Regulation of extracellular vesicles for protein secretion in Aspergillus nidulans
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.
Transcriptomic response to different heme sources in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes
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.
Luminal acetylation of microtubules is not essential for Plasmodium berghei and Toxoplasma gondii survival
Acetylation of α-tubulin at lysine 40 is not essential for cytoskeletal stability in Plasmodium berghei or Toxoplasma gondii, suggesting redundancy and plasticity in microtubule regulation in these parasites.
The dual-site agonist for human M2 muscarinic receptors Iper-8-naphtalimide induces mitochondrial dysfunction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
S. cerevisiae is a model to study human GPCRs. N-8-Iper, active against glioblastoma via M2 receptor, causes mitochondrial damage in yeast by binding Ste2, highlighting evolutionary conservation of GPCRs.
Integrative Omics reveals changes in the cellular landscape of peroxisome-deficient pex3 yeast cells
To uncover the consequences of peroxisome deficiency, we compared Saccharomyces cerevisiae wild-type with pex3 cells, which lack peroxisomes, employing quantitative proteomics and transcriptomics technologies.
The mechanism of Tat-dependent protein translocation
Brüser and SandersThis review integrates mechanistically relevant biochemical, molecular, and structural studies on Tat-dependent translocation of folded proteins into an in its molecular detail new comprehensive explanation of how the Tat system mediates protein transport.
Sugar-induced cell death (SICD) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: insights into nitrogen-mediated rescue and apoptotic cell death pathways
Parbhudayal and ChengThis study examined mechanisms through which yeast sugar-induced cell death can be prevented. High concentrations of glucose induced a catastrophic response that was only rescued by highly preferred nitrogen sources and by preventing nuclear localization of specific cell death proteins.
From the gut to the lungs: The role of gut microbiota in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related research progress
Yang et al.This article provides new ideas and directions for the basic research and clinical practice of COPD by comprehensively sorting out the association between gut microbiota and COPD.
TOR-dependent regulation of the yeast homolog of the juvenile Batten Disease-associated gene CLN3
Pillalamarri et al.This study identifies conditions and genes that induce BTN1 expression in yeast. We show that BTN1 expression is regulated by translational control and by the mTOR1 pathway. An understanding of when and why BTN1 expression will aid in understanding the expression of CLN3, which may be helpful in the treatment of this devastating disease.
Metagenomic and microbiological analyses of historical manuscripts for bacterial community profiling and bacteria-related biodeterioration assessment
Keles and CelikBy documenting both culturable and non-culturable taxa, this work provides a foundational dataset for understanding bacterial contributions to manuscript stability and offers a methodological framework for future research on biodeterioration dynamics in Islamic and global documentary heritage.
Overcoming phagocytosis resistance of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae by directly targeting capsules
Tsubaki et al.This study highlights a promising strategy for disarming hypervirulent K. pneumoniae by directly targeting its key virulence factors and provides novel insights into antibacterial therapeutic approaches against this clinically significant pathogen.
Protein arginine methyltransferases in protozoan parasites: a new path for antiparasitic chemotherapy?
Campagnaro et al.This review discusses the activity and the relevance of arginine methyltransferases for the survival of pathogenic kinetoplastids, apicomplexans and amoebas, and how these enzymes could be exploited as drug targets.
VapA/Scs2 sustains polarized growth in Aspergillus nidulans by maintaining AP-2-mediated apical endocytosis
Georgiou et al.To explore the functional significance of ER–PM contact sites in filamentous fungi, we identified and genetically characterized all Aspergillus nidulans proteins homologous to Snc2/VAP, Ist2, or tricalbins.
Genetic make-up and regulation of the L-lysine biosynthesis pathway in Vibrio natriegens
Straube et al.This study analysed the make-up and regulation of the biosynthetic pathway for L-lysine and related L-aspartate family amino acids (AFAAs) in Vibrio natriegens DSM759 to provide a comprehensive basis for future metabolic engineering endeavours aiming at developing this strain into an amino acid overproducer.
Measurement of apoptosis by SCAN©, a system for counting and analysis of fluorescently labelled nuclei
This work reports on a system for analyses of apoptosis-like programmed cell death in fungal hyphae that is composed of several modules, which enable automatic quantification of nuclei with chromatin condensation and DNA strand break in large datasets according to nuclei-associated fluorescent markers.
Rewiring yeast acetate metabolism through MPC1 loss of function leads to mitochondrial damage and decreases chronological lifespan
This work shows that MPC1-deficient cells make up for their impairment in mitochondrial pyruvate with a metabolic rewiring which involves several intermediates of the mitochondrially localized TCA cycle and the cytosolic glyoxylate shunt but ultimately results in a pro-aging process.
Overexpression of the transcription factor Yap1 modifies intracellular redox conditions and enhances recombinant protein secretion
This article investigates the role of Yap1 during the production of recombinant secretory proteins in glucose based growth conditions in Pichia pastoris, and reports a novel role of Yap1 during ER-resident oxidative protein folding.
Functional analysis of lipid metabolism genes in wine yeasts during alcoholic fermentation at low temperature
This study confirms the importance of specific genes in growth and fermentation activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae at low temperature.
Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers increase tolerance of cells to copper and cisplatin
This study reports the identification of the drug class of Angiotensin II Type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs) and shows that specific ARBs increase yeast tolerance to Cu and Cp, and affect markers of Cu-induced apoptosis. Likewise, this study finds that specific ARBs increase human cell line tolerance to Cu and decrease the prevalence of apoptotic markers.
An extensive endoplasmic reticulum-localised glycoprotein family in trypanosomatids
This work describes a novel family of type I membrane proteins (“invariant glycoproteins”) and proposes them as trypanosomatid-specific ER-localised glycoproteins, with potential contributions to life cycle progression and immunity, that utilise oligomerisation as an ER retention mechanism.
Time resolved DNA occupancy dynamics during the respiratory oscillation uncover a global reset point in the yeast growth program
Using multiple approaches, this work implies a nucleosome focusing event as a key step that resets transcription during the respiratory oscillation.
Cell wall dynamics modulate acetic acid-induced apoptotic cell death of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
This work characterizes the involvement of MAPK signaling pathways in cell death induced by acetic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Extracellular calcium triggers unique transcriptional programs and modulates staurosporine-induced cell death in Neurospora crassa
The results presented here reveal that in Neurospora crassa, extracellular Ca2+ modulates cell death and the transcriptional alterations induced by staurosporine, and lead to the identification of two novel putative Ca2+-binding proteins, encoded by the NCU08524 and NCU06607 genes.
Yet another job for the bacterial ribosome
Origi et al.This article comments on work published by Knüpffer et al (mBio, 2019), which revealed the intricate interaction of uL23 with yet another essential player in bacteria, the ATPase SecA, which is best known for its role during post-translational secretion of proteins across the bacterial SecYEG translocon
Gut microbial metabolites in depression: understanding the biochemical mechanisms
Caspani et al.This article shows how the gut microbiota contributes to the pathophysiology of depression and examines the mechanisms by which microbially-derived molecules may influence depressive behavior, highlighting the potential of dietary interventions as novel therapeutic strategies.
The multiple functions of the numerous Chlamydia trachomatis secreted proteins: the tip of the iceberg
Bugalhão and MotaCThis article shows an in-depth review on the current knowledge and outstanding questions about secreted proteins from Chlamydia trachomatis, detailing their roles in host cell interaction and immune response evasion.
Inhibiting eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis: Mining new tools for basic research and medical applications
Kofler et al.This article comments on work published by Awad et al (BMC Biology, 2019), which screened for novel inhibitors of the ribosome biogenesis pathway in yeast.
Diverse conditions support near-zero growth in yeast: Implications for the study of cell lifespan
Gulli et al.This review discusses alternative cultivation methods for baker’s yeast to study its chronological lifespan, with the aim of better understanding the ageing of non-dividing cells and their potential implications for the lifespan of multicellular eukaryotes such as humans.
Evolution of the bacterial nucleosidase PpnN and its relation to the stringent response
Bærentsen et al.This article comments on work published by Zhang et al (Mol Cell, 2019), which discovered an interesting mode of regulation of purine metabolism unique to Proteobacteria.
Integrins in disguise – mechanosensors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as functional integrin analogues
Elhasi and BlombergThis article shows that although yeast lack integrin-like proteins, they possess WSC- and MID-type mechanosensors that functionally resemble integrins in animal cells, playing a role in sensing external mechanical stimuli and activating the conserved PKC1-SLT1 cell wall integrity pathway, with potential implications for understanding mechanosensing in yeast biology.
Bacterial maze runners reveal hidden diversity in chemotactic performance
Salek et al.This article comments on work published by Salek et al. (Nat Commun, 2019), which combined microfluidic experiments with mathematical modeling to demonstrate that even in clonal populations, bacteria are individuals with different abilities to climb chemical gradients.
Patterns of protein synthesis in the budding yeast cell cycle: variable or constant?
No et al.Proteins are the principal macromolecular constituent of proliferating cells, and protein synthesis is viewed as a primary metric of cell growth. While there are celebrated examples of proteins whose levels are periodic in the cell cycle (e.g., cyclins), the concentration of most proteins was not thought to change in the cell cycle, but some recent results challenge this notion. The ‘bulk’ protein is the focus of this article, specifically the rate of its synthesis, in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Ribose 5-phosphate: the key metabolite bridging the metabolisms of nucleotides and amino acids during stringent response in Escherichia coli?
Grucela et al.Here we propose the metabolite ribose 5’-phosphate as the key link between nucleotide and amino acid metabolisms and a working model integrating both the transcriptional and metabolic effects of (p)ppGpp on E. coli physiological adaptation during the stringent response.
Flagellated bacterial porter for in situ tumor vaccine
Xu et al.Cancer immunotherapy, which use the own immune system to attack tumors, are increasingly popular treatments. But, due to the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment, the antigen presentation in the tumor is limited. Recently, a growing number of people use bacteria to stimulate the body’s immunity for tumor treatment due to bacteria themselves have a variety of elements that activate Toll-like receptors. Here, we discuss the use of motility of flagellate bacteria to transport antigens to the tumor periphery to activate peritumoral dendritic cells to enhance the effect of in situ tumor vaccines.
The rise of Candida auris: from unique traits to co-infection potential
Egger et al.Candida auris is a multidrug resistant (MDR) fungal pathogen with a crude mortality rate of 30-60%. First identified in 2009, C. auris has been rapidly rising to become a global risk in clinical settings and was declared an urgent health threat by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A concerted global action is thus needed to successfully tackle the challenges created by this emerging fungal pathogen. In this brief article, we underline the importance of unique virulence traits, including its easy transformation, its persistence outside the host and its resilience against multiple cellular stresses, as well as of environmental factors that have mainly contributed to the rise of this superbug.
A hundred spotlights on microbiology: how microorganisms shape our lives
Carmona-Gutierrez et al.Viral, bacterial, fungal and protozoal biology is of cardinal importance for the evolutionary history of life, ecology, biotechnology and infectious diseases. Various microbiological model systems have fundamentally contributed to the understanding of molecular and cellular processes, including the cell cycle, cell death, mitochondrial biogenesis, vesicular fusion and autophagy, among many others. Microbial interactions within the environment have profound effects on many fields of biology, from ecological diversity to the highly complex and multifaceted impact of the microbiome on human health. Also, biotechnological innovation and corresponding industrial operations strongly depend on microbial engineering. With this wide range of impact in mind, the peer-reviewed (…)
Yeast goes viral: probing SARS-CoV-2 biology using S. cerevisiae
Ho et al.The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has long been an outstanding platform for understanding the biology of eukaryotic cells. Robust genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, and biochemistry complement deep and detailed genome annotation, a multitude of genome-scale strain collections for functional genomics, and substantial gene conservation with Metazoa to comprise a powerful model for modern biological research. Recently, the yeast model has demonstrated its utility in a perhaps unexpected area, that of eukaryotic virology. Here we discuss three innovative applications of the yeast model system to reveal functions and investigate variants of proteins encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Murals meet microbes: at the crossroads of microbiology and cultural heritage
Bauer et al.This article comments on the duality of microorganisms in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, which encompasses the negative impact of damaging microorganisms and recent advances in using specific microorganisms and microbial-based technologies for cultural heritage preservation.
Urm1, not quite a ubiquitin-like modifier?
Kaduhr et al.This article comments on work published by Brachmann et al. (Redox Biol, 2020), which studied urmylation of the yeast 2-Cys peroxiredoxin Ahp1, uncovering that promiscuous lysine target sites and specific redox requirements determine the Urm1 acceptor activity of the peroxiredoxin.
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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.
It takes four to tango: the cooperative adventure of scientific publishing
Carmona-Gutierrez et al.This Editorial is the 500th article published in Microbial Cell, a journey that started in 2014 and has seen the journal grow steadily and maintain itself as a respected community platform. The foundation that has allowed for and driven this development – as for any responsible journal – is composed of four essential pillars: the readers, the authors, the editors and the referees.