Commentary, Viewpoint

The long and winding road of reverse genetics in Trypanosoma cruzi

Miguel A. Chiurillo1 and Noelia Lander1

This Editorial provides a brief historic overview that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the molecular strategies that have been developed to genetically modify Trypanosoma cruzi, emphasizing the future directions of the field.

Means of intracellular communication: touching, kissing, fusing

Anne Spang1

This work highlights different aspects of communication between organelles, including the importance of organellar contact sites.

Neuropathogenesis caused by Trypanosoma brucei, still an enigma to be unveiled

Katherine Figarella1

This Editorial addresses the meningo-encephalitic stage of Trypanosoma brucei infection and the resultig neuropathogenesis as well as the impact that the application of tools developed in the last years in the field of neuroscience will have on the study of neglected tropical diseases.

Lichens – growing greenhouses en miniature

Martin Grube1

This commentary article provides an overview on different aspects of lichen biology and the remarkable symbiotic association between fungi and algae.

Regulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and its effects on aging

Damiano Pellegrino-Coppola1

Aging is linked to mitochondrial function, with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) playing a key role. Yeast is a useful model for studying how mPTP affects cell survival, aging, and related diseases.

Fungal infections in humans: the silent crisis

Katharina Kainz1, Maria A. Bauer1, Frank Madeo1-3 and Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1

This article highlights the growing global threat of fungal infections - exacerbated by rising drug resistance and medical practices - and emphasizes the urgent need for intensified research to develop more effective antifungal strategies.

Digesting the crisis: autophagy and coronaviruses

Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Maria A. Bauer1, Andreas Zimmermann1,2, Katharina Kainz1,
Sebastian J. Hofer1, Guido Kroemer3-7 and Frank Madeo1,2,8

This article reviews the multifaceted role of autophagy in antiviral defense and highlights how coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, interact with this pathway, raising the possibility that targeting autophagy could offer novel therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.

Raman-based sorting of microbial cells to link functions to their genes

Kang Soo Lee1, Michael Wagner2,3 and Roman Stocker1

In this article, the authors comment on the study "An automated Raman-based platform for the sorting of live cells by functional properties" by Lee et al. (Nat Microbiol, 2019), which presents a high-throughput optofluidic platform that integrates Raman microspectroscopy and microfluidics to accurately link microbial phenotypes to genotypes within complex communities, enabling efficient functional sorting and analysis of microbiome members.

Viral attenuation by Endonuclease G during yeast gametogenesis: insights into ancestral roles of programmed cell death?

Jie Gao1, Sabrina Chau1 and Marc D. Meneghini1

This article relates to the study "Meiotic viral attenuation through an ancestral apoptotic pathway" by Gao et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2019), which shows that programmed cell death may have evolved as a viral defence mechanism, as demonstrated by yeast studies showing that the mitochondrial nuclease Nuc1 translocates to the cytosol during meiosis to attenuate dsRNA viruses, linking viral control to meiotic cell death processes.

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Means of intracellular communication: touching, kissing, fusing

April 13, 2021

This work highlights different aspects of communication between organelles, including the importance of organellar contact sites.

Neuropathogenesis caused by Trypanosoma brucei, still an enigma to be unveiled

April 5, 2021

This Editorial addresses the meningo-encephalitic stage of Trypanosoma brucei infection and the resultig neuropathogenesis as well as the impact that the application of tools developed in the last years in the field of neuroscience will have on the study of neglected tropical diseases.

Lichens – growing greenhouses en miniature

March 1, 2021

This commentary article provides an overview on different aspects of lichen biology and the remarkable symbiotic association between fungi and algae.

Regulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and its effects on aging

June 22, 2020

Aging is linked to mitochondrial function, with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) playing a key role. Yeast is a useful model for studying how mPTP affects cell survival, aging, and related diseases.

Fungal infections in humans: the silent crisis

June 1, 2020

This article highlights the growing global threat of fungal infections - exacerbated by rising drug resistance and medical practices - and emphasizes the urgent need for intensified research to develop more effective antifungal strategies.

Digesting the crisis: autophagy and coronaviruses

May 4, 2020

This article reviews the multifaceted role of autophagy in antiviral defense and highlights how coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, interact with this pathway, raising the possibility that targeting autophagy could offer novel therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.

Raman-based sorting of microbial cells to link functions to their genes

February 10, 2020

In this article, the authors comment on the study "An automated Raman-based platform for the sorting of live cells by functional properties" by Lee et al. (Nat Microbiol, 2019), which presents a high-throughput optofluidic platform that integrates Raman microspectroscopy and microfluidics to accurately link microbial phenotypes to genotypes within complex communities, enabling efficient functional sorting and analysis of microbiome members.

Viral attenuation by Endonuclease G during yeast gametogenesis: insights into ancestral roles of programmed cell death?

December 17, 2019

This article relates to the study "Meiotic viral attenuation through an ancestral apoptotic pathway" by Gao et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2019), which shows that programmed cell death may have evolved as a viral defence mechanism, as demonstrated by yeast studies showing that the mitochondrial nuclease Nuc1 translocates to the cytosol during meiosis to attenuate dsRNA viruses, linking viral control to meiotic cell death processes.

Sulfur dioxide resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: beyond SSU1

November 21, 2019

This article discusses the importance of understanding sulfite resistance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae due to its use in winemaking and the potential role of the transcription factor Com2. While the SSU1 gene and its activity have been correlated with sulfite tolerance, the work by Lage et al. (2019) indicates that Com2 might control a large percentage of the genes activated by SO2 and contribute to the yeast's protective response, offering new insights into the molecular factors influencing this oenological trait.

Targeting GATA transcription factors – a novel strategy for anti-aging interventions?

May 6, 2019

This article comments on work published by Carmona-Gutierrez et al. (Nat Commun., 2019), which identified a natural compound, 4,4'-dimethoxychalcone, inducing autophagy and prolonging lifespan in different organisms through a mechanism that involves GATA transcription factors.

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