Microreviews, Review
Live fast, die fast principle in a single cell of fission yeast
Hidenori Nakaoka1
This article comments on a recent study (Nakaoka and Wakamoto, PLoS Biol, 2017), which developed a microfluidics-based platform to track multiple single cell lineages until death.
Out with the old: Hsp90 finds amino acid residue more useful than co-chaperone protein
Abbey D. Zuehlke1 and Leonard Neckers1
This article comments on work published by Zuehlke et al (Nat Commun, 2017), which demonstrates that the function of one co-chaperone in yeast is replaced by posttranslational modification (PTM) of a single amino acid within Hsp90 in higher eukaryotes.
Having your cake and eating it – Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants can evolve faster growth rate without losing their antibiotic resistance
Gerrit Brandis1, Sha Cao1, Douglas L. Huseby1 and Diarmaid Hughes1
This article comments on work published by Cao et al. (mBio, 2027), which shows that Staphylococcus aureus can produce small colony variants (SCVs) that are challenging to detect and lead to persistent infections due to mutations affecting respiration and ATP production, with recent findings indicating various evolutionary paths for SCVs to increase growth rate while maintaining antibiotic resistance, suggesting greater adaptability and clinical challenge.
The interplay between transcription and mRNA degradation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Subhadeep Das1, Debasish Sarkar2 and Biswadip Das1
This review summarizes how the integration of mRNA synthesis and degradation, mediated by specialized promoters and "coordinators," shapes the cellular transcriptome and plays a significant role in regulating gene expression profiles in various biological processes and potentially enhances evolutionary rates.
Inhibitors of glycosomal protein import provide new leads against trypanosomiasis
Vishal C. Kalel1, Leonidas Emmanouilidis2,3, Maciej Dawidowski2,3,4, Wolfgang Schliebs1, Michael Sattler2,3, Grzegorz M. Popowicz2,3, Ralf Erdmann1
This article comments on work published by Dawidowski et al. (Science, 2017), which provides the grounds for further development of the glycosome inhibitors into clinical candidates and validates the parasite protein-protein interactions as drug targets.
Protein aggregation triggers a declining libido in elder yeasts that still have a lust for life
Fabrice Caudron
This article comments on work published by Schlissel et al (Science 2017), showing that aging in yeast does not lead to the expected loss of heterochromatin silencing due to Sir2 inactivity, but rather to reduced mating pheromone sensitivity caused by the aggregation of the RNA-binding protein Whi3, which can be reversed by eliminating Whi3's polyglutamine domain.
Mek1/Mre4 is a master regulator of meiotic recombination in budding yeast
February 22, 2016
This article comments on work published by Chen et al. (PLoS BIol, 2015), showing that the meiosis specific kinase Mek1 indirectly regulates the crossover/non-crossover decision between homologs as well as genetic interference and suggests Mek1 to be a "master regulator" of meiotic recombination in budding yeast.
Shaping meiotic chromosomes with SUMO: a feedback loop controls the assembly of the synaptonemal complex in budding yeast
February 19, 2016
This article comments on work published by Leung et al. (J Cell Biol, 2015), which shows that the formation of the meiosis-specific synaptonemal complex is controlled through SUMOylation of a regulator required for the assembly of transverse filaments, implicating the involvement of a positive feedback loop in the control of synaptonemal complex assembly.
Learning epigenetic regulation from mycobacteria
January 18, 2016
This article comments on work published by Koshla et al. (Nat Commun, 2015), which shows that pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved strategies to hijack the epigenetic regulation of host transcripton for its own survival.
Biofilm assembly becomes crystal clear – filamentous bacteriophage organize the Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm matrix into a liquid crystal
December 31, 2015
This article comments on work published by Secor et al. (Host Cell & Microbe, 2015), which highlights a previously unknown role for filamentous Pf phage in organizing the P. aeruginosa biofilm matrix into a liquid crystalline structure. These findings help ground our understanding of biofilm formation within established paradigms of soft matter physics
Spermidine cures yeast of prions
December 25, 2015
This article comments on work published by Speldewinde and Grant (Mol Biol Cell, 2015), which found that spermidine, a polyamine that has been used to increase autophagic flux, acts as a protective agent which prevents spontaneous prion formation in yeast.
Histone deacetylases: revealing the molecular base of dimorphism in pathogenic fungi
November 4, 2015
Fungi, as every living organism, interact with the external world and have to adapt to its fluctuations. For pathogenic fungi, such interaction involves adapting to the hostile environment of their host. Survival depends on the capacity of fungi to detect and respond to external stimuli, which is achieved through a tight and efficient genetic control. Elías-Villalobos et al. propose that histone acetylation is critical to the proper timing and induction of transcription of the genes encoding factors that coordinate changes in morphology with pathogenesis.
Complex regulation of the sirtuin-dependent reversible lysine acetylation system of Salmonella enterica
October 12, 2015
The extensive involvement of the reversible lysine acylation (RLA) system in metabolism has attracted the attention of investigators interested in understanding the fundamentals of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell function. Here the authors discuss the implications of recently reported work performed in the enteropathogen Salmonella enterica (mBio (2015) 6(4):e00891-15), which provided the first insights into the integration of the transcriptional regulation of genes encoding the RLA system with the acs gene encoding the central metabolic enzyme acetyl-CoA synthetase (Acs).
A bacterial volatile signal for biofilm formation
September 23, 2015
Bacteria constantly monitor the environment they reside in and respond to potential changes in the environment through a variety of signal sensing and transduction mechanisms in a timely fashion. In their recent study (Chen, et al. mBio (2015), 6: e00392-15), the authors demonstrated that the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses acetic acid as a volatile signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation within physically separated cells in the community. They also showed that the bacterium possesses an intertwined gene network to produce, secrete, sense, and respond to acetic acid, in stimulating biofilm formation.
The great escape: Pseudomonas breaks out of the lung
September 23, 2015
The Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major cause of hospital-acquired infections and the focus of much attention due to its resistance to many conventional antibiotics. This article discusses the potential mechanisms by which these processes occur as well as the novel techniques used to study ExoS function in vivo.