Microreviews, Review
Handcuffs for bacteria – NDP52 orchestrates xenophagy of intracellular Salmonella
Pauline Verlhac1,2,3,4,5, Christophe Viret1,2,3,4,5 and Mathias Faure1,2,3,4,5
This microreview discusses the article "Autophagy Receptor NDP52 Regulates Pathogen-Containing Autophagosome Maturation" by Verlhac et al. (2015), Cell Host Microbe.
Understanding grapevine-microbiome interactions: implications for viticulture industry
Iratxe Zarraonaindia1,2 and Jack A. Gilbert3,4,5,6
This microreview discusses the article "The soil microbiome influences grapevine-associated microbiota" by Zarraonaindia et al. (2015), MBio, which reports that the grapevine-associated microbiota depends on the soil microbiome.
Cytokinins beyond plants: synthesis by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Marie I. Samanovic and K. Heran Darwin
This microreview discusses "Proteasomal Control of Cytokinin Synthesis Protects Mycobacterium tuberculosis against Nitric Oxide" by Samanovic et al. (2015), Mol Cell.
Yeast as a model system to study metabolic impact of selenium compounds
Enrique Herrero1,* and Ralf Erik Wellinger2
Inorganic Se forms such as selenate or selenite (the two more abundant forms in nature) can be toxic in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, which constitute an adequate model to study such toxicity at the molecular level and the functions participating in protection against Se compounds. In this article, the authors propose that yeast may be used to improve our knowledge on the impact of Se on metal homeostasis, the identification of Se-targets at the DNA and protein levels, and to gain more insights into the mechanism of Se-mediated apoptosis.
Understanding structure, function, and mutations in the mitochondrial ATP synthase
Ting Xu1, Vijayakanth Pagadala2, David M. Mueller1
This review summarizes the current understanding of the subunit composition of the ATP synthase and the role of the subunits followed by a discussion on known mutations and their effect on the activity of the ATP synthase. The concludes with a summary of mutations in genes encoding subunits of the ATP synthase that are known to be responsible for human disease, and a brief discussion on SNPs.
Modeling non-hereditary mechanisms of Alzheimer disease during apoptosis in yeast
Ralf J. Braun1,#, Cornelia Sommer2,3,#, Christine Leibiger1,#, Romina J.G. Gentier4,#, Verónica I. Dumit5, Katrin Paduch1, Tobias Eisenberg2, Lukas Habernig2, Gert Trausinger6, Christoph Magnes6, Thomas Pieber6,7, Frank Sinner6,7, Jörn Dengjel5, Fred W. van Leeuwen4, Guido Kroemer8-11, and Frank Madeo2,3
Impaired protein degradation and mitochondrial dysfunction are believed to contribute to neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer disease (AD). This microreview comments on the article "Accumulation of Basic Amino Acids at Mitochondria Dictates the Cytotoxicity of Aberrant Ubiquitin" by Braun et al. (2015), Cell Rep.
Translate to divide: сontrol of the cell cycle by protein synthesis
Michael Polymenis1 and Rodolfo Aramayo2
Protein synthesis underpins much of cell growth and, consequently, cell multiplication. Understanding how proliferating cells commit and progress into the cell cycle requires knowing not only which proteins need to be synthesized, but also what determines their rate of synthesis during cell division. Experiments with proliferating populations of microbial strains, animal or plant cell lines, have rigorous expectations. Under the same culture conditions, cells ought to have the same properties and composition in every single experiment. The basic “metrics” of proliferating cells remain constant, even after many rounds of cell division. These metrics include cellular mass and volume, and macromolecular composition. The constancy of such parameters reflects the fundamental ability of cells to coordinate their growth with their division. Balancing cell growth with cell division determines the overall rates of cell proliferation...
New roles for autophagy and spermidine in T cells
D. J. Puleston and A. K. Simon
This microreview discusses the article "Autophagy is a critical regulator of memory CD8+ T cell formation" by Puleston et al. (2014), eLife.
Role of pheromone recognition systems in creating new species of fission yeast
March 11, 2019
This article comments on work published by Seike at al. (PloS Biol., 2019), which demonstrated an “asymmetric” pheromone recognition system in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Imbalance in gut microbes from babies born to obese mothers increases gut permeability and myeloid cell adaptations that provoke obesity and NAFLD
December 19, 2018
This article comments on work published by Soderborg et al. (Nat Commun, 2018), which demonstrates a causative role of early life microbiome dysbiosis in infants born to mothers with obesity in novel pathways that promote developmental programming of NAFLD.
Retroviral integration site selection: a running Gag?
November 19, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Structural basis for spumavirus GAG tethering to chromatin" by Lesbats et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2018) that revealed that the Gag protein of the spumaretrovirus prototype foamy virus (PFV) directly interacts with the nucleosome acidic patch, acting as a chromatin tether, and its disruption leads to delocalization of viral particles and integration sites, shedding light on the importance of retroviral structural proteins in the selection of integration sites.
Insights into the host-pathogen interaction: C. albicans manipulation of macrophage pyroptosis
November 12, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "High-Throughput Screening Identifies Genes Required for Candida albicans Induction of Macrophage Pyroptosis" by O’Meara et al. (MBio, 2018) that provides a comprehensive analysis of the genetic circuitry in both Candida albicans and host macrophages that leads to pyroptosis, revealing the impact of altered pyroptosis on infection, the role of pyroptosis in facilitating neutrophil accumulation at the site of C. albicans infection, and the decoupling of inflammasome priming and activation in the response to C. albicans infection, thus shedding new light on the factors governing the outcomes of this interaction.
A comparative approach to decipher intestinal animal-microbe associations
October 31, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Chitin-based barrier immunity and its loss predated mucus-colonization by indigenous gut microbiota" by Nakashima et al. (Nat Commun, 2018) that used comparative analyses of chordates to investigate the development of animal-microbe associations, suggesting that microbial colonization of the mucus layer over mammalian gastrointestinal epithelium was established upon the loss of ancestral chitin-based barrier immunity, providing insights into the establishment of these associations in an evolutionary context.
An unexpected benefit from E. coli: how enterobactin benefits host health
September 28, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Microbial Siderophore Enterobactin Promotes Mitochondrial Iron Uptake and Development of the Host via Interaction with ATP Synthase" by Qi et al. (Cell, 2018) that uncovered a surprising role for the Escherichia coli-produced siderophore enterobactin (Ent) in facilitating iron uptake by the host, marking a major shift in the understanding of its function and indicating potential new benefits from commensal bacteria in aiding the host's iron homeostasis.
Toxin release mediated by the novel autolysin Cwp19 in Clostridium difficile
August 10, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Cwp19 is a novel lytic transglycosylase involved in stationary-phase autolysis resulting in toxin release in Clostridium difficile" by Wydau-Dematteis (MBio, 2018) that characterizes a novel peptidoglycan hydrolase, Cwp19, in Clostridioides difficile, highlighting its glucose-dependent mediation of toxins secretion and suggesting a potential role in the pathogenesis of this bacterium, contributing to the understanding of these enzymes in C. difficile and their implication in pathogenicity.
A global view of substrate phosphorylation and dephosphorylation during budding yeast mitotic exit
July 25, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Phosphoproteome dynamics during mitotic exit in budding yeast" by Touati (EMBO J, 2018) that described a time-resolved global phosphoproteome analysis during a cell cycle phase known as mitotic exit in budding yeast revealed the principles of phosphoregulation governing the ordered sequence of events such as spindle elongation, chromosome decondensation, and completion of cell division.
Gammaretroviruses tether to mitotic chromatin by directly binding nucleosomal histone proteins
July 24, 2018
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Murine leukemia virus p12 tethers the capsid-containing pre-integration complex to chromatin by binding directly to host nucleosomes in mitosis" by Wanaguruet al. (PLoS Pathog, 2018) that highlights the essential role of the gammaretroviral gag cleavage product, p12, at both early and late stages of the virus life cycle, particularly in the integration of the viral DNA into the host cell chromatin to form a provirus. It also emphasizes the recent findings regarding the N- and C-terminal domains of p12, revealing their direct binding to the viral capsid lattice and nucleosomal histone proteins, respectively, thus elucidating the mechanism by which p12 links the viral pre-integration complex to mitotic chromatin.