PS. Two of the mutations result in a higher percentage of the cell population being condensate-positive, but this is not seemingly connected to ATPase activity, as only one of these two mutants has increased ATPase activity. Figure 7 does not add any support to the main hypotheses in the paper, and nowhere in the paper do the authors investigate the protein regions where the mutations in Figure 7 are found.

    1. Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The authors focused on medaka retinal organoids to investigate the mechanism underlying the eye cup morphogenesis. The authors succeeded to induce lens formation in fish retinal organoids using 3D suspension culture with minimal growth factor-containing media containing the Hepes. At day 1, Rx3:H2B-GFP+ cells appear in the surface region of organoids. At day 1.5, Prox1+cells appear in the interface area between the organoid surface and the core of central cell mass, which develops a spherical-shaped lens later. So, Prox1+ cells covers the surface of the internal lens cell core. At day 2, foxe3:GFP+ cells appear in the Prox1+ area, where early lens fiber marker, LFC, starts to be expressed. In addition, foxe3:GFP+ cells show EdU+ incorporation, indicating that foxe3:GFP+ cells have lens epithelial cell-characters. At day 4, cry:EGFP+ cells differentiate inside the spherical lens core, whose surface area consists of LFC+ and Prox1+ cells. Furthermore, at day 4, the lens core moves towards the surface of retinal organoids to form an eyecup like structure, although this morphogenesis "inside out" mechanism is different from in vivo cellular "outside -in" mechanism of eye cup formation. From these data, the authors conclude that optic cup formation, especially the positioning of the lens, is established in retinal organoids though the different mechanism of in vivo morphogenesis.

      Overall, manuscript presentation is nice. However, there are still obscure points to understand background mechanism. My comments are shown below.

      Major comments:

      (1) At the initial stage of retinal organoid morphogenesis, a spherical lens is centrally positioned inside the retinal organoids, by covering a central lens core by the outer cell sheet of retinal precursor cells. I wonder if the formation of this structure may be understood by differential cell adhesive activity or mechanical tension between lens core cells and retinal cell sheet, just like the previous study done by Heisenberg lab on the spatial patterning of endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm (Nat. Cell Biol. 10, 429 - 436 (2008)). Lens core cells may be integrated inside retinal cell mass by cell sorting through the direct interaction between retinal cells and lens cells, or between lens cells and the culture media. After day 1, it is also possible to understand that lens core moves towards the surface of retinal organoids, if adhesive/tensile force states of lens core cells may be change by secretion of extracellular matrix. I wonder if the authors measure physical property, adhesive activity and solidness, of retinal precursor cells and lens core cells. If retinal organoids at day 1 are dissociated and cultured again, do they show the same patterning of internal lens core covering by the outer retinal cell sheet?

      (2) Optic cup is evaginated from the lateral wall of neuroepithelium of the diencephalon. In zebrafish, cell movement occurs from the pigment epithelium to the neural retina during eye morphogenesis in an FGF-dependent manner. How the medaka optic cup morphogenesis is coordinated? I also wonder if the authors conduct the tracking of cell migration during optic cup morphogenesis to reveal how cell migration and cell division are regulated in lens of the Medaka retinal organoids. It is also interesting to examine how retinal cell movement is coordinated during Medaka retinal organoids.

      (3) The authors showed that blockade of FGF signaling affects lens fiber differentiation in day 1-2, whereas lens formation seems to be intact in the presence of FGF receptor inhibitor in day 0-1. I suggest the authors to examine which tissue is a target of FGF signaling in retinal organoids, using markers such as pea3, which is a downstream target of ERK branch of FGF signaling. Since FGF signaling promotes cell proliferation, is the lens core size normal in SU5402-treated organoids from day 0 to day 1?

      (4) Fig. 3f and 3g indicate that there is some cell population located between foxe3:GFP+ cells and rx2:H2B-RFP+ cells. What kind of cell-type is occupied in the interface area between foxe3:GFP+ cells and rx2:H2B-RFP+ cells?

      (5) Fig. 5e indicates the depth of Rx3 expression at day 1. Is the depth the thickness of Rx3 expressing cell sheet, which covers the central lens core in the organoids? If so, I wonder if total cell number of Rx3 expressing cell sheet may be different in each seeded-cell number, because thickness is the same across each seeded-cell number, but the surface area size may be different depending on underneath the lens core size. Please clarify this point.

      (6) Noggin application inhibits lens formation at day 0-1. BMP signaling regulates formation of lens placode and olfactory placode at the early stage of development. It is interesting to examine whether Noggin-treated organoid expands olfactory placode area. Please check forebrain territory markers.

      Significance:

      Strength: This study is unique. The authors examined eye cup morphogenesis using fish retinal organoids. Eye cup normally consists of the lens, the neural retina, pigment epithelium and optic stalk. However, retinal organoids seem to be simple and consists of two cell types, lens and retina. Interestingly, a similar optic cup-like structure is achieved in both cases; however, underlying mechanism is different. It is interesting to investigate how eye morphogenesis is regulated in retinal organoids, under the unconstrained embryo-free environment.

      Limitation: Description is OK, but analysis is not much profound. It is necessary to apply a bit more molecular and cellular level analysis, such as tracking of cell movement and visualization of FGF signaling in organoid tissues.

      Advancement: The current study is descriptive. Need some conceptual advance, which impact cell biology field or medical science.

      Audience: The target audience of current study are still within ophthalmology and neuroscience community people, maybe translational/clinical rather than basic biology. To beyond specific fields, need to formulate a general principle for cell and developmental biology.

    2. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      The manuscript by Stahl and colleagues reports an approach to generate ocular organoids composed of retinal and lens structures, derived from Medaka blastula cells. The authors present a comprehensive characterisation of the timeline followed by lens and retinal progenitors, showing these have distinct origins, and that they recapitulate the expression of differentiation markers found in vivo. Despite this molecular recapitulation, morphogenesis is strikingly different, with lens progenitors arising at the centre of the organoid, and subsequently translocating to the outside.

      Major Comments:

      - The manuscript presents a beautiful set of high-quality images showing expression of lens differentiation markers over time in the organoids. The set of experiments is very robust, with high numbers of organoids analysed and reproducible data. The mechanism by which lens specification is promoted in these organoids is, however, poorly analysed, and the reader does not get a clear understanding of what is different in these experiments, as compared to previous attempts, to support lens differentiation. There is a mention to HEPES supplementation, but no further analysis is provided, and the fact that the process is independent of ECM contradicts, as the authors point out, previous reports. The manuscript would benefit from a more detailed analysis of the mechanisms that lead to lens differentiation in this setting.

      - The markers analysed to show onset of lens differentiation in the organoids seem to start being expressed, in vivo, when the lens placode starts invaginating. An analysis of earlier stages is not presented. This would be very informative, allowing to determine whether progenitors differentiate as placode and neuroepithelium first, to subsequently continue differentiating into lens and retina, respectively. Could early placodal and anterior neural plate markers be analysed in the organoids? This would provide a more complete sequence of lens vs retina differentiation in this model.

      - The analysis of BMP and Fgf requirement for lens formation and differentiation is suggestive, but the source of these signals is not resolved or mentioned in the manuscript. Are BMP4 and Fgf8 expressed by the organoids? Where are they coming from?

      - The fact that the lens becomes specified in the centre of the organoid is striking, but it is for me difficult to visualise how it ends up being extruded from the organoid. Did the authors try to follow this process in movies? I understand that this may be technically challenging, but it would certainly help to understand the process that leads to the final organisation of retinal and lens tissues in the organoid. There is no discussion of why the morphogenetic mechanism is so different from the in vivo situation. The manuscript would benefit from explicitly discussing this.

      Significance:

      This study describes a reproducible approach to differentiate ocular organoids composed of lens and retinal tissues. The characterisation of lens differentiation in this model is very detailed, and despite the morphogenetic differences, the molecular mechanisms show many similarities to the in vivo situation. The manuscript however does not highlight, in my opinion, why this model may be relevant. Clearly articulating this relevance, particularly in the discussion, will enhance the study and provide more clarity to the readers regarding the significance of the study for the field of organoid research, ocular research and regenerative studies.

    1. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Microexons are highly conserved alternative splice variants, the individual functions of which have thus far remained mostly elusive. Inclusion of microexons in mature mRNAs increases during development, specifically in neural tissues, and is regulated by SRRM proteins. Investigation of individual microexon function is a vital avenue of research, since microexon inclusion is disrupted in diseases like autism. This study provides one of the first rigorous screens (using zebrafish larvae) of the functions of individual microexons in neurodevelopment and behavioural control. The authors precisely excise 21 microexons from the genome of zebrafish using CRISPR-Cas9 and assay the downstream impacts on neurite outgrowth, larvae motility and sociality. A small number of mild phenotypes were observed, which contrasts with the more dramatic phenotypes observed when microexon master regulators SRRM3/4 are disrupted. Importantly, this study attempts to address the reasons why mild/few phenotypes are observed and identifies transcriptomic changes in microexon mutants that suggest potential compensatory gene regulatory mechanisms.

      Strengths:

      (1) The manuscript is well written with excellent presentation of the data in the figures.

      (2) The experimental design is rigorous and explained in sufficient detail.

      (3) The identification of a potential microexon compensatory mechanism by transcriptional alterations represents a valued attempt to begin to explain complex genetic interactions.

      Overall this is a study with robust experimental design that addresses a gap in knowledge of the role of microexons in neurodevelopment.

    2. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the original reviews.

      Reviewer #1 (Public review):

      Summary:

      In this manuscript by Lopez-Blanch and colleagues, 21 microexons are selected for a deep analysis of their impacts on behavior, development, and gene expression. The authors begin with a systematic analysis of microexon inclusion and conservation in zebrafish and use these data to select 21 microexons for further study. The behavioral, transcriptomic, and morphological data presented are for the most part convincing. Furthermore, the discussion of the potential explanations for the subtle impacts of individual microexon deletions versus lossof-function in srrm3 and/or srrm4 is quite comprehensive and thoughtful. One major weakness: data presentation, methods, and jargon at times affect readability / might lead to overstated conclusions. However, overall this manuscript is well-written, easy to follow, and the results are of broad interest.

      We thank the Reviewer for their positive comments on our manuscript. In the revised version, we will try to improve readability, reduce jargon and avoid overstatements.  

      Strengths:

      (1) The study uses a wide variety of techniques to assess the impacts of microexon deletion, ranging from assays of protein function to regulation of behavior and development.

      (2) The authors provide comprehensive analyses of the molecular impact of their microexon deletions, including examining how host-gene and paralog expression is affected.

      Weaknesses:

      Major Points:

      (1) According to the methods, it seems that srrm3 social behavior is tested by pairing a 3mpf srrm3 mutant with a 30dpf srrm3 het. Is this correct? The methods seem to indicate that this decision was made to account for a slower growth rate of homozygous srrm3 mutant fish. However, the difference in age is potentially a major confound that could impact the way that srrm3 mutants interact with hets and the way that srrm3 mutants interact with one another (lower spread for the ratio of neighbour in front value, higher distance to neighbour value). This reviewer suggests testing het-het behavior at 3 months to provide age-matched comparisons for del-del, testing age-matched rather than size-matched het-del behavior, and also suggests mentioning this in the main text / within the figure itself so that readers are aware of the potential confound.

      Thank you for bringing up this point. For the tests shown in Figure 5, we indeed decided to match the pairs involving srrm3 mutant fish by fish size since we reasoned this would be more comparable to the other lines, both biologically and methodologically (in terms of video tracking, etc.). However, we are confident the results would be very similar if matched by age, since the differences in social interactions between the srrm3 homozygous mutants and their control siblings are very dramatic at any age. As an example, this can be appreciated, in line with the Reviewer's suggestion, in Videos S2 and S3, which show groups of five 5 mpf fish that are either srrm3 mutant or wild type. It can be observed that the behavior of 5 mpf WT fish (Video S3) is very similar to those of 1 mpf WT fish pairs, with very small interindividual distances, while the difference with repect to the srrm3 mutant group (Video S2) is dramatic. We nonetheless agree that this decision on the experimental design should be clearly stated in the main text and figure legend and we have done so in the revised version.

      (2) Referring to srrm3+/+; srrm4-/- controls for double mutant behavior as "WT for simplicity" is somewhat misleading. Why do the authors not refer to these as srrm4 single mutants?

      This comment applies to Figure 4 as well as the associated figure supplements. We reasoned that this made the understanding of plots easier, but the Reviewer is correct that it can be misleading. As a middle ground, we have now changed Figure 4 to follow the nomenclature of Figure 3D (WD, HD, DD), which is further explained in the legend, but kept the original format in the figure supplements for consistency with the (many) other plots in those figures.

      (3) It's not completely clear how "neurally regulated" microexons are defined / how they are different from "neural microexons"? Are these terms interchangeable?

      Yes, they are interchangeable. We have now double checked the wording to avoid confusion and for consistency.

      (4) Overexpression experiments driving srrm3 / srrm4 in HEK293 cells are not described in the methods.

      We apologized for this omission. We now briefly describe the data and asscoiated methods in more detail in the revised version; however, please note that the data was obtained from a previous publication (Torres-Mendez et al, 2019), where the detailed methodology is reported.

      (5) Suggest including more information on how neurite length was calculated. In representative images, it appears difficult to determine which neurites arise from which soma, as they cross extensively. How was this addressed in the quantification?

      We have added further details to the revised version. With regards to the specific question, we would like to mention that this has not been a very common issue for the time points used in the manuscript (10 hap and 24 hap). At those stages, it was nearly always evident how to track each individual neurite. Dubious cases were simply ignored and not measured, as we aimed for 100 neurites per well. Of course, such complex cases become much more common at later time points (48 and 72 hap), which were not used in this study.

      Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This manuscript explores in zebrafish the impact of genetic manipulation of individual microexons and two regulators of microexon inclusion (Srrm3 and Srrm4). The authors compare molecular, anatomical, and behavioral phenotypes in larvae and juvenile fish. The authors test the hypothesis that phenotypes resulting from Srrm3 and 4 mutations might in part be attributable to individual microexon deletions in target genes.

      The authors uncover substantial alterations in in vitro neurite growth, locomotion, and social behavior in Srrm mutants but not any of the individual microexon deletion mutants. The individual mutations are accompanied by broader transcript level changes which may resemble compensatory changes. Ultimately, the authors conclude that the severe Srrm3/4 phenotypes result from additive and/or synergistic effects due to the de-regulation of multiple microexons.

      Strengths:

      The work is carefully planned, well-described, and beautifully displayed in clear, intuitive figures. The overall scope is extensive with a large number of individual mutant strains examined. The analysis bridges from molecular to anatomical and behavioral read-outs. Analysis appears rigorous and most conclusions are well-supported by the data.

      Overall, addressing the function of microexons in an in vivo system is an important and timely question.

      Weaknesses:

      The main weakness of the work is the interpretation of the social behavior phenotypes in the Srrm mutants. It is difficult to conclude that the mutations indeed impact social behavior rather than sensory processing and/or vision which precipitates apparent social alterations as a secondary consequence. Interpreting the phenotypes as "autism-like" is not supported by the data presented.

      The Reviewer is absolutely right. It was not our intention to imply that these social defects should be interpreted simply as autistic-like. It is indeed very likely that the main reason for the social alterations displayed by the srrm3 mutants is their impaired vision. We have now added this discussion point explicitly in the revised version. 

      Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      Microexons are highly conserved alternative splice variants, the individual functions of which have thus far remained mostly elusive. The inclusion of microexons in mature mRNAs increases during development, specifically in neural tissues, and is regulated by SRRM proteins. Investigation of individual microexon function is a vital avenue of research since microexon inclusion is disrupted in diseases like autism. This study provides one of the first rigorous screens (using zebrafish larvae) of the functions of individual microexons in neurodevelopment and behavioural control. The authors precisely excise 21 microexons from the genome of zebrafish using CRISPR-Cas9 and assay the downstream impacts on neurite outgrowth, larvae motility, and sociality. A small number of mild phenotypes were observed, which contrasts with the more dramatic phenotypes observed when microexon master regulators SRRM3/4 are disrupted. Importantly, this study attempts to address the reasons why mild/few phenotypes are observed and identify transcriptomic changes in microexon mutants that suggest potential compensatory gene regulatory mechanisms.

      Strengths:

      (1) The manuscript is well written with excellent presentation of the data in the figures.

      (2) The experimental design is rigorous and explained in sufficient detail.

      (3) The identification of a potential microexon compensatory mechanism by transcriptional alterations represents a valued attempt to begin to explain complex genetic interactions.

      (4) Overall this is a study with a robust experimental design that addresses a gap in knowledge of the role of microexons in neurodevelopment.

      Thank you very much for your positive comments to our manuscript.

      Reviewer #1 (Recommendations for the authors):

      Minor Suggestions

      (1) Axes are often scaled differently even between panels in the same figure. For example in Figure 5 - supplement 10, the srrm3_17 y axis scales from 0-20, while the neighboring panels scale from ~1-2.5. This somewhat underrepresents the finding that srrm3 mutants have much larger inter-individual distances. Similarly, in the panel above (src_1), the y-axis is scaled to include a single point around 17cm. As a result, it appears at first glance that the src_1 trials resulted in much lower inter-individual distance. Suggest scaling all of these the same to improve readability.

      While the Reviewer is certainly correct, after careful consideration we decided to have autoscaled axis to prioritize within-plot visualization (i.e. among genotypes within an experiment) than across plots (i.e. among experiments and lines).

      (2) Attention to italicizing gene names.

      Thanks.

      (3) In many points in the methods, we are instructed to "see below." Suggest directing the reader to a particular section heading.

      We found only one such instance, and we directed the reader to the specific section, as suggested.

      (4) In Methods, remove "in the corpus callosum." This is not an accurate descriptor for the site at which Mauthner axons cross.

      This is absolutely correct, apologies for this mistake.

      Clarify:

      (1) In the results section, "tissue-specific regulation was validated..." - suggest mentioning that this was performed in adult tissues / describe dissection in the methods.

      Added.

      (2) In the results section, the meaning of "no event ortholog" is not clear. Does this mean that a microexon does not have a human homolog? If so, suggest stating more clearly.

      Correct. We have added addition information.

      (3) In the results, the authors state that 78% of microexons are affected by srrm3/4 loss-offunction. Suggest stating the method used here (e.g. RNA-seq in mutants as compared to siblings)

      Added.

      (4) It is not clear what "siblings for the main founders means" for example in 3D. Is this effectively the analysis of microexon knockouts across multiple independent lines? Are the lines pooled for stats, for example in 3C?

      The main founder correspond to that listed as _1 and as default for experiments when only one found is used. We now explicitely state this.  

      For 3C, the lines are not pooled for stats; the stats correspond only to the main founder for each line. However, for each main founder line, multiple experiments are usually analyzed together and the stats are done taking their data structure into account (i.e. not simply pooling the values).

      (5) The purpose and a general description of NanoBRET assays should be included in the results.

      We added the main purpose of the NanoBRET assays (testing protein-protein interactions).

      (6) Specify that baseline behavior is analyzed in the light.

      Added.

      (7) In Figure 4A, adult fish are schematized being placed into a 96-well plate. Suggest using the larval diagram as in Figure 6 for accuracy.

      Done.

      (8) In Figure 4, plot titles could be made more accessible, especially in 4 F. Suggest removing extraneous information / italicizing gene names, etc. In G, suggest writing out Baseline, Dark, and Light to make it more accessible. Same in 4B.

      We have implemented some of the suggestions. In particular, italics were not used, since we are referring to the founder line, not the gene.

      (9) Figure 6 legend B - after (barplots), suggest inserting the word "and", to make clear that barplots indicate host gene *and* closely related paralogs are indicated by dots.

      Done.

      (10) In methods: "To better capture all microexons..." This sentence is difficult to understand. Suggested edit: "we excluded *from our calculation?* tissues with known or expected partial overlap... from comparison (for example, ...).

      Done.

      (11) In the methods, "which were defined with similar parameters but -min_rep 2." Suggest spelling this out, e.g. "with similar parameters, but requiring sufficient read coverage in at least n=2 samples per valid tissue group, whereas we only required one.".

      Done.

      (12) RNA was extracted for event and knockout validations. What does event mean here?

      Event refers to the validation of the exon regulatory pattern in WT tissues. We added this information.

      Provide definitions for abbreviations:

      (1) (Figure 6) Delta corrected VST Expression.

      Done.

      (2) "Mic-hosting genes" paralogs.

      Done.

      (3) In Figure 1F, "emic" is not defined.

      Done.

      Misspellings:

      All corrected.

      (1) Figure 6B (percentile is spelled percentil).

      (2) Figure 6B legend (bottom or top decile*).

      (3) Figure 6D - Schizophrenia* genes.

      (4) In Zebrafish husbandry and genotyping: suggest "srrm3 mutants grew more slowly.".

      (5) In results, "reduced body size at 90pdf" > 90dpf.

      Reviewer #2 (Recommendations for the authors):

      (1) Characterization of microexon mutants (Figure 2): The semi-quantitative PCR with flanking primers (Figure 2, supplement1) is well-suited to assess successful deletion of the exon and enables detection of potential mis-splicing around the alternative segment. However, it does not quantify the impact on total transcript levels. The authors should complement those experiments with qPCR measures of the transcript levels - otherwise, it is difficult to link mutant phenotypes to isoforms (as opposed to alterations in the level of gene expression). This point is somewhat addressed in Figure 6 by the RNA Seq analysis but it might help to add data specifically in Figure 2.

      As the Reviewer says, this point is explicitely addressed in Figure 6, where were show the change in the host gene's expression that follows the the removal of some microexons. We prefer to keep this in Figure 6, for consistency, as we believe this is not a direct (regulatory) consequence of the removal, but more likely a compensation effect.

      (2) Social behavior alterations in juvenile fish: The authors report "increased leadership" in Srrm3 mutant fish. However, these fish have impaired vision. Thus, "increased leadership" may simply reflect the fact that they do not perceive their conspecifics and, thus, do not follow them. The heterozygous conspecific will then mostly follow the Srrm3 mutant which appears as the mutant exhibiting an increase in leadership. Figure 5D suggests that Srrm3 del and het fish have the same ratio of "neighbor in front" which would be consistent with the hypothesis that the change in this metric is a consequence of a loss of following behavior due to a loss of vision. The authors should either adjust the discussion of this point or assess with additional experiments whether this is indeed a "social phenotype" or rather a secondary consequence of a loss of vision.

      The Reviewer is absolutely correct, and we have thus modified the short discussion directly related to these patterns.

      (3) The discussion centers on potential reasons why only mild phenotypes are observed in the single microexon mutants. One caveat of the phenotypic analysis provided in the manuscript is that it does not very deeply explore the phenotypic space of neuronal morphologies or circuit function. The behavioral and anatomical read-outs are rather coarse. There are no experiments exploring fine-structure of neuronal projections in vivo or synapse number, morphology, or function. Moreover, no attempts are made to explore which cell types normally express the microexons to potentially focus the loss-of-function analysis to these specific cell types. Of course, such analysis would substantially expand the scope of a study that already covers a large number of mutant alleles. However, the authors may want to add a discussion of these limitations in the manuscript.

      The Reviewer is correct. We aimed at covering this when referring to "(i) we may not be assessing the traits that these microexons are impacting, (ii) we may not have the sensitivity to robustly measure the magnitude of the changes caused by microexon removal". We have now added some of the specific points raised by the Reviewer as examples.

      (4) Note typos in Figure 6D: "schizoFrenia", "WNT signIalling"

      Done.

      Reviewer #3 (Recommendations for the authors):

      I only have a few minor suggestions for the authors.

      (1) It is interesting that a not insignificant number of microexon deletions (3/21) result in cryptic inclusions of intron fragments, and perhaps alludes to an as yet unreported molecular function of microexons in the regulation of host gene expression. Is it possible that microexon inclusion in these 3 genes could be important for expression? I think this requires some further discussion, as (if I'm not mistaken) microexons have thus far only been hypothesised to act as modulators of protein function, not as gene regulatory units.

      While we see that microexon removal can impact expression of the host gene (Figure 6), this is likely a compensatory mechanism (or so we suggest). We do not think these three cases are related to a putative physiological regulation, since the cryptic exons appear only in the deletion line. On the contrary, we think these are "regulatory artifacts" that originate in the nonWT mutated context. I.e. we removed the exon but some splicing signals remained in the intron, which are then recoginized by the spliceosome that incorrectly includes a different piece of the intron.

      (2) The flow of the text accompanying the molecular investigation of microexon function for evi5b and vav in Figure 3 could be improved. The text currently fades out with a speculative explanation for the lack of evi5b interaction phenotype. This final sentence could be moved to the discussion and replaced with a more general summary of the data.

      We have now swapped the order in which these results are described and leave out the discussion about evi5b's microexon function.

      (3) Is this a co-submission with Calhoun et al? If so, both papers should reference each other in the discussion and discuss the relative contributions of each.

      Done

      (4) "1 × 104 cells" in methods Nanobret paragraph should be superscript.

      Done

    1. No matter what type of assignment you are writing, it will be important for you to follow a writing process: a series of steps a writer takes to complete a writing task.

      this is very informative

    1. Reviewer #3 (Public review):

      Summary:

      This perspective article by Reichmann et al. highlights the importance of moving beyond the search for a single, unified immune mechanism to explain host-Mtb interactions. Drawing from studies in immune profiling, host and bacterial genetics, the authors emphasize inconsistencies in the literature and argue for broader, more integrative models. Overall, the article is thought-provoking and well-articulated, raising a concept that is worth further exploration in the TB field.

      Strengths:

      Timely and relevant in the context of the rapidly expanding multi-omics datasets that provide unprecedented insights into host-Mtb interactions.

      Weaknesses (Minor):

      (1) Clarity on the notion of a "unified mechanism". It remains unclear whether prior studies explicitly proposed a single unifying immunological model. While inconsistencies in findings exist, they do not necessarily demonstrate that earlier work was uniformly "single-minded". Moreover, heterogeneity in TB has been recognized previously (PMIDs: 19855401, 28736436), which the authors could acknowledge.

      (2) Evolutionary timeline and industrial-era framing. The evolutionary model is outdated. Ancient DNA studies place the Mtb's most recent common ancestor at ~6,000 years BP (PMIDs: 25141181; 25848958). The Industrial Revolution is cited as a driver of TB expansion, but this remains speculative without bacterial-genomics evidence and should be framed as a hypothesis. Additionally, the claim that Mtb genomes have been conserved only since the Industrial Revolution (lines 165-167) is inaccurate; conservation extends back to the MRCA (PMID: 31448322).

      (3) Trained immunity and TB infection. The treatment of trained immunity is incomplete. While BCG vaccination is known to induce trained immunity (ref 59), revaccination does not provide sustained protection (ref 8), and importantly, Mtb infection itself can also impart trained immunity (PMID: 33125891). Including these nuances would strengthen the discussion.

    2. Author response:

      We thank the reviewers for their primarily positive comments and the critiques about where the manuscript could be improved. We agree with the vast majority of points raised. In our revised submission, we will:

      • Clarify some of the wording such as “unified mechanism” so that our intended meaning is clear to all readers

      • Completely change figure 2, as we accept the critique that an X-Y plot is not the logical way to present this concept

      • Amend the legends of figures 1 and 3 so that the disease pathways we are attempting to illustrate are clear for all readers

      • Expand on the genetic interactions between humans and TB and cite the manuscripts suggested

      • Add further discussion on multiple disease endotypes, and the immunological events that may lead to these distinct end points, along with how this may inform treatment stratification approaches

      • Extend the discussion about trained immunity

      • Make specific changes to address each of the reviewers’ points in the recommendations to authors

      • In the minority of cases where we feel a change is not necessary, we will justify this in our response to reviews

    1. Reviewer #2 (Public review):

      The goal of HiJee Kang et al. in this study is to explore the interaction between assemblies of neurons with similar pure-tone selectivity in mouse auditory cortex. Using holographic optogenetic stimulation in a small subset of target cells selective for a given pure tone (PTsel), while optically monitoring calcium activity in surrounding non-target cells, they discovered a subtle rebalancing process: co-tuned neurons that are not optogenetically stimulated tend to reduce their activity. The cortical network reacts as if an increased response to PTsel in some tuned assemblies is immediately offset by a reduction in activity in the rest of the PTsel-tuned assemblies, leaving the overall response to PTsel unchanged. The authors show that this rebalancing process affects only the responses of neurons to PTsel, not to other pure tones. They also show that assemblies of neurons that are not selective for PTsel don't participate in the rebalancing process. They conclude that assemblies of neurons with similar pure-tone selectivity must interact in some way to organize this rebalancing process, and they suggest that mechanisms based on homeostatic signaling may play a role.

      The authors have successfully controlled for potential artefacts resulting from their optogenetic stimulation. This study is therefore pioneering in the field of the auditory cortex (AC), as it is the first to use single-cell optogenetic stimulation to explore the functional organization of AC circuits in vivo. The conclusions of this paper are very interesting. They raise new questions about the mechanisms that could underlie such a rebalancing process.

      (1) This study uses an all-optical approach to excite a restricted group of neurons chosen for their functional characteristics (their frequency tuning), and simultaneously record from the entire network observable in the FOV. As stated by the authors, this approach is applied for the first time to the auditory cortex, which is a tour de force. However, such approach is complex and requires precise controls to be convincing. The authors provide important controls to demonstrate the precise ability of their optogenetic methods. In particular, holographic patterns used to excite 5 cells simultaneously may be associated with out-of-focus laser hot spots. Cells located outside of the FOV could be activated, therefore engaging other cells than the targeted ones in the stimulation. This would be problematic in this study as their tuning may be unrelated to the tuning of the targeted cells. To control for such effect, the authors have decoupled the imaging and the excitation planes, and checked for the absence of out-of-focus unwanted excitation (Suppl Fig1).

      (2) In the auditory cortex, assemblies of cells with similar pure-tone selectivity are linked together not only by their ability to respond to the same sound, but also by other factors. This study clearly shows that such assemblies are structured in a way that maintains a stable global response through a rebalancing process. If a group of cells within an assembly increases its response, the rest of the assembly must be inhibited to maintain the total response.<br /> The boundary between assemblies is smooth as the rebalancing process occurring in one assembly seem to affect also the response of the other assembly comprising cells tuned to a the other frequency. This trend is not significant but visible for both tested frenquencies in Fig. 3 and Fig S3.

    2. Author response:

      The following is the authors’ response to the previous reviews

      Reviewer #1 (Public review): 

      Summary: 

      Kang et al. provide the first experimental insights from holographic stimulation of auditory cortex. Using stimulation of functionally-defined ensembles, they test whether overactivation of a specific subpopulation biases simultaneous and subsequent sensory-evoked network activations. 

      Strengths: 

      The investigators use a novel technique to investigate the sensory response properties in functionally defined cell assemblies in auditory cortex. These data provide the first evidence of how acutely perturbing specific frequency-tuned neurons impacts the tuning across a broader population. Their revised manuscript appropriately tempers any claims about specific plasticity mechanisms involved. 

      Weaknesses: 

      Although the single cell analyses in this manuscript are comprehensive, questions about how holographic stimulation impacts population coding are left to future manuscripts, or perhaps re-analyses of this unique dataset. 

      Reviewer #2 (Public review): 

      The goal of HiJee Kang et al. in this study is to explore the interaction between assemblies of neurons with similar pure-tone selectivity in mouse auditory cortex. Using holographic optogenetic stimulation in a small subset of target cells selective for a given pure tone (PTsel), while optically monitoring calcium activity in surrounding non-target cells, they discovered a subtle rebalancing process: co-tuned neurons that are not optogenetically stimulated tend to reduce their activity. The cortical network reacts as if an increased response to PTsel in some tuned assemblies is immediately offset by a reduction in activity in the rest of the PTseltuned assemblies, leaving the overall response to PTsel unchanged. The authors show that this rebalancing process affects only the responses of neurons to PTsel, not to other pure tones. They also show that assemblies of neurons that are not selective for PTsel don't participate in the rebalancing process. They conclude that assemblies of neurons with similar pure-tone selectivity must interact in some way to organize this rebalancing process, and they suggest that mechanisms based on homeostatic signaling may play a role. 

      The authors have successfully controlled for potential artefacts resulting from their optogenetic stimulation. This study is therefore pioneering in the field of the auditory cortex (AC), as it is the first to use single-cell optogenetic stimulation to explore the functional organization of AC circuits in vivo. The conclusions of this paper are very interesting. They raise new questions about the mechanisms that could underlie such a rebalancing process. 

      (1) This study uses an all-optical approach to excite a restricted group of neurons chosen for their functional characteristics (their frequency tuning), and simultaneously record from the entire network observable in the FOV. As stated by the authors, this approach is applied for the first time to the auditory cortex, which is a tour de force. However, such approach is complex and requires precise controls to be convincing. The authors provide important controls to demonstrate the precise ability of their optogenetic methods. In particular, holographic patterns used to excite 5 cells simultaneously may be associated with out-of-focus laser hot spots. Cells located outside of the FOV could be activated, therefore engaging other cells than the targeted ones in the stimulation. This would be problematic in this study as their tuning may be unrelated to the tuning of the targeted cells. To control for such effect, the authors have decoupled the imaging and the excitation planes, and checked for the absence of out-of-focus unwanted excitation (Suppl Fig1). 

      (2) In the auditory cortex, assemblies of cells with similar pure-tone selectivity are linked together not only by their ability to respond to the same sound, but also by other factors. This study clearly shows that such assemblies are structured in a way that maintains a stable global response through a rebalancing process. If a group of cells within an assembly increases its response, the rest of the assembly must be inhibited to maintain the total response. 

      One surprising result is the clear boundary between assemblies: a rebalancing process occurring in one assembly does not affect the response in another assembly comprising cells tuned to a different frequency. However, this is slightly challenged by the data shown in Figure 3. 

      Figure 3B-left, for example, shows that, compared to controls, non-target 16 kHzpreferring neurons only decrease their response to a 16 kHz pure tone when the cells targeted by the opto stimulation also prefer 16 kHz, but not when the targeted cells prefer 54 kHz. However, the inverse is not entirely true. Again compared to controls, Figure 3B (right) shows that non-target 54 kHz-preferring neurons decrease their response to a 54 kHz pure tone when the targeted cells also prefer 54 kHz; however, they also tend to be inhibited when the targeted cells prefer 16 kHz. 

      The authors suggest this may be due to the partial activation of 54 kHz-preferring cells by 16 kHz tones and propose examining the response of highly selective neurons. The results are shown in Figure 3F. It would have been more logical to show the same results as in Figure 3B, but with the left part restricted to highly 16 kHz-selective cells and the right part to highly 54 kHz-selective cells. However, the authors chose to pool all responses to 16 kHz and 54 kHz tones in every triplet of conditions (control, opto stimulation on 16 kHz-preferring cells and opto stimulation on 54 kHz-preferring cells), which blurs the result of the analysis. 

      We thank reviewers for highlighting the strengths of our work and providing valuable feedback. We further developed our manuscript mainly from Reviewer 2’s point on the overall effect explained as the main result. One of the main reasons why we chose to pool all tone preferring cells instead of highly selective cells was to ensure that the observed effect not necessarily driven by only a small group of neurons but rather that the effect was driven at the population level, especially at a subject level for Figure 3B. While Figure 3F represents how highly selective cells to each frequency play a major role in the effect, we now have added additional results with only highly selective neurons as Supplementary Figure 3. The left panel shows restricting the population to highly selective neurons to 16 kHz and the right panel restricting the population to highly selective neurons to 54 kHz at cell population level to emphasize the result (Supplementary Figure 3). 

      We appreciate an additional raised point by Reviewer 1 regarding the stimulation effect on population coding. Our primary focus in this manuscript was to establish single cell level effects of holographic stimulation, and we believe that population coding analyses would benefit from a more cell-type-specific approach. We plan to pursue such analyses in follow-up studies where cell types can be better identified and linked to network dynamics. 

      Reviewer #1 (Recommendations for the authors): 

      The authors have appropriately addressed my concerns. 

      As this dataset will be of general interest, it would be helpful to include a doi/link to their data repository in the data availability section. 

      Updating the data repository to the institution server is currently in progress. We will provide the correct doi or link as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, we will ensure to share them with anyone who contacts to us directly. 

      Reviewer #2 (Recommendations for the authors): 

      Many references to Figures have not been updated between the two versions of the manuscript. See lines 107, 128, 297, 321 and 346. 

      We are sorry for the confusion with mislabelled figures. We now have updated all the figure numbers accordingly.

      In the paragraph beginning on line 266, there is no explicit reference to Figure 3C. 

      We now added Figure 3C reference in the main text (line 290). 

      If the new analysis includes 15 FOV for stim on 54 kHz-preferring cells, as indicated in the rebuttal, the corresponding numbers should be corrected in lines 152 and 180. 

      We now updated the number of FOVs accordingly. 

      The added model is not explained well enough. How are the calcium traces simulated? It is difficult to ascertain whether the result shown in Figure 3C is merely a trivial consequence of the hypothesis that suppression is applied to co-tuned neurons or to all neurons. 

      We are sorry for the lack of important details in the explanation of the model. We simulated time-varying sound-evoked calcium transient especially by applying different decay time constant (faster decay for co-tuned neurons and slower decay for non co-tuned neurons) to closely match the real data. More detailed explanation on this is now included in the manuscript (lines 644 – 650). Since our data do not currently allow us to identify specific cell types, we focused on modelling the stronger suppression observed in co-tuned neurons, especially by adapting the stimulation effect of target cells from the real data. In this revision, we now added data showing that ‘Randomly selected cells’ from the two groups (co-tuned or non co-tuned cell groups) did not exhibit any stimulation effect (added column in Figure 3D) to further indicate that suppression specific to co-tuned neurons is the key factor underlying the observed effects in the real data. We hope to build on this work in future studies to identify cell-type-specific effects and their computational roles. 

      Although the rebuttal clearly states that experiments are carried out on awake animals, this information is still missing from the manuscript. 

      We now stated ‘Fully awake animals’ in the experimental procedures.

    1. Microdrilling and microfracturing have been advocated chiefly for young patients, in whom good results (improved joint functionality and relief from pain in 60 to 80% of cases) have been reported56–5956.Sledge, S.L.Microfracture techniques in the treatment of osteochondral injuriesClin Sports Med. 2001; 20:365-377Full TextFull Text (PDF)PubMedGoogle Scholar57.Steadman, J.R. ∙ Briggs, K.K. ∙ Rodrigo, J.J. ...Outcomes of microfracture for traumatic chondral defects of the knee: average 11-year follow-upArthroscopy. 2003; 19:477-484Full TextFull Text (PDF)Scopus (508)PubMedGoogle Scholar58.Mithoefer, K. ∙ Williams, 3rd, R.J. ∙ Warren, R.F. ...The microfracture technique for the treatment of articular cartilage lesions in the knee. A prospective cohort studyJ Bone Joint Surg Am. 2005; 87:1911-1920CrossrefScopus (284)PubMedGoogle Scholar59.Asik, M. ∙ Ciftci, F. ∙ Sen, C. ...The microfracture technique for the treatment of full-thickness articular cartilage lesions of the knee: midterm resultsArthroscopy. 2008; 24:1214-1220Full TextFull Text (PDF)Scopus (39)PubMedGoogle Scholar, probably owing to the larger numbers and the higher activity-levels of the participating precursor-cell pools in these individuals, thereby leading to a more exuberant repair response than in older ones. Since there is some evidence that microdrilling and microfracturing are most effective in patients below 40 years of age6060.Kreuz, P.C. ∙ Erggelet, C. ∙ Steinwachs, M.R. ...Is microfracture of chondral defects in the knee associated with different results in patients aged 40 years or younger?Arthroscopy. 2006; 22:1180-1186Full TextFull Text (PDF)Scopus (144)PubMedGoogle Scholar, it is questionable whether these techniques would be appropriate for OA-patients, who are usually older, whose spontaneous tissue-repair potential is impoverished, and in whom the number and the availability of bone-marrow-derived stem cells is reduced61–6361.Caplan, A.I.Mesenchymal stem cellsJ Orthop Res. 1991; 9:641-650CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar62.Muraglia, A. ∙ Cancedda, R. ∙ Quarto, R.Clonal mesenchymal progenitors from human bone marrow differentiate in vitro according to a hierarchical modelJ Cell Sci. 2000; 113:1161-1166PubMedGoogle Scholar63.Pittenger, M.F. ∙ Mosca, J.D. ∙ McIntosh, K.R.Human mesenchymal stem cells: progenitor cells for cartilage, bone, fat and stromaCurr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2000; 251:3-11PubMedGoogle Scholar.

      Though my research is mainly focused on rehabilitation without the use of surgeries I thought that I might take a look at the other strategies and try to compare them to a non-surgical standpoint. This point is important in showing that younger people respond better to rehabilitation and recover at a greater speed than older people. Not only does their activity level, pertaining to exercise, matter, but the state of body matters. Age, exercise level, and follow up, which most people wont do if they believe that the surgery/rehabilitation otherwise will be quick and easy. But it is a process that patients fail to adhere to because of misconceptions in recovery; fears, beliefs, motivations, etc.

    1. This paper introduces three existing models that give different perspectiveson openness in communication systems. The first focuses strictly on how contentis presented in digital media. The second model distinguishes between a contentlayer, a logical layer, and a physical layer where all may be open or restricted invarious degrees. Finally a model with nine ideal communication patterns ispresented in more detail and used to discuss the different power relationsbetween producers and consumers and users of media content. The modelprovides an analytical framework to describe some characteristics unique todigital networked media.

      Modellen Introduceres - bestående af 3 dele med fokus på at beskrive åbenhed i kommunikative systemer

    1. Résumé de la vidéo [00:00:06][^1^][1] - [00:24:15][^2^][2]:

      Cette vidéo présente la 8ème Journée Départementale de la Parentalité à Agde en 2022, avec une conférence d'Isabelle Roskam. Elle aborde le burn-out parental et les défis de la parentalité au 21e siècle, en mettant l'accent sur les pressions sociétales et les attentes envers les parents.

      Points forts: + [00:00:06][^3^][3] Introduction d'Isabelle Roskam * Présentation de son parcours professionnel * Expérience en psychologie du développement et recherche sur le burn-out parental * Auteur d'ouvrages sur la parentalité + [00:01:47][^4^][4] La parentalité et les émotions positives * La perception culturelle de la parentalité associée au bonheur * Les défis et le stress liés à l'éducation des enfants * La difficulté d'exprimer les aspects négatifs de la parentalité + [00:07:05][^5^][5] Parentalité comme un travail exigeant * Comparaison de la parentalité à un emploi sans possibilité de démission * L'évolution des rôles de genre et les défis de la coparentalité * L'impact des valeurs individualistes sur la parentalité + [00:10:38][^6^][6] Changements sociétaux affectant la parentalité * L'influence de la contraception et le concept de l'enfant choisi * L'évolution du statut de l'enfant et les droits de l'enfant * Les responsabilités parentales décrites dans la Convention internationale des droits de l'enfant + [00:16:57][^7^][7] Développement des sciences psychologiques et éducation * Pression sur les parents à travers les médias et les professionnels * L'importance de l'engagement parental et les recommandations sur la bonne parentalité * La nouvelle pression historique sur les parents et leurs responsabilités + [00:19:02][^8^][8] Le glissement vers le burn-out parental * La différence entre la pression sociétale et le burn-out parental * Description du burn-out parental et ses symptômes * L'importance de l'investissement parental et le contraste avec le burn-out Résumé de la vidéo [00:24:17][^1^][1] - [00:44:58][^2^][2]:

      La conférence aborde le burn-out parental, ses symptômes, ses causes et ses conséquences sur les parents et les enfants. Elle souligne l'importance de l'équilibre entre les stresseurs et les ressources disponibles pour les parents, et propose des solutions pour prévenir et traiter le burn-out parental.

      Points forts: + [00:24:17][^3^][3] Symptômes du burn-out parental * Témoignage d'une mère épuisée par les demandes constantes de ses enfants * Différenciation entre burn-out parental et dépression + [00:26:39][^4^][4] Causes du stress parental * Impact du stress sur la santé physique des parents * Comparaison des niveaux de cortisol chez les parents en burn-out et d'autres groupes stressés + [00:30:00][^5^][5] Prévalence du burn-out parental * Statistiques montrant une prévalence élevée dans les pays occidentaux * Discussion sur l'importance de s'occuper du burn-out parental comme un problème de santé publique + [00:38:01][^6^][6] Conséquences et traitement * Effets néfastes sur la santé des parents et le bien-être des enfants * Approches de prévention et de traitement efficaces pour réduire le stress parental Résumé de la vidéo [00:45:00][^1^][1] - [01:06:42][^2^][2]:

      La conférence d'Isabelle Roskam aborde les défis de la parentalité moderne, contrastant avec les pratiques des années 80. Elle souligne la pression sur les parents pour répondre aux besoins académiques, émotionnels, nutritionnels et sociaux des enfants, tout en évitant la surstimulation et en favorisant une alimentation saine. Roskam discute de l'isolement croissant des parents dans une société individualiste et plaide pour un retour à la solidarité communautaire, rappelant le proverbe africain selon lequel il faut tout un village pour élever un enfant.

      Points forts: + [00:45:00][^3^][3] Contraste entre la parentalité en 1982 et 2019 * Pression pour répondre à tous les besoins des enfants * Différences dans les attentes et les pratiques éducatives * Humour pour souligner les changements sociétaux + [00:46:25][^4^][4] Parentalité solitaire dans la société moderne * Individualisme et réticence à demander de l'aide * Importance de partager les responsabilités parentales * Nécessité de soutien communautaire et informel + [00:50:11][^5^][5] Réflexion sur les sociétés collectivistes * Comparaison avec les modèles éducatifs où l'enfant est élevé par la communauté * Discussion sur l'adaptation des sociétés occidentales à ces modèles * Soutien formel et informel et leur impact sur la parentalité + [00:59:31][^6^][6] Équilibre personnel et parentalité * Gestion du stress parental et importance de maintenir une identité diversifiée * Rôle du travail et de la carrière dans la prévention de l'épuisement parental * Influence du nombre d'enfants et de la dynamique familiale sur le bien-être parental

    1. the secret of silk eventually spread to Korea and Japan, and then along the Silk Road in the first century of the common era. Sericulture reached India around 300 CE and Byzantium by 552. While China held the secret, silk was one of the most sought-after products of the ancient world; worth its weight in gold in imperial Rome.

      Wow, silk is so cool! It started in China, then spread to Korea, Japan, India, and Byzantium. Back then, it was worth its weight in gold in Rome! I love how something so delicate could travel the world and totally change fashion, trade, and culture.

    2. The earliest known use of silk is dated to about 5,600 years ago in the Yangtze River Valley. Silk, the thread spun from the cocoons of the Bombyx mori silkworm, became a hallmark of Chinese culture.

      I did not expect silk to be around for this long, I thought it was a bit more modern.

    3. By 4,600 years ago, Caral had up to 20,000 residents who lived on beans, squash, avocados, sweet potatoes, and small fish such as sardines and anchovies.

      I never knew that that many people lived in a city around this timeframe.

    4. Each of these inventions appeared at about the same time, 9,000 years ago, in the Near East, China, and India.

      I think I find it pretty crazy how they all popped up at the same time.

    1. This law covers people who are age forty or older. It does not cover favoring an older worker over a younger worker, if the older worker is forty years or older.

      Holy crap! A law is going to work out in my favor! Actually, it feels weird that I could be discriminated against due to age.

  6. minnstate.pressbooks.pub minnstate.pressbooks.pub
      1. Greek philosophy (Ancient Greece)
      2. Indian philosophy (Ancient India)
      3. Chinese philosophy

      Western philosophy surrounds universities mainly because of history. European colonialism spread Western education, and universities grew from European traditions.

      The word "philosophy" comes from greek philo, meaning love. It also comes from sophia, which means wisdom.

      We can better understand how people in a culture think, make decisions, and perceive the world by learning about their philosophical traditions. Their belief about right and wrong, as well as their perspectives on life and society.

      Cherry-picking - Disregarding the whole of a philosophy and only choosing the parts that fit your argument. Ethnocentrism - Judging other philosophy's based on your cultural norms.

      A key component of Chinese philosophy is harmony. This concept, which emphasized harmony, order, and collaboration above conflict is present in Chinese culture. Western philosophy's frequently places a strong emphasis on the search for truth, rationality, and independent thought. It prioritizes critical thinking and questioning over harmony or balance.

    1. Three great philosophies: 1. Greek (western) philosophy - Socrates, plato; rationality, logic, universal truth 2. Indian philosophy - Hindu, Buddha, Jain; dharma, rebirth, liberation, consciousness 3. Chinese philosophy - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism; harmony, relational identity, ethics, and living to the dao

      "Philia" meaning love or appreciation of (a deeper desire to understand) and "sofia" meaning wisdom, or meaning extracted from knowledge. Philosophy literally means a desire to be wise.

      Understanding a philosophy of a culture helps understand the essence of that culture itself, but not all aspects. In order to truly become cultured, you must embrace the traditions, lifestyles, and become knowledgeable in history and traditional values.

      1. superficial equivalence - forcing a comparison between two different ideas equally deserving of their own respect (ignoring deeper meanings behind connection)
      2. Cherry-picking - isolating sayings or passages to paint an assumption of the whole context 3 - exoticism - treating non-western philosophies as being strange or "other worldly" 4 - assuming universality of western categories - asking questions of one branch of philosophy onto traditions that may not frame the concept the same way 5 - oversimplification - reducing entire traditions into a single set of ideas, ignoring diversity 6 - deficit thinking - assuming a tradition is "lacking" because it doesn't focus on certain concepts that other traditions do. Comparative philosophy should be used to learn from differences, rather than erasing or measuring their value and cultural ties.

      Given my last answer, Chinese philosophy aims to live well in a relational world; how to live a prosperous life. Confucianism emphasizes ethical self-improvement through living virtuously (humanely, righteously, and ritualistically). Roles for individuals are clearly defined (or at least individuals seek to find their role in society) in Chinese philosophy, where western philosophy seeks to ask metaphysical questions (what is ultimate reality? What is truth? Happiness? What does it mean to be human?)

    1. The first annotation (Fig. 3) combines the workof four contributors who have crafted an explanation of the introductionusing quotes from interviews, links to his music video, and an analysis ofhow the line might fit with broader themes in Styles’ music

      This is fascinating! With the combined work of four contributors, this really helps build the explanation as a whole.

    1. She will be indignant because many of them are the product of unjust political institutions, but she will also have a critical understanding of what makes them unjust. She will have imagined fantastical possibilities and subjected them to critical examination.

      this passage exemplifies the 3 main benefits as described earlier in the article as it is a key example of using critical thinking to view beyond the norm with the ability to envision is different, or potentially, more prosperous environment.

    2. There are 3 main benefits of studying Philosphy. The first is that philosophy teaches you to think and write logically despite the career you end up having. The second is that philosophy teaches you to seek fundamental truths, this can be very beneficial in a world where there is a lot of misinformation, encouraging you to seek different perspectives to discover what the truth is in many different scenarios is important. The final reason is that Philosophy gives us the tools, as described mostly in the first reason, to critically view the world and not take it at face value, but rather reimagine the truths we are told and how things can be different.

    3. 3 Answers to "Why study philosophy?"

      1. Philosophy helps you learn to think and write clearly, skills that are useful no matter what path you take.

      2. Philosophy seeks out deep truths about life and existence, which can be meaningful even if not everyone is drawn to that pursuit.

      3. Philosophy pushes us not to just accept the world as it is. It gives us tools to question, resist, and imagine better possibilities, especially for those who come from underprivileged backgrounds.

    1. By about 7,000 years ago, agricultural villages began cooperating to build levees and irrigation canals, to regularize the river's unpredictable seasonal floods and expand farmlands.

      I did not know that people were already this advanced all the way back then.

    1. Or you may need to first describe a 3-D movie projector or a television studio to help readers visualize the setting and scene

      This is a good idea for coming up with ideas to include imagery in writing.

    1. In the code editor below, revise the query to select the last_statement column in addition to the existing columns.Once you're done, you can hit Shift+Enter to run the query.

      Select the columns first name and last name from the table with a limit of 3 rows.

    2. Run this query to find the first 3 rows of the 'executions' table.Viewing a few rows is a good way to find out the columns of a table. Try to remember the column names for later use.

      Select all from executions with a limit of 3 rows.

    1. Art. 68
      • ADI 4269
      • Órgão julgador: Tribunal Pleno
      • Relator(a): Min. EDSON FACHIN
      • Julgamento: 18/10/2017
      • Publicação: 01/02/2019

      AÇÃO DIRETA DE INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE. DIREITO CONSTITUCIONAL E ADMINISTRATIVO. REGULARIZAÇÃO FUNDIÁRIA DAS TERRAS DE DOMÍNIO DA UNIÃO NA AMAZÔNIA LEGAL. IMPUGNAÇÃO AOS ARTIGOS 4º, §2º, 13, 15, INCISO I, §§ 2º, 4º E 5º, DA LEI Nº 11.952/2009. PREJUÍZO PARCIAL DA AÇÃO. ALTERAÇÃO SUBSTANCIAL E REVOGAÇÃO DE DISPOSITIVOS PROMOVIDA POR LEI SUPERVENIENTE. ADEQUADA PROTEÇÃO ÀS TERRAS QUILOMBOLAS E DE OUTRAS COMUNIDADES TRADICIONAIS AMAZÔNICAS. INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE DA INTERPRETAÇÃO QUE CONCEDE ESSAS TERRAS A TERCEIROS. INTERPRETAÇÃO CONFORME À CONSTITUIÇÃO. ARTIGOS 216, INCISO II, DO TEXTO CONSTITUCIONAL E 68 DO ADCT. AUSÊNCIA DE VISTORIA PRÉVIA NA REGULARIZAÇÃO DE IMÓVEIS DE ATÉ QUATRO MÓDULOS FISCAIS. PROTEÇÃO DEFICIENTE AO MEIO AMBIENTE SE DESACOMPANHADA DE MEIOS EFICAZES PARA FISCALIZAÇÃO DOS REQUISITOS DE INGRESSO NO PROGRAMA TERRA LEGAL. INTERPRETAÇÃO CONFORME À CONSTITUIÇÃO. RESPEITO AO ARTIGO 225, CAPUT, DA CONSTITUIÇÃO. - 1. Há prejuízo parcial da ação direta de inconstitucionalidade quando lei superveniente promova alteração substancial ou revogue dispositivo impugnado em demanda de controle concentrado, conforme jurisprudência pacífica desta Corte. No caso, a superveniência da Lei nº 13.465, de 11 de julho de 2017, alterou a redação do artigo 15, inciso I e §2º, bem como revogou expressamente seus §§ 4º e 5º, circunstância que impede o conhecimento da ação, no ponto. - 2. O direito ao meio ambiente equilibrado foi assegurado pela Constituição da República, em seu artigo 225, bem como em diversos compromissos internacionais do Estado Brasileiro. A região amazônica, dada a diversidade biológica, cultural, etnográfica e geológica, mereceu tutela especial do constituinte, tornando-se imperiosa a observância do desenvolvimento sustentável na região, conjugando a proteção à natureza e a sobrevivência humana nas áreas objeto de regularização fundiária.

      • 3. Revela-se de importância ímpar a promoção de regularização fundiária nas terras ocupadas de domínio da União na Amazônia Legal, de modo a assegurar a inclusão social das comunidades que ali vivem, por meio da concessão de títulos de propriedade ou concessão de direito real de uso às áreas habitadas, redução da pobreza, acesso aos programas sociais de incentivo à produção sustentável, bem como melhorando as condições de fiscalização ambiental e responsabilização pelas lesões causadas à Floresta Amazônica.
      • 4. O artigo 4º, §2º da Lei nº 11.952/2009 vai de encontro à proteção adequada das terras dos remanescentes de comunidades quilombolas e das demais comunidades tradicionais amazônicas, ao permitir interpretação que possibilite a regularização dessas áreas em desfavor do modo de apropriação de território por esses grupos, sendo necessária interpretação conforme aos artigos 216, I da Constituição e 68 do ADCT, para assegurar a relação específica entre comunidade, identidade e terra que caracteriza os povos tradicionais.

      • 5. Exige interpretação conforme à Constituição a previsão do artigo 13 da Lei nº 11.952/2009, ao dispensar a vistoria prévia nos imóveis rurais de até quatro módulos fiscais, a fim de que essa medida de desburocratização do procedimento seja somada à utilização de todos os meios eficazes de fiscalização do meio ambiente, como forma de tutela à biodiversidade e inclusão social dos pequenos proprietários que exercem cultura efetiva na área.

      • 6. Ação Direta de Inconstitucionalidade conhecida parcialmente e, na parte conhecida, julgada parcialmente procedente.

      Legislação LEG-FED ADCT ANO-1988 ART-00068 ATO DAS DISPOSIÇÕES CONSTITUCIONAIS TRANSITÓRIAS

      Outras ocorrências Doutrina (1)


      • ADI 3239
      • Órgão julgador: Tribunal Pleno
      • Relator(a): Min. CEZAR PELUSO
      • Redator(a) do acórdão: Min. ROSA WEBER
      • Julgamento: 08/02/2018
      • Publicação: 01/02/2019

      AÇÃO DIRETA DE INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE. DECRETO Nº 4.887/2003. PROCEDIMENTO PARA IDENTIFICAÇÃO, RECONHECIMENTO, DELIMITAÇÃO, DEMARCAÇÃO E TITULAÇÃO DAS TERRAS OCUPADAS POR REMANESCENTES DAS COMUNIDADES DOS QUILOMBOS. ATO NORMATIVO AUTÔNOMO. ART. 68 DO ADCT. DIREITO FUNDAMENTAL. EFICÁCIA PLENA E IMEDIATA. INVASÃO DA ESFERA RESERVADA A LEI. ART. 84, IV E VI, "A", DA CF. INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE FORMAL. INOCORRÊNCIA. CRITÉRIO DE IDENTIFICAÇÃO. AUTOATRIBUIÇÃO. TERRAS OCUPADAS. DESAPROPRIAÇÃO. ART. 2º, CAPUT E §§ 1º, 2º E 3º, E ART. 13, CAPUT E § 2º, DO DECRETO Nº 4.887/2003. INCONSTITUCIONALIDADE MATERIAL. INOCORRÊNCIA. IMPROCEDÊNCIA DA AÇÃO. - 1. Ato normativo autônomo, a retirar diretamente da Constituição da República o seu fundamento de validade, o Decreto nº 4.887/2003 apresenta densidade normativa suficiente a credenciá-lo ao controle abstrato de constitucionalidade. - 2. Inocorrente a invocada ausência de cotejo analítico na petição inicial entre o ato normativo atacado e os preceitos da Constituição tidos como malferidos, uma vez expressamente indicados e esgrimidas as razões da insurgência. - 3. Não obsta a cognição da ação direta a falta de impugnação de ato jurídico revogado pela norma tida como inconstitucional, supostamente padecente do mesmo vício, que se teria por repristinada. Cabe à Corte, ao delimitar a eficácia da sua decisão, se o caso, excluir dos efeitos da decisão declaratória eventual efeito repristinatório quando constatada incompatibilidade com a ordem constitucional. - 4. O art. 68 do ADCT assegura o direito dos remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos de ver reconhecida pelo Estado a propriedade sobre as terras que histórica e tradicionalmente ocupam – direito fundamental de grupo étnico-racial minoritário dotado de eficácia plena e aplicação imediata. Nele definidos o titular (remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos), o objeto (terras por eles ocupadas), o conteúdo (direito de propriedade), a condição (ocupação tradicional), o sujeito passivo (Estado) e a obrigação específica (emissão de títulos), mostra-se apto o art. 68 do ADCT a produzir todos os seus efeitos, independentemente de integração legislativa. - 5. Disponíveis à atuação integradora tão-somente os aspectos do art. 68 do ADCT que dizem com a regulamentação do comportamento do Estado na implementação do comando constitucional, não se identifica, na edição do Decreto 4.887/2003 pelo Poder Executivo, mácula aos postulados da legalidade e da reserva de lei. Improcedência do pedido de declaração de inconstitucionalidade formal por ofensa ao art. 84, IV e VI, da Constituição da República. - 6. O compromisso do Constituinte com a construção de uma sociedade livre, justa e solidária e com a redução das desigualdades sociais (art. 3º, I e III, da CF) conduz, no tocante ao reconhecimento da propriedade das terras ocupadas pelos remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos, à convergência das dimensões da luta pelo reconhecimento – expressa no fator de determinação da identidade distintiva de grupo étnico-cultural – e da demanda por justiça socioeconômica, de caráter redistributivo – compreendida no fator de medição e demarcação das terras. - 7. Incorporada ao direito interno brasileiro, a Convenção 169 da Organização Internacional do Trabalho – OIT sobre Povos Indígenas e Tribais, consagra a "consciência da própria identidade" como critério para determinar os grupos tradicionais aos quais aplicável, enunciando que Estado algum tem o direito de negar a identidade de um povo que se reconheça como tal. - 8. Constitucionalmente legítima, a adoção da autoatribuição como critério de determinação da identidade quilombola, além de consistir em método autorizado pela antropologia contemporânea, cumpre adequadamente a tarefa de trazer à luz os destinatários do art. 68 do ADCT, em absoluto se prestando a inventar novos destinatários ou ampliar indevidamente o universo daqueles a quem a norma é dirigida. O conceito vertido no art. 68 do ADCT não se aparta do fenômeno objetivo nele referido, a alcançar todas as comunidades historicamente vinculadas ao uso linguístico do vocábulo quilombo. Adequação do emprego do termo “quilombo” realizado pela Administração Pública às balizas linguísticas e hermenêuticas impostas pelo texto-norma do art. 68 do ADCT. Improcedência do pedido de declaração de inconstitucionalidade do art. 2°, § 1°, do Decreto 4.887/2003. - 9. Nos casos Moiwana v. Suriname (2005) e Saramaka v. Suriname (2007), a Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos reconheceu o direito de propriedade de comunidades formadas por descendentes de escravos fugitivos sobre as terras tradicionais com as quais mantêm relações territoriais, ressaltando o compromisso dos Estados partes (Pacto de San José da Costa Rica, art. 21) de adotar medidas para garantir o seu pleno exercício. - 10. O comando para que sejam levados em consideração, na medição e demarcação das terras, os critérios de territorialidade indicados pelos remanescentes das comunidades quilombolas, longe de submeter o procedimento demarcatório ao arbítrio dos próprios interessados, positiva o devido processo legal na garantia de que as comunidades tenham voz e sejam ouvidas. Improcedência do pedido de declaração de inconstitucionalidade do art. 2º, §§ 2º e 3º, do Decreto 4.887/2003. - 11. Diverso do que ocorre no tocante às terras tradicionalmente ocupadas pelos índios – art. 231, § 6º – a Constituição não reputa nulos ou extintos os títulos de terceiros eventualmente incidentes sobre as terras ocupadas por remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos, de modo que a regularização do registro <u>exige o necessário o procedimento expropriatório</u>. A exegese sistemática dos arts. 5º, XXIV, 215 e 216 da Carta Política e art. 68 do ADCT impõe, quando incidente título de propriedade particular legítimo sobre as terras ocupadas por quilombolas, seja o processo de transferência da propriedade mediado por regular procedimento de desapropriação. Improcedência do pedido de declaração de inconstitucionalidade material do art. 13 do Decreto 4.887/2003. Ação direta de inconstitucionalidade julgada improcedente.


      • ADI 7008
      • Órgão julgador: Tribunal Pleno
      • Relator(a): Min. ROBERTO BARROSO
      • Julgamento: 22/05/2023
      • Publicação: 06/06/2023

      Direito constitucional e administrativo. Ação direta de inconstitucionalidade. Lei nº 16.260/2016, do Estado de São Paulo. Concessão de áreas estaduais para exploração de atividades de ecoturismo e extração comercial de madeira e subprodutos florestais. - 1. Ação direta de inconstitucionalidade contra a Lei nº 16.260/2016, do Estado de São Paulo, que autoriza a concessão à iniciativa privada de áreas estaduais para exploração de atividades de ecoturismo e extração comercial de madeira e subprodutos florestais. - 2. O ato normativo veicula autorização legislativa dada ao Poder Executivo estadual para a concessão da exploração de serviços ou do uso, total ou parcial, de áreas em próprios estaduais. Ato normativo de caráter genérico que não afasta a incidência de normas editadas pela União em matéria ambiental ou o dever de consulta prévia às comunidades indígenas e tradicionais eventualmente afetadas. Sendo evidente o sentido da norma, revela-se incabível a interpretação conforme à Constituição para essa finalidade. - 3. O art. 231 da Constituição consagrou o caráter originário do direito dos índios às terras por eles “tradicionalmente ocupadas”, reservando-lhes, com exclusividade, o usufruto das riquezas do solo, dos rios e dos lagos nelas existentes. Além disso, essas terras foram incluídas entre os bens da União (art. 20, XI, da CF/88). Trata-se, portanto, de território pertencente à União e de usufruto exclusivo dos povos indígenas, sendo inconstitucional a sua concessão pelo Estado à iniciativa privada. - 4. Também a proteção às terras ocupadas por comunidades tradicionais e de remanescentes quilombolas é essencial à preservação de sua identidade e seus “modos de criar, fazer e viver” (arts. 215 e 216 da Constituição; art. 68 do ADCT e Convenção nº 169 da OIT). É inconstitucional a concessão dessas áreas, pelo Estado, à iniciativa privada, para exploração florestal madeireira e do ecoturismo, independentemente do <u>status de regularização fundiária</u> e da <u>morosidade</u> do Estado em efetivar seu dever de demarcá-las e protegê-las. - 5. Pedido julgado parcialmente procedente, para conferir interpretação conforme a Constituição à Lei nº 16.260/2016, do Estado de São Paulo, de modo a afastar sua incidência relativamente às terras tradicionalmente ocupadas por comunidades indígenas, remanescentes quilombolas e demais comunidades tradicionais. - 6. Fixação da seguinte tese de julgamento: “1.* É constitucional norma estadual que, sem afastar a aplicação da legislação nacional em matéria ambiental (inclusive relatório de impacto ambiental) e o dever de consulta prévia às comunidades indígenas e tradicionais, quando diretamente atingidas por ocuparem zonas contíguas, autoriza a concessão à iniciativa privada da exploração de serviços ou do uso de bens imóveis do Estado; 2.* A concessão pelo Estado não pode incidir sobre áreas tradicionalmente ocupadas por povos indígenas, remanescentes quilombolas e demais comunidades tradicionais”.

      Tese - 1. É constitucional norma estadual que, sem afastar a aplicação da legislação nacional em matéria ambiental (inclusive relatório de impacto ambiental) e o dever de consulta prévia às comunidades indígenas e tradicionais, quando diretamente atingidas por ocuparem <u>zonas contíguas</u>, autoriza a concessão à iniciativa privada da exploração de serviços ou do uso de bens imóveis do Estado;

      • 2. A concessão pelo Estado não pode incidir sobre áreas tradicionalmente ocupadas por povos indígenas, remanescentes quilombolas e demais comunidades tradicionais.
    1. Note: This response was posted by the corresponding author to Review Commons. The content has not been altered except for formatting.

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      Reply to the reviewers

      Reviewer #1

      Evidence, reproducibility and clarity

      SUMMARY

      In this study, Fernandes and colleagues addressed the question of the role of micro-RNAs in regulating the coupling between organ growth and developmental timing. Using Drosophila, they identified the conserved micro-RNA miR-184 as a regulator of the developmental transition between juvenile larval stages and metamorphosis. This transition is under the control of the steroid hormone Ecdysone, and has been shown to be modulated in case of abnormal tissue growth to adjust the duration of larval growth in response to developmental perturbations. The relaxin-like hormone Dilp8 has been identified as a key secreted factor involved in this coupling. Here, the authors show that miR-184 is involved in the regulation of Dilp8 expression both in physiological conditions and upon growth perturbation. They propose that this function is carried out in imaginal tissues, where miR-184 levels are modulated by tissue stress. While several factors have already been involved in triggering sharp dilp8 induction at the transcriptional level, this study adds another level of complexity to the regulation of Dilp8 by proposing that its expression is fine-tunned post-transcriptionally through repression by miR-184.

      __MAJOR COMMENTS______

      Overall, the manuscript is well organized, and the logics of the experimental plan well presented. The results are clear, and I appreciate the quality of the pupariation curves. However, I believe that two main conclusions of the paper are not fully supported by the results presented in the figures: the direct regulation of dilp8 3'UTR by miR-184, and the specificity of this regulation in imaginal discs. Here I develop in more details these two aspects.

      Comment 1) The strategy of the 3'UTR sensor is not fully optimized. Indeed, in most experiments, qRT-PCR is used to assess dilp8 expression levels, although it reflects both transcriptional and post-transcriptional. Importantly, to show that post-transcriptional regulation is involved in the response to tissue damage, the levels of the 3'UTR sensor should be analyzed in discs expressing RAcs (showing at the same time that the response is cell-autonomous in the discs). The expected upregulation of the sensor should be prevented by simultaneous expression of miR-184. This approach would shed light on the relative contribution of transcriptional versus post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8 in response to growth perturbation.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for this comment. We agree that qRT-PCRs do not distinguish between transcriptional and post-transcriptional changes of dilp8 levels, in response to changes in miR-184 levels and tissue damage. In addition to the qRT-PCR data we have looked at dilp8-3’UTR-GFP reporter in response to overexpression of miR-184 in the wingdisc using patched-Gal4 driver, which show downregulation of the GFP reporter in the ptc domain (Fig 4C-D’). This suggests that dilp8 mRNA is a direct target of miR-184 by post-transcriptional regulation through its 3’UTR. Further, to confirm the specificity of the effect of miR-184 on dilp8-3’UTR, we generated a dilp8-3’UTR mutant in which the single target site for miR-184 was mutated. We show that the mutated dilp8-3’UTR reporter doesn’t show any regulation in response to miR-184 overexpression in the ptc domain of the wingdisc (Fig. 4E, E’, F, F’). This experiment confirms the specificity of the dilp8-3’UTR regulation by miR-184.

      As suggested by the reviewer we analysed dilp8-3’UTR-GFP reporter expression by overexpressing RicinA using ptcGAL4 driver in the wing imaginal disc (Fig. S6F-G’). We observed a slight but consistent increase in the dilp8-3’UTR-GFP reporter expression, indicating post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8 expression in response to tissue damage. However, the increase of reporter GFP levels observed in this experiment in response to tissue damage is mild (Fig. S6F-G’) than expected based on the qRT-PCR results (Fig S6A and B). We have added this new data to the manuscript (Fig. S6F-G’).

      We propose the following reasons to explain this result:

      a) both transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8 mRNA in response to developmental perturbations

      b) the data on 3’UTR reporter GFP is specifically from the ptc domain expression of RicinA, whereas for dilp8 transcript levels we have expressed RicinA in all larval imaginal tissues, or in the entire wing imaginal disc, which could be one of the reasons for the stronger effect seen on dilp8 mRNA levels

      c) we are not certain if the tubulin-promoter driven dilp8-3’UTR GFP reporter reflects post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8 by miR-184 efficiently in comparison to qRT-PCR. This is especially as the reporter-GFP-3’UTR will be expressed at very high levels due to the tubulin promoter, a majority of this reporter-GFP mRNA may not be relieved from degradation due to the moderate suppression of miR-184 in response to RicinA overexpression.

      Thus, our experiments suggest that dilp8 levels are regulated post-transcriptionally by miR-184 which contributes to pupariation delays in response to tissue damage. In support of this, we could rescue pupariation delays and dilp8 induction caused by RicinA expression using overexpression of miR-184 (Figs 5B, C). Thus, we confirm that the effect of post-transcriptional regulation by miR-184 during developmental perturbations also contributes to dilp8 induction and pupariation delays. Unfortunately, due to experimental limitations we could not perform simultaneous expression of RicinA and miR-184 to evaluate the rescue of dilp8-3’UTR-GFP sensor expression. The levels of dilp8-3’UTR sensor GFP is reduced efficiently by miR-184 overexpression (Fig 4D), which prevented us from attempting the rescue of the moderate increase of dilp8-3’UTR GFP levels in response to RicinA.

      Comment 2) In my opinion, the use of a 3'UTR sensor is not sufficient to conclude that the regulation by miR-184 is direct, as miR-184 could also regulate an intermediate factor that acts on dilp8 post-transcriptional regulation. To solve this issue, a common strategy is to generate a 3'UTR sensor with mutated binding sites that should abolish the regulation by miR-184. This mutated 3'UTR might also respond differently to tissue damage, which would strongly support the conclusions of the study.

      Response: We couldn’t agree more with the reviewer, this comment is addressed in the response to comment 1. We have confirmed the specificity of regulation of dilp8-3’UTR by miR-184 using target site mutated dilp8-3’UTR (new figures added to the manuscript Fig. 4E, E’, F, F’). We tested if the changes in dilp8 mRNA levels in response to tissue damage is post-transcriptional mediated by miR-184. We observe that there is a slight, but consistent increase of dilp8-3’UTR GFP reporter levels in the ptc domain of wingdisc in response to RicinA expression, suggesting a role for miR-184 mediated post-translational regulation of dilp8. However, we have not yet tested the mutated dilp8-3’UTR GFP reporter in response to tissue damage.

      Comment 3) Concerning the tissue-specific regulation of Dilp8 by miR-184, these results need to be strengthened. Indeed, this comes mostly from phenotypes observed with rn-GAL4. Although this is a classical tool for driving expression in imaginal discs, rn-GAL4 also drives strong expression in other tissues that could contribute to triggering a delay, such as the CNS and part of the gut (proventriculus). In our hands, some growth phenotypes in the wing obtained with rn-GAL4 could be fully reverted by blocking GAL4 in the CNS indicating that the phenotype was not wing-specific. Importantly, miR-184 seems to be highly expressed in the CNS according to FlyBase, reinforcing the possibility that it plays a role in this organ. Here I propose approaches to confirm that miR-184 mediated regulation of dilp8 and developmental timing indeed occur in the discs:

      - Another driver with less secondary expression sites could be used (pdmR11F02-GAL4), or rn-GAL4 could be combined with an elav-GAL80 to prevent expression in most neurons. - The authors could identify the source of Dilp8 upregulation in miR-184 mutants using tissue-specific qRT-PCR instead of whole larvae expression like in Fig 4A-B. - This tissue-specific upregulation could be functionally tested using a rescue experiment, in which the delay observed in miR-184 mutants could be rescued by disc-specific downregulation of Dilp8 (using pdm2-GAL4 for instance).

      Response: We are thankful to the reviewer, and agree that it is important to show that the effects that we see using rn-Gal4 are specific to imaginal discs, and not due to an effect in CNS. We tested this by expressing miR-184 sponge in the CNS. Though miR-184 is highly expressed in the larval CNS, downregulation of miR-184 specifically in the pan-neuronal background using elav-GAL4 led to no effects on pupariation timepoint. We have added this as supplementary data Figure S4. Therefore, we believe that the miR-184 downregulation phenotype in the rnGAL4 background can be mainly attributed to its role in the imaginal discs. In addition, as suggested by the reviewer we have also demonstrated that downregulation of miR-184 in the imaginal discs using rnGAL4 driver leads to an increase in dilp8 expression (Fig S5B). Thus confirming that dilp8 mRNA is enhanced in the imaginal discs by blocking miR-184.

      OPTIONAL: Because it is known that dilp8 is strongly regulated at the transcriptional level, the relative input from post-transcriptional upregulation is an important question arising from this study. Although it might be a more long-term approach, I believe that generating a Dilp8 mutant lacking its 3'UTR or, even better, with mutated miR-184 binding sites, would shed light on the role of this regulation for the response to growth perturbation and/or developmental stability (fluctuating asymmetry).

      Response: We thank the reviewer for the suggestion. This would have been an interesting experiment to carry out especially in the context of fluctuating asymmetry.

      MINOR COMMENTS

      1. __ I think that a number of results could be moved to SI as they are either controls, or reproduce published data without bringing novelty. For instance, results in Fig 5A-D are similar to data published by Sanchez et al, as stated in the text. Fig6A as well.__

      __Response: __We thank the reviewer for this suggestion, Fig. 5A-D, and F has been moved to Fig. S6A-E. We have also moved data from Fig. 6 to Fig. 5, as a result Fig 6 A-D has become Fig. 5 B-D.

      __ Fig 6D is quite mysterious, as it suggests that basal JNK activation regulates miR-184, which is different from a context of tissue damage. I think that this result could be removed. Alternatively, if the authors want to dig in that direction, more experiments should be provided, such as bskDN expression in an RAcs context and the effects on miR-184 levels and the 3'UTR sensor (since transcript levels are already published).__

      Response: We would like to clarify that our experiments suggest that endogenous JNK signalling negatively regulates miR-184, as blocking basal JNK signalling using bskDN increased the levels of miR-184 (changed to Fig 5D). Enhanced JNK signalling has been reported to be involved in tissue damage responses, and we propose that RicinA mediated increase in JNK signalling leads to the reduction of miR-184 (changed to Fig 5A, S6D-E). However, we are not strongly implying this as we did not co-express RicinA and bskDN to show that JNK signalling is responsible for the drop in miR-184 levels in response to tissue damage. We thank the reviewer for seeking this explanation, we have rewritten the results section to improve clarity.

      __ The references related to Dilp8 should be checked more in detail in the intro and discussion. About Dilp8 and developmental stability: remove the ref to Colombani et al 2012, instead put Boone et al 2016 and add Blanco-Obregon et al 2022 (in addition to Garelli et al 2012 who initially identified this phenotype. About Lgr3 as the receptor for Dilp8: add Colombani et al, Current Biology 2015, and cite here Vallejo et al 2015, Garelli et al 2015. Among the important transcriptional regulators of Dilp8, Xrp1 could be mentioned (Boulan et al 2019, Destefanis et al 2022) as it plays a complementary function to JNK depending on the type of tissue stress.__

      __Response: __We are really sorry for the glaring errors in citing appropriate references. We thank the reviewer for correcting this for us. We have made necessary changes to the text.

      Significance

      GENERAL ASSESSMENT This study provides convincing data showing that the conserved microRNA miR-184 plays a role in regulating developmental timing in Drosophila through modulating the levels of Dilp8, a key factor in the coupling between tissue growth and developmental transitions. The results are convincing, but the general conclusions of the paper need to be strengthened regarding the direct regulation of dilp8 by miR-184 and the tissue-specificity of this interaction.

      ADVANCE Dilp8 is a key factor that modulates growth and timing in response to developmental perturbations and contributes to developmental precision in physiological conditions. As such, its regulation has been studied by different groups in the last decade, leading to the identification of several inputs for its transcriptional regulation. Here, the authors uncover a post-transcriptional regulation by miR-184, adding another level of regulation of Dilp8 that contribute to ensuring proper regulation of developmental timing, and opening the possibility that miR-184 might play similar roles in other species.

      AUDIENCE This study is of interest for researchers in the field of basic science, with a focus on developmental timing, tissue damage and biological function of microRNAs.

      REVIEWER EXPERTISE Drosophila, growth control, developmental timing, Dilp8.

      Reviewer #2

      Evidence, reproducibility and clarity

      Drosophila has helped to characterize the mechanisms that coordinate tissue growth with developmental timing. The insulin/relaxin-like peptide Dilp8 has been identified as a key factor that communicates the abnormal growth status of larval imaginal discs to neuroendocrine neurons responsible for regulating the timing of metamorphosis. Dilp8, derived from imaginal discs, targets four Lgr3-positive neurons in the central nervous system, activating cyclic-AMP signaling in an Lgr3-dependent manner. This signaling pathway reduces the production of the molting hormone, ecdysone, delaying the onset of metamorphosis. Simultaneously, the growth rates of healthy imaginal tissues slow down, enabling the development of proportionate individuals.

      In this manuscript "miR-184 modulates dilp8 to control developmental timing during normal growth conditions and in response to developmental perturbations" by Dr. Varghese and colleagues, the authors identify a new post transcriptional regulator of Dilp8. The authors show that miR-184 plays a pivotal role in tissue damage responses by inducing dilp8 expression, which in turn delays pupariation to allow sufficient time for damage repair mechanisms to take effect.

      Major points:

      Comment 1) In most of the experiments for percentage of pupariation, the 50% pupariation in control is around 110 hours AED in figures 1, 2 and 3. In figures 5 and 6 using the UAS Ricin, the controls are more around 90 hours AED. Why this discrepancy?

      Response: We thank the reviewer for asking for this clarification. The former experiments for Figs 1-3 were carried out at 25oC while the latter experiments with a cold sensitive version of RicinA (UAS-RAcs), Figs 5 and 6 (now changed to Figs. 5 and S6 as suggested by reviewer #1) were carried out at 29oC (permissive temperature). This difference in temperature has led to alterations in pupariation timing. We apologise for not having mentioned this in the text, now we have made necessary corrections to the methods section clearly indicating this.

      Comment 2) What is the mechanism behind the expression of miR-184 in stress conditions? Is miR-184 also implicated in other conditions giving rise to a developmental delay (X-rays irradiation or animal bearing rasV12, scrib-/- tumors)?

      Response: We thank the reviewer for these questions.

      a) In response to developmental perturbations by RicinA, we believe that activation of JNK signalling controls miR-184 expression. We propose this as our experiments show that imaginal disc damage leads to enhancement of JNK signalling and increase in dilp8 mRNA levels (as reported earlier by Colombani et al 2012; Sánchez et al 2019), and a simultaneous reduction of miR-184 (Figs. S6A, D, E). We also have performed new experiments to show that in response to RicinA expression in the wingdisc there is moderate increase in the dilp8-3’UTR-GFP sensor expression (Figs. S6F-G’), indicating a post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8 expression in response to tissue stress. We also show that RicinA induced dilp8 expression and pupariation delay can be rescued by increasing miR-184 levels (Fig 5B and C), suggesting that the reduction of miR-184 in response to tissue damage contributes to the damage responses. In a separate experiment we show that blocking the endogenous JNK pathway by the expression of bskDN enhances miR-184 levels, suggesting that miR-184 is under the regulation of JNK signalling (Fig 5D). Hence, we speculate that during tissue stress, activation of JNK signalling leads to a reduction of miR-184 levels which contributes to regulating the levels of dilp8 post-transcriptionally and resulting in pupariation delays. The text has been modified to explain this better.

      b) In a previous paper by Shu et al., 2017 (https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.22226) decreased expression of miR-184 was observed in a lglRNAi; RasV12 tumor background. Apart from this various studies have shown that dilp8 levels increase in response to tumour, radiation stress, apoptosis, and tissue damage (Yeom et al 2021, Ray et al 2019, Demay et al 2014, Katsuyama et al 2015, Colombani et al 2012, Garelli et al 2012). Whether the regulation of dilp8 by miR-184, occurs in these backgrounds is yet to be tested. We have now discussed this possibility in the manuscript.

      Comment 3) dilp8 mutant animals have also been shown to be more resistant to starvation or desiccation (https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00461). Is miR-184 implicated in this answer?

      Response: We thank the reviewer for this question. In our earlier experiments miR-184 has been demonstrated to be regulated by nutrition in the larval stages and lack of miR-184 led to enhanced larval death in response to diet restriction (Fernandes et al., 2022). miR-184 was also demonstrated to play a role in the insulin producing cells (IPCs) in regulating lifespan (Fernandes & Varghese., 2022). In the current work, we propose miR-184 to act upstream of dilp8 in response to stress stimuli. Hence, it is possible that miR-184 might be involved in responses to starvation and desiccation stress in the adult female flies, by regulating dilp8 levels post-transcriptionally. However, it has not been tested yet if the miR-184 regulation of dilp8 plays a role in resistance to starvation or desiccation in adult females, as this was not within the scope of the current study. We have now added this reference in the discussion section.

      Comment 4) dilp8 expression has been also shown to be regulated by Xrp1 in response to ribosome stress (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.03.016). This paper should be included in the manuscript. Is it possible that the expression levels of miR184 are regulated by Xrp1?

      Response: We thank the reviewer for the suggestion and have incorporated the reference into the paper. During ribosome stress in the larval imaginal discs the stress-response transcription factor Xrp1 acts through dilp8 in regulating systemic growth. We agree with the reviewer, it is possible that expression of miR-184 is regulated by Xrp1. Currently we have not explored this possibility. We have now added this to the discussion section.

      Minor points:

      1. __ Does the overexpression of miR184 induce an increased fluctuating asymmetry?__

      Response: We thank the reviewer for asking this question. The role of dilp8 in the fluctuation asymmetry is only observed in the dilp8 hypomorphic mutant background. To replicate this we would have to overexpress miR-184 in either the whole larvae or in the wing discs. Unfortunately overexpression of miR-184 in the wing discs (using rnGAL4) leads to pupal lethality while as overexpression of miR-184 in the whole larvae leads to embryonic lethality and therefore we were not be able to conclude from our experiments if miR-184 overexpression induces increased fluctuating asymmetry.

      2. There are 2 references Colombani et al. (2012 for Dilp8 and 2015 for Lgr3). Can you double check that they are used accordingly

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing these errors out and we have incorporated these changes into the paper.

      Significance

      Altogether, the paper present compiling lines of evidence supporting the proposed model. The experiments are well designed and are convincing. The papers is interesting and relevant for a broad audience.

      __Reviewer #3 __

      Evidence, reproducibility and clarity (Required):

      This is an interesting study demonstrating an interaction between miR-184 and the Drosophila insulin-like peptide 8 (dilp8) in the tissue damage response. The authors show that Dilp8 activity is negatively regulated by miR-184, apparently through direct interaction between miR-184 and the dilp8-3'UTR, which leads to lower dilp8 mRNA transcript levels, via an undetermined mechanism, supposedly its degradation? Furthermore, the authors show that during aberrant tissue growth, miR-184 levels are very slightly downregulated (see comment below), and based on other experiments, imply causation of this with the increased dilp8 mRNA levels that occur in these tissues, again via an unclear mechanism: upregulation or stabilization of dilp8 mRNA. The authors present evidence that the JNK pathway, which had been known to be critical for dilp8 mRNA upregulation upon tissue damage, does so via miR-184.

      Major Comments:

      __Comment 1: The data showing the direct regulation of dilp8-3'UTR by miR-184 are not very strong and would require more controls to strengthen the claim, as described below. __

      Response: We have performed new experiments to validate that dilp8-3’UTR is regulated by miR-184. Please see the detailed responses to comments 10-12 below.

      __Comment 2: The miR-184 effects are also very small (less than 2-fold reduction with tissue damage; or less than 2-fold induction with JNK-pathway inhibition via bskDN). These two points are the weakest part of the manuscript and model. __

      Response: We agree with the reviewers on this point. The reduction in miR-184 levels in response to RicinA expression is modest (25–30%), and the induction of miR-184 in response to bskDN expression is less than two-fold (Figs. 5A and D). In contrast, dilp8 transcript levels increase several-fold in response to RicinA expression (Fig. 5C, S6A and B). Since we measure dilp8 transcript levels by qPCR, we detect both transcriptional and post-transcriptional contributions to dilp8 regulation. In addition, we have performed a new experiment to check the post-transcriptional regulation of dilp8, in response to tissue damage. Though the change in the dilp8-3′UTR GFP reporter upon RicinA expression in the ptc domain of the wingdisc is mild (Figs. S6F-G’), this strongly suggests a post-transcriptional outcome of the reduction of miR-184 levels on dilp8. Hence, we propose that tissue damage induces strong transcriptional activation of dilp8, while the reduction of miR-184, despite its smaller magnitude, contributes to dilp8 upregulation via post-transcriptional regulation. In support of this, our experiments demonstrate direct regulation of the dilp8-3′UTR by miR-184 (Figs. 4C-F’), and show strong dilp8 mRNA upregulation in miR-184 deficient conditions (Fig. 4A and B), suggesting the role of miR-184 in maintaining dilp8 levels. We also show that RicinA induced effects on dilp8 and pupariation delay are reversed by co-expression of miR-184 (Fig. 5C). We do not claim that regulation by miR-184 is the sole mechanism for driving dilp8 induction during tissue damage, but suggest that miR-184-mediated post-transcriptional regulation acts in a complementary manner to transcriptional responses. Furthermore, we believe that the mild effect of JNK signaling on miR-184 (as shown by the bskDN experiment) is sufficient for the moderate reduction of miR-184 in response to tissue damage.

      Comment 3: ____Regarding the expression levels, it does not help that the authors show bar graphs with standard errors of the mean instead of the actual data points to allow reliable appreciation of the data dispersion.

      Response: We have modified our figures and have performed statistical analysis according to the suggestions of the reviewers, please see responses to comments 1-9, and 13-19.

      Comment 4: It is difficult to understand how minute changes in miR-184 levels can lead to over an order of magnitude differences (in some cases) in dilp8 mRNA levels considering that it is a stoichiometric relationship. Maybe ?miR-184-Dicer1? complexes are highly stable and re-used for multiple dilp8 transcripts - the authors could discuss how they understand this occurring in their manuscript.

      On the same line, discussion is also rather weak on what regards the mechanism of control of dilp8 mRNA levels by miR-184. Please discuss eg, the evidence for mRNA degradation induction by microRNAs with this UTR binding profile (imperfect UTR binding Fig S4) and-if appropriate-how other possible regulatory models (direct and indirect) could explain the findings.

      Response: We accept the reviewers comment that 25-30% reduction of miR-184 is low in comparison to the many fold increase in dilp8 levels. We believe that both post-transcriptional and transcriptional changes are responsible for the induction of dilp8 in response to tissue damage. However, our experiments suggest the role of post-transcriptional regulation by miR-184, as pupariation delay is rescued by miR-184 overexpression (also please see the response to the previous comment). We are not ruling out the possibility of transcriptional regulation of dilp8 mRNA, rather we are suggesting the possibility that both transcriptional and post-transcriptional means are responsible for changes in dilp8. Moreover, we have not performed absolute measurement of miR-184 in the imaginal discs (what we show is a comparison between control and RicinA expression), hence we do not have an exact estimate of how many miR-184 molecules are reduced and if they would be greatly equal or more in comparison to the dilp8 mRNA molecules that are upregulated, as again while measuring dilp8 mRNA we are not checking how many molecules of dilp8 exactly are increased. As the reviewer suggests, it is possible that miR-184-RISC could be stable to handle multiple dilp8 molecules one after the other, hence it is not a 1:1 relationship between miR-184:dilp8. We have included this in the manuscript. It is also known that imperfect 3’UTR binding as seen in most animal microRNAs leads to translational repression and mRNA deadenylation, which eventually results in mRNA degradation.

      Comment 5: ____We suggest the authors carefully revise their citations to cite appropriate work that supports the claims, and also to avoid missing the seminal studies that report the claims they cite.

      Response: We are really apologetic for the errors citing the key references. We are grateful to the reviewers for correcting this for us. We have made changes to the text to include and correct the references.

      We have the suggestions below which we hope will help the authors improve their manuscript. If the authors address these points raised above, we believe the manuscript should be a valuable contribution to the field, and help in the understanding of how tissues respond to growth aberrations and the regulation of transcript levels by microRNAs.

      Detailed Comments:

      Comment 1. Results 1st paragraph: please describe the screen in more detail. As written, one only discovers it was a miRNA loss-of-function screen when reading the legend of Table S1. Please show the original data of the screen - with dispersion if possible.

      Response: We thank the reviewers for these suggestions, we have now included the data from the screen with SEM, and p-values.

      Comment 2. Results 1st paragraph, Fourth line, "While several miRNAs caused delays in pupariation by 12 hours or more..". Please correct, as actually loss of miRNAs caused delays.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing out this error, we have corrected the text accordingly.

      Comment 3. ____Results (Figure 1) - It says that data from three independent experiments are shown. However there is no dispersion in the data. Could the authors please explain this? Are the results of the three experiments summed and presented as one? or is this one of the three?

      Response: We thank the reviewers for these suggestions and have plotted data with the SEM values.

      Comment 4. It is reported in the legend of Figure S2 that LogRank test was performed to determine statistical significance. However, no statistical data is presented. Please show the results.

      __Response: __We thank the reviewers for these suggestions to improve the data presentation, we have incorporated the p-value as suggested.

      Comment 5. Fig2A and B. Please show the data points in the bar graphs (as in Figure. 2C), or choose another data representation. ____Please consider redoing statistical analysis with a simple t-test. ____It is not clear to me why ANOVA was used to compare two samples. Please state that data are normalized also to control (tub-GAL4>UAS-scramble). Please ____state____ the h post-hatching from which the RNA samples were collected (as in Fig 2C for 20HE quantification).

      __Response: __We thank the reviewers for these suggestions to improve the data presentation, we have incorporated all changes as suggested. Similar changes have been incorporated to the rest of the figures of the manuscript as well. Hours post-hatching information for each figure is now added to the figure legends. __ __

      Comment 6. Fig2C. Fig legend states the bar graphs are "absolute values". Please specify if the bar represents the average, median or something else.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out, we have made the suggested changes.

      Comment 7. Throughout the manuscript: please use GAL4 in capital letters or at least standardize it throughout the ms. Currently there are GAL4s and Gal4s.. eg compare Fig 2 and 3 legends.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out, we have incorporated all changes as recommended.

      Comment 8. FigS3A and B. Please revise as Fig2A and B above. and apply the same criteria in the respective figure legend.

      __Response: __We thank the reviewer for pointing this out, we have made the changes as recommended.

      Comment 9. Fig. 4 - please indicate on the figures what is whole larvae and what is wing imaginal discs. This will facilitate understanding of the figure.

      __Response: __We thank the reviewers for these suggestions and have included this information in all the figures.

      Comment 10. Fig 4 - Data - Authors do not show that rn-GAL4>miR-184-sponge causes up regulation of dilp8 mRNA levels, hence the model is weakened. Doing this experiment would significantly strengthen the study whatever the result is.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and we have included this in the manuscript (Fig S5B).

      Comment 11. The dilp8-3'UTR experiment is weak especially because its generation is not sufficiently well described in the manuscript. "The dilp8 3'UTR-GFP reporter line was created as described in (Vargheese & Cohen, 2007)" is not sufficient. Please describe the construct generation in sufficient detail so that the experiments can be reproduced by others.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and we have elaborated in the methods section on how we generated the dilp8 3'UTR-GFP reporter and dilp8 3'UTR mutant GFP reporter lines. The plasmid was originally created in Steve Cohen’s lab at EMBL, by modifying pCasper4 plasmid, by introducing a tubulin promoter, EGFP and a multiple cloning site, which allows one to clone 3’UTRs of target genes into this plasmid. Not1 and Xho1 sites were used to clone the dilp8-3’UTR and mut-3’UTR. We hope this explains our strategy sufficiently.

      Comment 12. Making assumptions, if the construct is as described in Vargheese & Cohen, 2007 and contains all of the dilp8 3'UTR - it should be a Tubulin-driven GFP gene with a dilp8-3'UTR "Tub-GFP-(dilp8 3'UTR)". In this case the authors need to rule out the alternative interpretation of the result in Fig. 4D by showing that the expression of miR-184 does not down regulate Tub-GFP expression itself. The best scenario would be to have a mutated dilp8 3'UTR for the miR-184 recognition site. This experiment would significantly strengthen the study and model.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out. We agree with the reviewers that this experiment is needed to prove direct regulation of the dilp8-3’UTR by miR-184. We have mutated the sequences complementary to the seed region of miR-184 in the dilp8-3’UTR, and demonstrated that overexpression of miR-184 does not regulate the mutated tub-GFP-(dilp8 3'UTR) expression. This confirms that the dilp8 gene is a direct target of miR-184. This data is added to the manuscript as Figs 4E-F’.

      Comment 13. Figure 4C-D please separate dilp8 from 3'UTR with a space or hyphen.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and have separated dilp8 from 3’UTR with a hyphen.

      Comment 14. Figure 4E. Please name the dilp8 allele as MI00727 as it is not a KO, but rather a hypomorphic mutation (fully WT dilp8 transcripts are still generated, albeit at a much lower level).

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and we have made the necessary changes.

      Comment ____15. Figure 6D: please add UAS to bskDN/+. All figures have rn-GAL4 alone or with UAS-GFP as control. This finding would be strengthened with this other control, especially because the size effect is small.____ This being said a general comment for all experiments is that hemi-controls are generally missing for all figures. eg, in Fig 3. One would typically include controls such as A. Phm>+ and +>miR.184; B. aug21>+ and +>miR.184; C. ptth>+ and +>miR.184; D. rn>+ and +>miR.184

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out. We have added UAS to bskDN, now Fig 5D and have also added the rnGAL4/+ control. We have also performed various hemi-control experiments as suggested by the reviewer to our best capabilities. We have added a separate graph with the hemicontrols in the as a Reviewer Response Figure 1.

      Comment 16. Figure 7: Are IPCs necessary for the model? If not, I suggest removing them and placing the Lgr3 neuron cell bodies much more anterior in this scheme. Their cell bodies are as anterior and rostral as it gets, approximately where the IPCs are depicted in this type of view of the CNS.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and have removed IPCs from the figure, this figure is now labelled as Fig. 6.

      Comment ____17. Table S1- It would be preferable to see the data of these experiments, but if the authors prefer to show this data in a table, please at least add the dispersion analyses (eg standard deviation.. OR median+-quartiles OR Confidence intervals..), N of animals analysed, and statistics against controls.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out, we have added the number of larvae analysed, SEM values and statistics against the control condition.

      Comment ____18. In all figures with pupariation time: please also indicate significant findings in the graphs (with an asterisk, for instance) and adjust figure legends accordingly. This could facilitate understanding the data.

      __Response: __Thanks for the suggestion. We have incorporated this information into figure legends.

      Comment ____19. Please revise Figure legends for punctuation.

      __Response: __We have rectified all the errors in punctuation. We thank the reviewers for suggesting this.

      __Comment ____20. __

      a) Abstract:

      Line 10: What is the evidence to call Dilp8 a "paracrine" factor?

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out, we have changed the text to ‘secreted factor’.

      b) Introduction:

      4th paragraph, 3rd sentence " Dilp8... buffers developmental noise and delays pupariation..." Buffering of developmental noise was first shown in Garelli et al., Science 2012, so this publication should be cited. ____4th paragraph, 5th sentence: please include Jaszczak et al., Genetics 2016. This paper was published together with the 2015 papers, just a matter of timing that it got a 2016 date. Moreover, I do not think Katsuyama et al., 2015 is well cited to back up the statement in this sentence, hence I recommend removing that citation in this sentence.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and have made necessary changes.

      c) 6th paragraph: 5th line "targeting dilp8" : please specify if you mean the gene or the mRNA, or both. Same for line 7.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and have made necessary changes.

      d) Results Page 10, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence: the works cited are not the appropriate studies that demonstrated what is being stated. This was shown in Garelli et al., Science 2012 and Colombani et al., Science 2012. Results Page 10, 1st paragraph, line 11: Please also cite Colombani et al., Science 2012, who first showed that JNK is required for dilp8 regulation.

      Response: We thank the reviewer for pointing this out and are extremely apologetic for this oversight. We have made necessary changes to the manuscript.

      e) Discussion, 2nd paragraph, line 4: again, please indicate the rationale for using "paracrine" to describe Dilp8's activities. The current widely accepted model is that Dilp8 acts on interneurons in the brain ____(eg, reviewed in Juarez-Carreno et al., Cell Stress, 2018; Gontijo and Garelli, Mech Dev, 2018; Mirth and Shingleton, Front Cell Dev Biol, 2019; Texada et al., Genetics 2020; Boulan and Leopold, 2021).____ In order to reach the brain, Dilp8 has to be secreted from the discs and travel to the brain. This is as an endocrine mechanism as it gets for a small larva, considering that some discs can be on the opposite side of the larva (eg, genital discs). While this does not exclude that Dilp8 could also act paracrinally, the only evidence that I am aware of comes from other contexts such as during transdetermination (where Dilp8 has been proposed to work in an autocrine or paracrine fashion, via Drl in imaginal discs (Nemoto et al., Genes to Cells, 2023), however, this is not cited appropriately in this manuscript and is less related to the Lgr3-dependent pathway being studied here.

      Response: We totally agree with the reviewer and appreciate clarifying this for us. We have made necessary changes to the text.

      f) Discussion Page 13, 1st paragraph, This claim is supported by data presented in Garelli et al., Science 2012, not the other two papers. Garelli et al., 2015 shows that the Lgr3 receptor also participates in buffering developmental noise. Other studies have corroborated the Garelli et al., 2012 finding: eg, Colombani et al., Curr Biol 2015; Boone et al., Nat Commun 2016; Blanco-Obregon et al., Nat Commun 2022). Many other studies have shown that Dilp8 promotes developmental stability under tissue stress and challenges.

      Discussion Page 12, 3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence: "The Lgr3 neurons directly interact with ... PTTH ...and insulin-producing neurons" Please cite Colombani et al., 2015 and Vallejo et al., Science 2015. Vallejo et al., propose that circuit with insulin-producing neurons. In the 3rd sentence, only Jaszczak et al., 2016 is cited, whereas this claim/model comes from many studies, such as Halme et al., Curr Biol, 2010; Hackney et al., PLoS One 2012; Garelli et al. Science 2012; Colombani et al., Science, 2012; and the Lgr3 papers from 2015). Jaszczak et al., actually propose that Lgr3 is also required in the ring gland in addition to neurons.

      Discussion page 14 last paragraph,10 line, "In Aedes aegypti ....regulates ilp8 (Ling et al., 2017)". As far as I understand mosquitoes do not have a dilp8 orthologue (see for instance Gontijo and Gontijo, Mech Dev 2018; and Jan Veenstra's work). ilp nomenclature (numbering) does not follow that of Drosophila, so ilp8 is probably a typical Insulin/IGF-like peptide and is NOT an orthologue of Dilp8, a relaxin, so this citation needs to be removed or placed into the broader context of microRNA regulation of ilps.

      Response: We are really sorry for the numerous glaring errors in the references. We thank the reviewers for correcting this for us. We have made necessary changes to the text.

      Thank you for the opportunity to review your interesting work,

      Alisson Gontijo and Rebeca Zanini

      Reviewer #3 (Significance (Required)):

      If the authors address these points raised above, we believe the manuscript should be a valuable contribution to the field, and help in the understanding of how tissues respond to growth aberrations and the regulation of transcript levels by microRNAs.

      __Author’s concluding response: __

      We thank all the reviewers for the overall positive comments and suggestions that we believe have helped us to improve our manuscript. We have incorporated all the changes suggested, especially regarding errors in citing key references. We have performed most of the experimental suggestions. Also, we have modified the way in which graphs are presented, including statistical tests as suggested by the reviewers. Several controls have been performed to strengthen the manuscript further. We believe that this review process aided in significantly improving this manuscript.

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      Referee #3

      Evidence, reproducibility and clarity

      This is an interesting study demonstrating an interaction between miR-184 and the Drosophila insulin-like peptide 8 (dilp8) in the tissue damage response. The authors show that Dilp8 activity is negatively regulated by miR-184, apparently through direct interaction between miR-184 and the dilp8-3'UTR, which leads to lower dilp8 mRNA transcript levels, via an undetermined mechanism, supposedly its degradation? Furthermore, the authors show that during aberrant tissue growth, miR-184 levels are very slightly downregulated (see comment below), and based on other experiments, imply causation of this with the increased dilp8 mRNA levels that occur in these tissues, again via an unclear mechanism: upregulation or stabilization of dilp8 mRNA. The authors present evidence that the JNK pathway, which had been known to be critical for dilp8 mRNA upregulation upon tissue damage, does so via miR-184. The data showing the direct regulation of dilp8-3'UTR by miR-184 are not very strong and would require more controls to strengthen the claim, as described below. The miR-184 effects are also very small (less than 2-fold reduction with tissue damage; or less than 2-fold induction with JNK-pathway inhibition via bsk-DN). These two points are the weakest part of the manuscript and model. Regarding the expression levels, it does not help that the authors show bar graphs with standard errors of the mean instead of the actual datapoints to allow reliable appreciation of the data dispersion. It is difficult to understand how minute changes in miR-184 levels can lead to over an order of magnitude differences (in some cases) in dilp8 mRNA levels considering that it is a stoichiometric relationship. Maybe ?miR-184-Dicer1? complexes are highly stable and re-used for multiple dilp8 transcripts - the authors could discuss how they understand this occurring in their manuscript. On the same line, discussion is also rather weak on what regards the mechanism of control of dilp8 mRNA levels by miR-184. Please discuss eg, the evidence for mRNA degradation induction by microRNAs with this UTR binding profile (imperfect UTR binding Fig S4) and-if appropriate-how other possible regulatory models (direct and indirect) could explain the findings. We suggest the authors carefully revise their citations to cite appropriate work that supports the claims, and also to avoid missing the seminal studies that report the claims they cite. We have the suggestions below which we hope will help the authors improve their manuscript. If the authors address these points raised above, we believe the manuscript should be a valuable contribution to the field, and help in the understanding of how tissues respond to growth aberrations and the regulation of transcript levels by microRNAs.

      Comments:

      Results 1st paragraph: please describe the screen in more detail. As written, one only discovers it was a miRNA loss-of-function screen when reading the legend of Table S1. Please show the original data of the screen - with dispersion if possible.

      Results 1st paragraph, Fourth line, "While several miRNAs caused delays in pupariation by 12 hours or more..". Please correct, as actually loss of miRNAs caused delays.

      Results (Figure 1) - It says that data from three independent experiments are shown. However there is no dispersion in the data. Could the authors please explain this? Are the results of the three experiments summed and presented as one? or is this one of the three?

      It is reported in the legend of Figure S2 that LogRank test was performed to determine statistical significance. However, no statistical data is presented. Please show the results.

      Fig2A and B. Please show the data points in the bar graphs (as in Figure. 2C), or choose another data representation. Please consider redoing statistical analysis with a simple t-test. It is not clear to me why ANOVA was used to compare two samples. Please state that data are normalized also to control (tub-GAL4>UAS-scramble). Please state the h post-hatching from which the RNA samples were collected (as in Fig 2C for 20HE quantification).

      Fig2C. Fig legend states the bar graphs are "absolute values". Please specify if the bar represents the average, median or something else.

      Throughout the manuscript: please use GAL4 in capital letters or at least standardize it throughout the ms. Currently there are GAL4s and Gal4s.. eg compare Fig 2 and 3 legends.

      FigS3A and B. Please revise as Fig2A and B above. and apply the same criteria in the respective figure legend.

      Fig. 4 - please indicate on the figures what is whole larvae and what is wing imaginal discs. This will facilitate understanding of the figure.

      Fig 4 - Data - Authors do not show that rn-GAL4>miR-184-sponge causes up regulation of dilp8 mRNA levels, hence the model is weakened. Doing this experiment would significantly strengthen the study whatever the result is.

      The dilp8-3'UTR experiment is weak especially because its generation is not sufficiently well described in the manuscript. "The dilp8 3'UTR-GFP reporter line was created as described in (Vargheese & Cohen, 2007)" is not sufficient. Please describe the construct generation in sufficient detail so that the experiments can be reproduced by others.

      Making assumptions, if the construct is as described in Vargheese & Cohen, 2007 and contains all of the dilp8 3'UTR - it should be a Tubulin-driven GFP gene with a dilp8-3'UTR "Tub-GFP-(dilp8 3'UTR)". In this case the authors need to rule out the alternative interpretation of the result in Fig. 4D by showing that the expression of miR-184 does not down regulate Tub-GFP expression itself. The best scenario would be to have a mutated dilp8 3'UTR for the miR-184 recognition site. This experiment would significantly strengthen the study and model.

      Figure 4C-D please separate dilp8 from 3'UTR with a space or hyphen.

      Figure 4E. Please name the dilp8 allele as MI00727 as it is not a KO, but rather a hypomorphic mutation (fully WT dilp8 transcripts are still generated, albeit at a much lower level).

      Figure 6D: please add UAS to bskDN/+. All figures have rn-GAL4 alone or with UAS-GFP as control. This finding would be strengthened with this other control, especially because the size effect is small. This being said a general comment for all experiments is that hemi-controls are generally missing for all figures. eg, in Fig 3. One would typically include controls such as A. Phm>+ and +>miR.184; B. aug21>+ and +>miR.184; C. ptth>+ and +>miR.184; D. rn>+ and +>miR.184

      Figure 7: Are IPCs necessary for the model? If not, I suggest removing them and placing the Lgr3 neuron cell bodies much more anterior in this scheme. Their cell bodies are as anterior and rostral as it gets, approximately where the IPCs are depicted in this type of view of the CNS.

      Table S1- It would be preferable to see the data of these experiments, but if the authors prefer to show this data in a table, please at least add the dispersion analyses (eg standard deviation.. OR median+-quartiles OR Confidence intervals..), N of animals analysed, and statistics against controls.

      In all figures with pupariation time: please also indicate significant findings in the graphs (with an asterisk, for instance) and adjust figure legends accordingly. This could facilitate understanding the data.

      Please revise Figure legends for punctuation.

      Abstract: Line 10: What is the evidence to call Dilp8 a "paracrine" factor?

      Introduction:

      4th paragraph, 3rd sentence " Dilp8... buffers developmental noise and delays pupariation..." Buffering of developmental noise was first shown in Garelli et al., Science 2012, so this publication should be cited.

      4th paragraph, 5th sentence: please include Jaszczak et al., Genetics 2016. This paper was published together with the 2015 papers, just a mater of timing that it got a 2016 date. Moreover, I do not think Katsuyama et al., 2015 is well cited to back up the statement in this sentence, hence I recommend removing that citation in this sentence.

      6th paragraph: 5th line "targeting dilp8" : please specify if you mean the gene or the mRNA, or both. Same for line 7.

      Results Page 10, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence: the works cited are not the appropriate studies that demonstrated what is being stated. This was shown in Garelli et al., Science 2012 and Colombani et al., Science 2012.

      Results Page 10, 1st pagragraph, line 11: Please also cite Colombani et al., Science 2012, who first showed that JNK is required for dilp8 regulation.

      Discussion, 2nd paragraph, line 4: again, please indicate the rationale for using "paracrine" to describe Dilp8's activities. The current widely accepted model is that Dilp8 acts on interneurons in the brain (eg, reviewed in Juarez-Carreno et al., Cell Stress, 2018; Gontijo and Garelli, Mech Dev, 2018; Mirth and Shingleton, Front Cell Dev Biol, 2019; Texada et al., Genetics 2020; Boulan and Leopold, 2021). In order to reach the brain, Dilp8 has to be secreted from the discs and travel to the brain. This is as an endocrine mechanism as it gets for a small larva, considering that some discs can be in the opposite side of the larva (eg, genital discs). While this does not exclude that Dilp8 could also act paracrinally, the only evidence that I am aware of comes from other contexts such as during transdetermination (where Dilp8 has been proposed to work in an autocrine or paracrine fashion, via Drl in imaginal discs (Nemoto et al., Genes to Cells, 2023), however, this is not cited appropriately in this manuscript and is less related to the Lgr3-dependent pathway being studied here.

      Discussion Page 13, 1st paragraph, This claim is supported by data presented in Garelli et al., Science 2012, not the other two papers. Garelli et al., 2015 shows that the Lgr3 receptor also participates in buffering developmental noise. Other studies have corroborated the Garelli et al., 2012 finding: eg, Colombani et al., Curr Biol 2015; Boone et al., Nat Commun 2016; Blanco-Obregon et al., Nat Commun 2022). Many other studies have shown that Dilp8 promotes developmental stability under tissue stress and challenges.

      Discussion Page 12, 3rd paragraph, 2nd sentence: "The Lgr3 neurons directly interact with ... PTTH ...and insulin-producing neurons" Please cite Colombani et al., 2015 and Vallejo et al., Science 2015. Vallejo et al., propose that circuit with insulin-producing neurons. In the 3rd sentence, only Jaszczak et al., 2016 is cited, whereas this claim/model comes from many studies, such as Halme et al., Curr Biol, 2010; Hackney et al., PLoS One 2012; Garelli et al. Science 2012; Colombani et al., Science, 2012; and the Lgr3 papers from 2015). Jaszczak et al., actually propose that Lgr3 is also required in the ring gland in addition to neurons.

      Discussion page 14 last paragraph,10 line, "In Aedes aegypti ....regulates ilp8 (Ling et al., 2017)". As far as I understand mosquitoes do not have a dilp8 orthologue (see for instance Gontijo and Gontijo, Mech Dev 2018; and Jan Veenstra's work). ilp nomenclature (numbering) does not follow that of Drosophila, so ilp8 is probably a typical Insulin/IGF-like peptide and is NOT an orthologue of Dilp8, a relaxin, so this citation needs to be removed or placed into the broader context of microRNA regulation of ilps.

      Thank you for the opportunity to review your interesting work, Alisson Gontijo and Rebeca Zanini

      Significance

      If the authors address these points raised above, we believe the manuscript should be a valuable contribution to the field, and help in the understanding of how tissues respond to growth aberrations and the regulation of transcript levels by microRNAs.

    3. Note: This preprint has been reviewed by subject experts for Review Commons. Content has not been altered except for formatting.

      Learn more at Review Commons


      Referee #2

      Evidence, reproducibility and clarity

      Drosophila has helped to characterize the mechanisms that coordinate tissue growth with developmental timing. The insulin/relaxin-like peptide Dilp8 has been identified as a key factor that communicates the abnormal growth status of larval imaginal discs to neuroendocrine neurons responsible for regulating the timing of metamorphosis. Dilp8, derived from imaginal discs, targets four Lgr3-positive neurons in the central nervous system, activating cyclic-AMP signaling in an Lgr3-dependent manner. This signaling pathway reduces the production of the molting hormone, ecdysone, delaying the onset of metamorphosis. Simultaneously, the growth rates of healthy imaginal tissues slow down, enabling the development of proportionate individuals. In this manuscript "miR-184 modulates dilp8 to control developmental timing during normal growth conditions and in response to developmental perturbations" by Dr. Varghese and colleagues, the authors identify a new post transcriptional regulator of Dilp8. The authors show that miR-184 plays a pivotal role in tissue damage responses by inducing dilp8 expression, which in turn delays pupariation to allow sufficient time for damage repair mechanisms to take effect.

      Major points:

      • In most of the experiments for percentage of pupariation, the 50% pupariation in control is around 110 hours AED in figures 1, 2 and 3. In figures 5 and 6 using the UAS Ricin, the controls are more around 90 hours AED. Why this discrepancy?
      • What is the mechanism behind the expression of miR-184 in stress conditions? Does miR-184 also implicated in other conditions giving rise to a developmental delay (X-rays irradiation or animal bearing rasV12, scrib-/- tumors)?
      • dilp8 mutant animals have also been shown to be more resistant to starvation or desiccation (https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.00461 ). Is miR-184 implicated in this answer?
      • dilp8 expression has been also shown to be regulated by Xrp1 in response to ribosome stress (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.03.016). This paper should be included in the manuscript Is it possible that the expression levels of miR184 are regulated by Xrp1?

      Minor points:

      • Does the overexpression of miR184 induce an increased fluctuating asymmetry?
      • There are 2 references Colombani et al. (2012 for Dilp8 and 2015 for Lgr3). Can you double check that they are used accordingly

      Significance

      Altogether, the paper present compiling lines of evidence supporting the proposed model. The experiments are well designed and are convincing. The papers is interesting and relevant for a broad audience.