Microreviews, Review
A plant Bcl-2-associated athanogene is proteolytically activated to confer fungal resistance
Mehdi Kabbage1, Ryan Kessens1 and Martin B. Dickman2
This article comments on work published by Li et al. (Plant Cell, 2016), which focuses on the role of Bcl-2-associated athanogene 6 (BAG6) in plant innate immunity, showing that BAG6 plays a key role in basal plant defense against fungal pathogens.
The molecular and cellular action properties of artemisinins: what has yeast told us?
Chen Sun and Bing Zhou
Artemisinin (ART) or Qinghaosu is a natural compound possessing superior anti-malarial activity. Although intensive studies have been done in the medicinal chemistry field to understand the structure-effect relationship, the biological actions of artemisinin are poorly understood and controversial. This review summarizes what we have learned from yeast about the basic biological properties of ARTs, as well as some key unanswered questions.
Chemical proteomics approach reveals the direct targets and the heme-dependent activation mechanism of artemisinin in Plasmodium falciparum using an activity-based artemisinin probe
Jigang Wang1,2,# and Qingsong Lin2
This article comments on work published by Wang et al. (Nat Commun, 2014), which provides insights into the mode-of-action of artemisinin and its specificity against malaria parasites.
Translational repression in malaria sporozoites
Oliver Turque1, Tiffany Tsao1, Thomas Li1 and Min Zhang1,2
This article comments on work published by Zhang et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which summarizea recent advances in the translational repression of gene expression in the malaria sporozoite.
Chromatin binding and silencing: Two roles of the same protein Lem2
Ramón Ramos Barrales and Sigurd Braun
This article comments on work published by Barrales et al. (Genes Dev, 2016), which identifies the nuclear envelope protein Lem2, a homolog of metazoan lamin-associated proteins (LAPs), as a relevant factor for heterochromatin silencing and perinuclear localization in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
When and where? Pathogenic Escherichia coli differentially sense host D-serine using a universal transporter system to monitor their environment
James P. R. Connolly and Andrew J. Roe
This article comments on work published by Connolly et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which describes the discovery of a functional and previously uncharacterized D-serine uptake system in E. coli.
Signaling pathways and posttranslational modifications of tau in Alzheimer’s disease: the humanization of yeast cells
Jürgen J. Heinisch1 and Roland Brandt2
In the past decade, yeast have been frequently employed to study the molecular mechanisms of human neurodegenerative diseases, generally by means of heterologous expression of genes encoding the relevant hallmark proteins. Substantial posttranslational modifications of many of these proteins are required for the development and progression of potentially disease relevant changes. We give an overview on common modifications as they occur in tau during AD and discuss potential approaches to humanize yeast in order to create modification patterns resembling the situation in mammalian cells.
The bacterial cell cycle checkpoint protein Obg and its role in programmed cell death
Liselot Dewachter1, Natalie Verstraeten1, Maarten Fauvart1,2 and Jan Michiels1
This article comments on work published by Dewachter et al. (mBio, 2015), which identified a programmed cell death mechanism in Escherichia coli that is triggered by a mutant isoform of the essential GTPase ObgE.
Secondary structures involving the poly(A) tail and other 3’ sequences are major determinants of mRNA isoform stability in yeast
April 5, 2014
This article comments on work published by Geisberg et al. (Cell (2014), which points to an important role for mRNA structure at 3’ termini in governing transcript stability, likely by reducing the interaction of the mRNA with the degradation apparatus.
De novo peroxisome biogenesis revisited
April 1, 2014
This article comments on work published by Knoops et al. (JCB, 2014), which describes an alternative peroxisome formation pathway in yeast pex3 and pex19 cells, which relies on the existence of small peroxisomal remnants that are present in these cells.
Transcriptional and genomic mayhem due to aging-induced nucleosome loss in budding yeast
April 1, 2014
This article comments on work published by Zheng et al. (Genes and Development, 2014), which investigated a loss of histones during replicative aging in budding yeast, which was also accompanied by a significantly-increased frequency of genomic instability including DNA breaks, chromosomal translocations, retrotransposition, and transfer of mitochondrial DNA into the nuclear genome.
The Parkinson’s disease-associated protein α-synuclein disrupts stress signaling – a possible implication for methamphetamine use?
March 31, 2014
This article comments on work published by Wang et al. (PNAS, 2012), which reported that human α-syn, at high expression levels, disrupts stress-activated signal transduction pathways in both yeast and human neuroblastoma cells. Disruption of these signaling pathways ultimately leads to vulnerability to stress and to cell death.
Massive gene swamping among cheese-making Penicillium fungi
March 3, 2014
This article comments on work published by Cheeseman et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which indicates that horizontal gene transfer is a crucial mechanism of rapid adaptation, even among eukaryotes.
Mnemons: encoding memory by protein super-assembly
February 25, 2014
This article comments on work published by Caudron and Barral (Cell, 2013), which proposes that polyQ- and polyN-based elements, termed mnemons, act as cellular memory devices to encode previous environmental conditions.
Intersubunit communications within KaiC hexamers contribute the robust rhythmicity of the cyanobacterial circadian clock
January 29, 2014
This article comments on work published by Kitayama et al. (Nat Comm, 2013), which suggests that intersubunit communication precisely synchronizes KaiC subunits to avoid dephasing, and contributes to the robustness of circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria.
Building a flagellum in biological outer space
January 25, 2014
This article comments on work published by Evans et al. (Nature, 2013), which presents a simple and elegant transit mechanism in which growth is powered by the subunits themselves as they link head-to-tail in a chain that is pulled through the length of the growing structure to the tip. This new mechanism answers an old question and may have resonance in other assembly processes.
A novel mechanism involved in the coupling of mitochondrial biogenesis to oxidative phosphorylation
January 5, 2014
This article comments on a study by Ostojić et al. (Cell Metabolism, 2013), which has uncovered a regulatory loop by which the biogenesis of a major enzyme of the OXPHOS pathway, the respiratory complex III, is coupled to the energy producing activity of the mitochondria.