Microreviews – Page 8 – Microbial Cell

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.

Integrative metabolomics as emerging tool to study autophagy regulation

Sarah Stryeck¹, Ruth Birner-Gruenberger², Tobias Madl^1,*

This review summarizes the advancements in metabolomics, particularly using NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and its increasing role in biological research, offering insights into autophagy regulation with a focus on key metabolites, recent studies, and future prospects in elucidating complex regulatory mechanisms of autophagy and related diseases.

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 Emmanouilidis^2,3, Maciej Dawidowski^2,3,4, Wolfgang Schliebs¹, Michael Sattler^2,3, Grzegorz M. Popowicz^2,3, 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.

Impact of the host on Toxoplasma stage differentiation

Carsten G.K. Lüder¹ and Taibur Rahman¹

This review summarizes how Toxoplasma gondii transitions from an acute to a chronic infection in warm-blooded animals and humans through a developmental switch influenced by host cell physiology, which determines parasite persistence mainly in neural and muscular tissues.

Chlamydia and mitochondria – an unfragmented relationship

Suvagata Roy Chowdhury¹ and Thomas Rudel¹

This article comments on work published by Chowdhury et al (J Cell Biol, 2017), which demonstrated that Chlamydia infection induces and requires an upregulation of the host miRNA, miR-30c-5p (miR-30c) to ameliorate infection induced stress on the host mitochondrial architecture and hinders induction of apoptosis.

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.

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Toxin-mediated gene regulatory mechanism in Staphylococcus aureus

December 29, 2016

This article comments on work published by Joo et al. (MBio, 2016), which describes the first molecular regulatory mechanism exerted by an S. aureus toxin, setting a paradigmatic example of how S. aureus toxins may influence cell functions to adjust them to times of toxin production.

NprR, a moonlighting quorum sensor shifting from a phosphatase activity to a transcriptional activator

November 5, 2016

This article comments on work published by Perchat et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which demonstrates that, in the absence of the signaling peptide NprX, the sensor NprR is a dimer, which negatively controls sporulation in Bacillus thuringiensis, independently of its transcription factor activity.

The interaction between herpes simplex virus 1 genome and promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) as a hallmark of the entry in latency

November 4, 2016

This article comments on work published by Maroul et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which demonstrates that the interaction of the viral genomes with the nuclear architecture and specifically the promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies is a major determinant for the entry of HSV-1 into latency.

Francisella IglG protein and the DUF4280 proteins: PAAR-like proteins in non-canonical Type VI secretion systems?

October 30, 2016

This article comments on work published by Rigard et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2013), which identified the function of IgIG, a protein of unknown function, encoded within the Francisella Pathogenicity Island.

B cell-helping functions of gut microbial metabolites

September 23, 2016

This article comments on work published by Kim et al. (Cell Host & Microbe, 2016), which showed that the microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) regulate the metabolism and gene expression in B cells to promote antibody production.

Cryptococcus flips its lid – membrane phospholipid asymmetry modulates antifungal drug resistance and virulence

August 1, 2016

This article comments on work published by Huang et al. (MBio, 2016), which reported that in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans loss of lipid flippase activity sensitized cryptococcal cells to multiple classes of antifungal drugs and abolished fungal virulence in murine models.