, 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.

November 26, 2021

Chromosome-condensed G1 phase yeast cells are tolerant to desiccation stress

Zhaojie Zhang1 and Gracie R. Zhang2

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is capable of surviving extreme water loss for a long time. However, less is known about the mechanism of its desiccation tolerance. In this study, we revealed that in an exponential culture, all desiccation tolerant yeast cells were in G1 phase and had condensed chromosomes. (…)

November 25, 2021

Detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its first variants in fourplex real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays

Mathieu Durand1, Philippe Thibault1, Simon Lévesque2,3, Ariane Brault4, Alex Carignan2, Louis Valiquette2, Philippe Martin2 and Simon Labbé4

The early diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections is required to identify and isolate contagious patients to prevent further transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we present a multitarget real-time TaqMan reverse transcription PCR (rRT-PCR) assay for the quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 and some of its circulating variants harboring mutations that give the virus a selective advantage. Seven different primer-probe sets that included probes containing locked nucleic acid (LNA) nucleotides were designed to amplify specific wild-type and mutant sequences in Orf1ab, Envelope (E), Spike (S), and Nucleocapsid (N) genes (…)

, October 27, 2021

Forced association of SARS-CoV-2 proteins with the yeast proteome perturb vesicle trafficking

Cinzia Klemm1,#, Henry Wood1,#, Grace Heredge Thomas1,#, Guðjón Ólafsson1,2, Mara Teixeira Torres1 and Peter H. Thorpe1

This work demonstrates that the yeast Synthetic Physical Interactions method is a rapid way to identify potential functions of ectopic viral proteins.

, July 26, 2021

Airborne bacteria in show caves from Southern Spain

Irene Dominguez-Moñino1, Valme Jurado1, Miguel Angel Rogerio-Candelera1, Bernardo Hermosin1 and Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez1

This study analyzes the factors conditioning the diversity of airborne bacteria recorded in three Andalusian show caves, subjected to different managements.

, June 18, 2021

Landscapes and bacterial signatures of mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in Chilean and Spanish patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Nayaret Chamorro1,#, David A. Montero1,2,#, Pablo Gallardo3, Mauricio Farfán3, Mauricio Contreras4, Marjorie De la Fuente2, Karen Dubois2, Marcela A. Hermoso2, Rodrigo Quera5,6, Marjorie Pizarro-Guajardo7,8,9, Daniel Paredes-Sabja7,8,9, Daniel Ginard10, Ramon Rosselló-Móra11 and Roberto Vidal1,8,12

This study investigates the landscapes and alterations of mucosa-associated intestinal microbiota in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, which cause chronic inflammation of the gut, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

, June 8, 2021

Genome, transcriptome and secretome analyses of the antagonistic, yeast-like fungus Aureobasidium pullulans to identify potential biocontrol genes

Maria Paula Rueda-Mejia1, Lukas Nägeli1, Stefanie Lutz2, Richard D. Hayes3, Adithi R. Varadarajan2, Igor V. Grigoriev3,4, Christian H. Ahrens2,5 and Florian M. Freimoser1

This study highlights the value of a sequential approach starting with genome mining and consecutive transcriptome and secretome analyses in order to identify a limited number of potential target genes for detailed, functional analyses in Aureobasidium pullulans.

, May 10, 2021

Barcode sequencing and a high-throughput assay for chronological lifespan uncover ageing-associated genes in fission yeast

Catalina A. Romila1,#, StJohn Townsend1,2,#, Michal Malecki1,3, Stephan Kamrad1,2,4, María Rodríguez-López1, Olivia Hillson1, Cristina Cotobal1, Markus Ralser2,5 and Jürg Bähler1

This work presents two approaches to study chronological lifespan (CLS) for medium- to high-throughput applications, a method for Bar-seq to identify mutants showing altered CLS and a novel medium-throughput colony-forming units assay that can be largely automated by robotics.

, April 29, 2021

Proanthocyanidin-enriched cranberry extract induces resilient bacterial community dynamics in a gnotobiotic mouse model

Catherine C. Neto1,2,#, Benedikt M. Mortzfeld3,#, John R. Turbitt1,2, Shakti K. Bhattarai3, Vladimir Yeliseyev4, Nicholas DiBenedetto4, Lynn Bry4 and Vanni Bucci2,3

This study investigates the effect of a water-soluble, proanthocyanidin-rich cranberry juice extract on the short-term dynamics of a human-derived bacterial community in a gnotobiotic mouse model.

, April 15, 2021

Dry biocleaning of artwork: an innovative methodology for Cultural Heritage recovery?

Giancarlo Ranalli1, Pilar Bosch-Roig2, Simone Crudele1, Laura Rampazzi3,4, Cristina Corti3 and Elisabetta Zanardini5

This work proposes an innovative methodology based on applied biotechnology for the recovery of altered stonework: the “dry biocleaning”, which envisages the use of dehydrated microbial cells without the use of free water or gel-based matrices.

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, August 25, 2025

Gut microbiota and ankylosing spondylitis: current insights and future challenges

Andrei Lobiuc1, Liliana Groppa2, Lia Chislari2, Eugeniu Russu2,3, Marinela Homitchi2,3, Camelia Ciorescu2,3, Sevag Hamamah4, I. Codruta Bran1 and Mihai Covasa1

This review explores the growing role of gut microbiota in AS and its potential to reshape targeted treatment strategies and facilitate development of adjunct therapies to address disease onset and progression.

, May 15, 2025
Advancements in vaginal microbiota, <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i>, and vaginal cell interactions: Insights from co-culture assays

Advancements in vaginal microbiota, Trichomonas vaginalis, and vaginal cell interactions: Insights from co-culture assays

Fernanda Gomes Cardoso and Tiana Tasca

This review updates co-culture and co-incubation techniques for studying interactions of Lactobacillus spp., representing a pre-dominant member of the healthy vaginal microbiota; Candida spp., the most abundant yeast in the vagina, and T. vaginalis, responsible for the most widespread nonviral STI worldwide.

, April 15, 2025
Influence of cervicovaginal microbiota on <i>Chlamydia trachomatis</i> infection dynamics

Influence of cervicovaginal microbiota on Chlamydia trachomatis infection dynamics

Emily Hand1, Indriati Hood-Pishchany1,2, Toni Darville1,2 and Catherine M. O’Connell2

This review examines the complex interplay between the cervicovaginal microbiome, C. trachomatis infection, and host immune responses, highlighting the role of metabolites such as short-chain and long-chain fatty acids, indole, and iron in modulating pathogen survival and host defenses.

, March 31, 2025
Unveiling the molecular architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain of <i>Acanthamoeba castellanii</i>

Unveiling the molecular architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain of Acanthamoeba castellanii

Christian Q. Scheckhuber1, Sutherland K. Maciver2 and Alvaro de Obeso Fernandez del Valle1

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the mitochondrial res-piratory chain in A. castellanii, focusing on the key alternative components involved in oxidative phosphorylation and their roles in energy metabolism, stress response, and adaptation to various conditions.

, February 20, 2025
Paving the way for new antimicrobial peptides through molecular de-extinction

Paving the way for new antimicrobial peptides through molecular de-extinction

Karen O. Osiro1, Abel Gil-Ley2, Fabiano C. Fernandes1,3, Kamila B. S. de Oliveira2, Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez4-7, Octavio L. Franco1,2

The advancement of artificial intelligence and molecular de-extinction offers a valuable opportunity not only to discover new antimicrobials but also to provide accurate in silico predictions, thereby shortening the path to addressing the global antibiotic resistance crisis.

, November 11, 2024
Efflux pumps: gatekeepers of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Efflux pumps: gatekeepers of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Shweta Sinha1, Shifu Aggarwal2,3 and Durg Vijai Singh1

This review aims to elucidate the complex relationship between efflux pumps, antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation in S. aureus with the aim to aid in the development of potential therapeutic targets for combating S. aureus infections, especially those associated with biofilms.

, August 2, 2024
Understanding the molecular mechanisms of human diseases: the benefits of fission yeasts

Understanding the molecular mechanisms of human diseases: the benefits of fission yeasts

Lajos Acs-Szabo, Laszlo-Attila Papp and Ida Miklos

Here we collect the latest laboratory protocols and bioinformatics tools for the fission yeasts to highlight the many possibilities available to the research community. In addition, we present several limiting factors that everyone should be aware of when working with yeast models.

, July 4, 2024
Characterising glycosaminoglycans in human breastmilk and their potential role in infant health

Characterising glycosaminoglycans in human breastmilk and their potential role in infant health

Melissa Greenwood1,2, Patricia Murciano-Martínez3, Janet Berrington4, Sabine L Flitsch5, Sean Austin2 and Christopher Stewart1

Glycosaminoglycans are bioactive components present in breast milk and play a potential key role in determining infant health yet are overlooked by many contemporary studies. This review explores their relevance, use and characterisation techniques.

, July 3, 2024
Neutralizing the threat: harnessing broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 for treatment and prevention

Neutralizing the threat: harnessing broadly neutralizing antibodies against HIV-1 for treatment and prevention

Juan C Becerra1, Lauren Hitchcock1, Khoa Vu1 and Johannes S Gach1

This review provides an overview of the advancements in HIV- 1-specific broadly neutralizing antibodies and discusses the insights gathered from recent clinical trials regarding their application in treating and preventing HIV-1 infection.

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, August 1, 2016

Similar environments but diverse fates: Responses of budding yeast to nutrient deprivation.

Saul M. Honigberg

Diploid budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) can adopt one of several alternative differentiation fates in response to nutrient limitation, and each of these fates provides distinct biological functions. When different strain backgrounds are taken into account, these various fates occur in response to similar environmental cues, are regulated by the same signal transduction pathways, and share many of the same master regulators. I propose that the relationships between fate choice, environmental cues and signaling pathways are not Boolean, but involve graded levels of signals, pathway activation and master-regulator activity.

, May 1, 2016

Phosphatidylthreonine: An exclusive phospholipid regulating calcium homeostasis and virulence in a parasitic protist

Ruben D. Arroyo-Olarte and Nishith Gupta

This article comments on work published by Kuchipudi et al. (Microbial Cell, 2016), which describes the role of phohsphatidylthreonine in the regulation of calcium homeostasis and virulence in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

, April 13, 2016

Non-genetic impact factors on chronological lifespan and stress resistance of baker’s yeast

Michael Sauer and Diethard Mattanovich

This article comments on work published by Bisschops et al. (Microbial Cell, 2015), which illustrates how important the choice of the experimental setup is and how culture conditions influcence cellular aging and survival in biotechnological processes.

, April 4, 2016

What’s old is new again: yeast mutant screens in the era of pooled segregant analysis by genome sequencing

Chris Curtin and Toni Cordente

This article comments on work published by Den Abt et al. (Microbial Cell, 2016), which identified genes involved in ethyl acetate formation in a yeast mutant screen based on a new approach combining repeated rounds of chemical mutagenesis and pooled segregant analysis by whole genome sequencing.

, March 17, 2016

The complexities of bacterial-fungal interactions in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract

Eduardo Lopez-Medina1 and Andrew Y. Koh2

This article comments on work published by Lopez-Medina et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2015) and Fan et al. (Nat Med, 2015), which utilize an “artificial” niche, the antibiotic-treated gut with concomitant pathogenic microbe expansion, to gain insight in bacterial-fungal interactions in clinically common scenarios.

, March 6, 2016

Gearing up for survival – HSP-containing granules accumulate in quiescent cells and promote survival

Ruofan Yu and Weiwei Dang

This article comments on work published by Lee et al. (Microbial Cell, 2016), which reports that distinct granules are formed in quiescent and non-quiescent cells, which determines their respective cell fates.

, March 3, 2016

Yeast screening platform identifies FDA-approved drugs that reduce Aβ oligomerization

Triana Amen1,2 and Daniel Kaganovich1

This article comments on work published by Park et al. (Microbial Cell, 2016), which discovered a number of small molecules capable of modulating Aβ aggregation in a yeast model.

November 26, 2015

Groupthink: chromosomal clustering during transcriptional memory

Kevin A. Morano

In this article, the authors comment on the study “NO1 transcriptional memory leads to DNA zip code-dependent interchromosomal clustering.” by Brickner et al. (Microbial Cell, 2015), discussing the importance and molecular mechanisms of chromosomal clustering during transcriptional memory.

November 26, 2015

Yeast proteinopathy models: a robust tool for deciphering the basis of neurodegeneration

Amit Shrestha1, 2 and Lynn A. Megeney1, 2, 3

Protein quality control or proteostasis is an essential determinant of basic cell health and aging. Eukaryotic cells have evolved a number of proteostatic mechanisms to ensure that proteins retain functional conformation, or are rapidly degraded when proteins misfold or self-aggregate. This article discusses the use of budding yeast as a robust proxy to study the intersection between proteostasis and neurodegenerative disease.

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.

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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.

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