, January 28, 2026
Regulation of extracellular vesicles for protein secretion in <i>Aspergillus nidulans</i>

Regulation of extracellular vesicles for protein secretion in Aspergillus nidulans

Rebekkah E. Pope1, Patrick Ballmann2, Lisa Whitworth3 and Rolf A. Prade1,*

This study reveals that Aspergillus nidulans boosts extracellular vesicle production when ER-trafficked enzymes are induced, uncovering how fungi remodel their secretome through vesicle-mediated secretion to adapt to changing environments and biofilm formation.

January 23, 2026
Transcriptomic response to different heme sources in <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> epimastigotes

Transcriptomic response to different heme sources in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes

Evelyn Tevere1,a, María G. Mediavilla1,a, Cecilia B. Di Capua1, Marcelo L. Merli1, Carlos Robello2,3, Luisa Berná2,4 and Julia A. Cricco

This study uncovers how the Chagas disease parasite adapts to changes in heme, an essential molecule for its survival, providing transcriptional clues to heme metabolism and identifying a previously unreported heme-binding protein in T. cruzi.

, January 21, 2026

Sir2 regulates selective autophagy in stationary-phase yeast cells

Ji-In Ryua, Juhye Junga, and Jeong-Yoon Kim

This study establishes Sir2 as a previously unrecognized regulator of selective autophagy during the stationary phase and highlight how cells dynamically control organelle degradation.

, December 28, 2017

Fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT or FITM) proteins are related to lipid phosphatase/phosphotransferase enzymes

Matthew J Hayes1, Vineet Choudhary2, Namrata Ojha2, John JH Shin3, Gil-Soo Han4, George M. Carman4, Christopher JR Loewen3, William A Prinz2 and Timothy P Levine1

Fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT or FITM) proteins have been implicated in the partitioning of triacylglycerol to lipid droplets and the budding of lipid droplets from the ER. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two FITM homologues and the presented results suggest that Scs3p and Yft2p as well as FITMs in general are lipid phosphatase/phosphotransferase (LPT) enzymes involved in an as yet unknown critical step in phospholipid metabolism.

, December 6, 2017

Yeast quiescence exit swiftness is influenced by cell volume and chronological age

Damien Laporte1, Laure Jimenez1, Laëtitia Gouleme1, Isabelle Sagot1

Quiescence exit swiftness is crucial not only for micro-organisms in competition for an environmental niche, such as yeast, but also for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis in multicellular species. Here, Laporte et al. explore the effect of replicative and chronological age on Saccharomyces cerevisiae quiescence exit efficiency. Overall, their data illustrate that the quiescent state is a continuum evolving with time, early and deep quiescence being distinguishable by the cell’s proficiency to re-enter the proliferation cycle.

, December 5, 2017

A versatile plasmid system for reconstitution and analysis of mammalian ubiquitination cascades in yeast

Rossella Avagliano Trezza1,#, Janny van den Burg1, Nico van den Oever1 and Ben Distel1,2

In this article Avagliano Trezza et al. describe a versatile vector system that allows the reconstitution of specific ubiquitination cascades in the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisae (baker’s yeast) that provides a versatile tool to study complex post-translational modifications in a cellular setting.

, December 1, 2017

Alcohols enhance the rate of acetic acid diffusion in S. cerevisiae : biophysical mechanisms and implications for acetic acid tolerance

Lina Lindahl1, Samuel Genheden2, Fábio Faria-Oliveira1, Stefan Allard3, Leif A. Eriksson2, Lisbeth Olsson1, Maurizio Bettiga1,4

Microbial cell factories with the ability to maintain high productivity in the presence of weak organic acids, such as acetic acid, are required in many industrial processes. This study demonstrates that the rate of acetic acid diffusion can be strongly affected by compounds that partition into the cell membrane, and highlights the need for considering interaction effects between compounds in the design of microbial processes.

, November 30, 2017

Mitochondrial energy metabolism is required for lifespan extension by the spastic paraplegia-associated protein spartin

Julia Ring1, Patrick Rockenfeller1, 3, Claudia Abraham1, Jelena Tadic1, Michael Poglitsch1, Katherina Schimmel1, 4, Julia Westermayer1, Simon Schauer1, Bettina Achleitner1, Christa Schimpel1, 5, Barbara Moitzi1, Gerald N. Rechberger1, 6, Stephan J. Sigrist7, 8, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Guido Kroemer9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, Sabrina Büttner1, 16, Tobias Eisenberg1, 2, Frank Madeo1, 2

This article indicates that spartin, a protein linked to hereditary spastic paraplegias, extends yeast lifespan and reduces age-related damage by associating with mitochondria and interacting with key metabolic proteins, implicating energy metabolism in its protective role during aging.

, November 27, 2017

A genome-wide screen for FTY720-sensitive mutants reveals genes required for ROS homeostasis

Kanako Hagihara1, Kanako Kinoshita1, Kouki Ishida1, Shihomi Hojo1, Yoshinori Kameoka1, Ryosuke Satoh1, Teruaki Takasaki1 and Reiko Sugiura1

Fingolimod hydrochloride (FTY720) is an immune modulator for multiple sclerosis that also induces cancer cell apoptosis through reactive oxygen species generation, with a new study using fission yeast uncovering a gene network related to ROS homeostasis as a possible mechanism of FTY720’s toxicity.

, November 22, 2017

Untargeted metabolomics confirms and extends the understanding of the impact of aminoimidazole carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) in the metabolic network of Salmonella enterica

Jannell V. Bazurto1, Stephen P. Dearth2, Eric D. Tague2, Shawn R. Campagna2 and Diana M. Downs1

In Salmonella enterica, aminoimidazole carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) is a purine biosynthetic intermediate and a substrate of the AICAR transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase (PurH) enzyme. Data herein describe the use of metabolomics to identify the metabolic state of mutant strains and probe the underlying mechanisms used by AICAR to inhibit thiamine synthesis. The results obtained provide a cautionary tale of using metabolite concentrations as the only data to define the physiological state of a bacterial cell.

, November 20, 2017

The cytosolic glyoxalases of Plasmodium falciparum are dispensable during asexual blood-stage development

Cletus A. Wezena1, Romy Alisch1, Alexandra Golzmann2, Linda Liedgens1, Verena Staudacher1,3, Gabriele Pradel2 and Marcel Deponte1,3

In this study the authors demonstrate that, PfGlo1 and PfcGlo2 are dispensable during asexual blood-stage development while the loss of PfcGlo2 may induce the formation of transmissible gametocytes. These combined data show that PfGlo1 and PfcGlo2 are most likely not suited as targets for selective drug development against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

, November 9, 2017

Aminoglycoside resistance profile and structural architecture of the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase AAC(6’)-Im

Clyde A. Smith1, Monolekha Bhattacharya2, Marta Toth2, Nichole K. Stewart2 and Sergei B. Vakulenko2

AAC(6′)-Im, a monofunctional acetyltransferase, imparts increased resistance to certain aminoglycosides compared to its bifunctional homolog AAC(6′)-Ie, with structural studies revealing differences in substrate binding that explain the discrepancies in their enzymatic activity and resistance profiles.

Previous Next
, January 7, 2019

Guidelines for DNA recombination and repair studies: Mechanistic assays of DNA repair processes

Hannah L Klein1, Kenny K.H. Ang2, Michelle R. Arkin2, Emily C. Beckwitt3,4, Yi-Hsuan Chang5, Jun Fan6, Youngho Kwon7,8, Michael J. Morten1, Sucheta Mukherjee9, Oliver J. Pambos6, Hafez el Sayyed6, Elizabeth S. Thrall10, João P. Vieira-da-Rocha9, Quan Wang11, Shuang Wang12,13, Hsin-Yi Yeh5, Julie S. Biteen14, Peter Chi5,15, Wolf-Dietrich Heyer9,16, Achillefs N. Kapanidis6, Joseph J. Loparo10, Terence R. Strick12,13,17, Patrick Sung7,8, Bennett Van Houten3,18,19, Hengyao Niu11 and Eli Rothenberg1

Mechanistic assays of DNA repair processes are a powerful tools but each comes with its particular advantages and limitations. Here the most commonly used assays are reviewed, discussed, and presented as the guidelines for future studies.

, December 19, 2018

Imbalance in gut microbes from babies born to obese mothers increases gut permeability and myeloid cell adaptations that provoke obesity and NAFLD

Taylor K. Soderborg1 and Jacob E. Friedman1,2,3

This article comments on work published by Soderborg et al. (Nat Commun, 2018), which demonstrates a causative role of early life microbiome dysbiosis in infants born to mothers with obesity in novel pathways that promote developmental programming of NAFLD.

, November 19, 2018

Retroviral integration site selection: a running Gag?

Paul Lesbats1,2,3 and Vincent Parissi1,2,3

In this article, the authors comment on the study “Structural basis for spumavirus GAG tethering to chromatin” by Lesbats et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2018) that revealed that the Gag protein of the spumaretrovirus prototype foamy virus (PFV) directly interacts with the nucleosome acidic patch, acting as a chromatin tether, and its disruption leads to delocalization of viral particles and integration sites, shedding light on the importance of retroviral structural proteins in the selection of integration sites.

, November 12, 2018

Insights into the host-pathogen interaction: C. albicans manipulation of macrophage pyroptosis

Teresa R. O’Meara1 and Leah E. Cowen1

In this article, the authors comment on the study “High-Throughput Screening Identifies Genes Required for Candida albicans Induction of Macrophage Pyroptosis” by O’Meara et al. (MBio, 2018) that provides a comprehensive analysis of the genetic circuitry in both Candida albicans and host macrophages that leads to pyroptosis, revealing the impact of altered pyroptosis on infection, the role of pyroptosis in facilitating neutrophil accumulation at the site of C. albicans infection, and the decoupling of inflammasome priming and activation in the response to C. albicans infection, thus shedding new light on the factors governing the outcomes of this interaction.

, October 31, 2018

A comparative approach to decipher intestinal animal-microbe associations

Keisuke Nakashima1

In this article, the authors comment on the study “Chitin-based barrier immunity and its loss predated mucus-colonization by indigenous gut microbiota” by Nakashima et al. (Nat Commun, 2018) that used comparative analyses of chordates to investigate the development of animal-microbe associations, suggesting that microbial colonization of the mucus layer over mammalian gastrointestinal epithelium was established upon the loss of ancestral chitin-based barrier immunity, providing insights into the establishment of these associations in an evolutionary context.

, October 18, 2018

Pathways of host cell exit by intracellular pathogens

Antje Flieger1,#, Freddy Frischknecht2, Georg Häcker3, Mathias W. Hornef4, Gabriele Pradel5

This review provides an overview of the diverse host cell exit strategies employed by intracellular-living bacterial, fungal, and protozoan pathogens, highlighting the commonalities and system-specific variations of these strategies, and discussing potential microbial molecules involved in host cell exit as targets for future intervention approaches.

, September 29, 2018

Conventional and emerging roles of the energy sensor Snf1/AMPK in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Paola Coccetti1,2, Raffaele Nicastro1,3 and Farida Tripodi1,2

This review consolidates current knowledge on the conventional and non-conventional functions of the effector kinase Snf1 in yeast, shedding light on its diverse roles in cellular physiology and energy homeostasis.

, September 28, 2018

An unexpected benefit from E. coli: how enterobactin benefits host health

Aileen K. Sewell1,2, Min Han1,2 and Bin Qi1,2

In this article, the authors comment on the study “Microbial Siderophore Enterobactin Promotes Mitochondrial Iron Uptake and Development of the Host via Interaction with ATP Synthase” by Qi et al. (Cell, 2018) that uncovered a surprising role for the Escherichia coli-produced siderophore enterobactin (Ent) in facilitating iron uptake by the host, marking a major shift in the understanding of its function and indicating potential new benefits from commensal bacteria in aiding the host’s iron homeostasis.

, September 19, 2018

Protective roles of ginseng against bacterial infection

Ye-Ram Kim1 and Chul-Su Yang1

This review highlights the antibacterial effects of ginseng against pathogenic bacterial infections, discussing its regulation of pathogenic factors and proposing the therapeutic potential of ginseng as a natural antibacterial drug to address antibiotic resistance and toxicity in the context of global public health challenges.

Previous Next
January 4, 2015

The emerging role of complex modifications of tRNALysUUU in signaling pathways

Patrick C. Thiaville1,2,3,4 and Valérie de Crécy-Lagard2,4

This comment discusses the article “Loss of wobble uridine modification in tRNA anticodons interferes with TOR pathway signaling” by Scheidt et al (Microbial Cell, 2014).

, August 22, 2014

Metabolic pathways further increase the complexity of cell size control in budding yeast

Jorrit M. Enserink

This article comments on work published by Soma et al. (Microbial Cell, 2014), which teased apart the effect of metabolism and growth rate on setting of critical cell size in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

, April 7, 2014

Only functional localization is faithful localization

Roland Lill1,2,3

This article comments on work published by Peleh et al. (Microbial Cell 2014), which analyzes the localization of Dre2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

, April 7, 2014

Metabolites in aging and autophagy

Sabrina Schroeder1,#, Andreas Zimmermann1,#, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Tobias Eisenberg1, Christoph Ruckenstuhl1, Aleksandra Andryushkova1, Tobias Pendl1, Alexandra Harger1,2 and Frank Madeo1

This article analyzes the implications of specific metabolites in aging and autophagy with special emphasis on polyamine metabolism.

, January 5, 2014

One cell, one love: a journal for microbial research

Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Guido Kroemer2-6 and Frank Madeo1

In this inaugural article of Microbial Cell, we highlight the importance of microbial research in general and the journal’s intention to serve as a publishing forum that supports and enfolds the scientific diversity in this area as it provides a unique, high-quality and universally accessible source of information and inspiration.

, January 4, 2014

What’s the role of autophagy in trypanosomes?

Katherine Figarella1 and Néstor L. Uzcátegui1,2

This article comments on Proto et al. (Microbial Cell, 2014), who report first insights into the molecular mechanism of autophagy in African trypanosomes by generating reporter bloodstream form cell lines.

Previous

Microbial Cell

is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes exceptionally relevant research works that implement the use of unicellular organisms (and multicellular microorganisms) to understand cellular responses to internal and external stimuli and/or human diseases.

Metrics
you can trust

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

You can browse all our issues and published articles here.

FAQs

Whether you’re preparing a manuscript, reviewing a paper, or just exploring the journal, this FAQ answers the essentials—from scope and founders to impact and how to submit. Prefer a tailored path? Pick For authors or For reviewers below.

Peer-reviewed, open-access research using unicellular organisms (and multicellular microorganisms) to understand cellular responses and human disease.

The journal (founded in 2014) is led by its Editors-in-Chief Frank Madeo, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez, and Guido Kroemer

Microbial Cell has been publishing original scientific literature since 2014, and from the very beginning has been managed by active scientists through an independent Publishing House (Shared science Publishers). The journal was conceived as a platform to acknowledge the importance of unicellular organisms, both as model systems as well as in the biological context of human health and disease.

Ever since, Microbial Cell has very positively developed and strongly grown into a respected journal in the unicellular research community and even beyond. This scientific impact is reflected in the yearly number of citations obtained by articles published in Microbial Cell, as recorded by the Web of Science (Clarivate, formerly Thomson/Reuters):

The scientific impact of Microbial Cell is also mirrored in a series of milestones:

2015: Microbial Cell is included in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), a selection of developing journals drafted by Clarivate Analytics based on the candidate’s publishing standards, quality, editorial content, and citation data. Note: As an ESCI-selected journal, Microbial Cell is currently being evaluated in a rigorous and long process to determine an inclusion in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), which allows the official calculation of Clarivate Analytics’ impact factor.

2016: Microbial Cell is awarded the so-called DOAJ Seal by the selective Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). The DOAJ Seal is an exclusive mark of certification for open access journals granted by DOAJ to journals that adhere to outstanding best practice and achieve an extra high and clear commitment to open access and high publishing standards.

2017: Microbial Cell is included in Pubmed Central (PMC), allowing the archiving of all the journal’s articles in PMC and PubMed.

2019: Microbial Cell is indexed in the prestigious abstract and citation database Scopus after a thorough selection process. This also means that Microbial Cell obtains, for the first time, an official Scopus CiteScore as well as an official journal ranking in the Scimago Journal and Country Ranking.

2022: Microbial Cell’s CiteScore reaches a value of 7.2 for the year 2021, positioning Microbial Cell among the top microbiology journals (previously available CiteScores: 2019: 5.4; 2020: 5.1).

2022: Microbial Cell is indexed in the highly selective Science Citation Index Expanded™, which covers approx. 9,500 of the world’s most impactful journals across 178 scientific disciplines. In their journal selection and curation process, Clarivate´s editors apply 24 ‘quality’ criteria and four ‘impact’ criteria to select the most influential journals in their respective fields. This selection is also a pre-requisite for inclusion in the JCR, which features the impact factor.

2022: Microbial Cell is listed in the Journal Citation Reports™ (JCR), and obtains its first official Journal Impact Factor™ (JIF) for the year 2021: 5.316.

Check Article Types and Manuscript Preparation guidelines. Submit online via Scholastica.