Microreviews – Page 8 – Microbial Cell

Microreviews, Review

Characterization of the Maf family of polymorphic toxins in pathogenic Neisseria species

Anne Jamet^1,2,3,4,5, Xavier Nassif^2,3,4,5

In addition to harmless commensal species, Neisseria genus encompasses two pathogenic species, N. meningitidis (the meningococcus) and N. gonorrhoeae (the gonococcus), which are responsible for meningitis and genital tract infections, respectively. This microreview comments on the article "A new family of secreted toxins in pathogenic Neisseria species" by Jamet et al. (2015), PLoS Pathog.

Live fast, die soon: cell cycle progression and lifespan in yeast cells

Javier Jiménez, Samuel Bru, Mariana PC Ribeiro and Josep Clotet

Our understanding of lifespan has benefited enormously from the study of a simple model, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Although a unicellular organism, yeasts undergo many of the processes directly related with aging that to some extent are conserved in mammalian cells. Nutrient-limiting conditions have been involved in lifespan extension, especially in the case of caloric restriction, which also has a direct impact on cell cycle progression. In fact, other environmental stresses (osmotic, oxidative) that interfere with normal cell cycle progression also influence the lifespan of cells, indicating a relationship between lifespan and cell cycle control. In the present review we compile and discuss new findings related to how cell cycle progression is regulated by other nutrients. We centred this review on the analysis of phosphate, also give some attention to nitrogen, and the impact of these nutrients on lifespan...

Yeast as a tool for studying proteins of the Bcl-2 family

Peter Polčic, Petra Jaká and Marek Mentel

This review focuses on using yeast expressing mammalian proteins of the Bcl-2 family as a tool to investigate mechanisms, by which these proteins permeabilize mitochondrial membranes, mechanisms, by which pro- and antiapoptotic members of this family interact, and involvement of other cellular components in the regulation of programmed cell death by Bcl-2 family proteins.

Mitochondrial type II NAD(P)H dehydrogenases in fungal cell death

Pedro Gonçalves^1,2,4, Arnaldo Videira^1,2,3

During aerobic respiration, cells produce energy through oxidative phosphorylation, which includes a specialized group of multi-subunit complexes in the inner mitochondrial membrane known as the electron transport chain. However, this canonical pathway is branched into single polypeptide alternative routes in some fungi, plants, protists and bacteria. They confer metabolic plasticity, allowing cells to adapt to different environmental conditions and stresses...

EzrA: a spectrin-like scaffold in the bacterial cell division machinery

Robert M Cleverley, Richard J Lewis

Much progress has been made in identifying the components of the divisome, the assembly of proteins that undertakes the vital process of cell division in bacteria. However, how the highly interdependent processes on either side of the membrane are coordinated during division is a major unresolved question. This comment discusses the article "Structure and function of a spectrin-like regulator of bacterial cytokinesis" by Cleverley et al. (2014), Nat Commun.

Microbial hara-kiri: Exploiting lysosomal cell death in malaria parasites

Jun-Hong Ch’ng^1,2, Johan Ursing² and Kevin Shyong-Wei Tan¹

The antimalarial drug chloroquine (CQ) has been sidelined in the fight against falciparum malaria due to wide-spread CQ resistance. This comment discusses the article "Validation of a chloroquine-induced cell death mechanism for clinical use against malaria" by Ch'ng et al. (2014), Cell Death Dis.

A pseudokinase couples signaling pathways to enable asymmetric cell division in a bacterium

W. Seth Childers and Lucy Shapiro

In this article, the authors comment on the study "Cell fate regulation governed by a repurposed bacterial histidine kinase" by Childers et al., PLoS Biol. 2014 Oct 28;12(10):e1001979.

Targeting of chromatin readers: a novel strategy used by the Shigella flexneri virulence effector OspF to reprogram transcription

Habiba Harouz, Christophe Rachez, Benoit Meijer, Christian Muchardt, Laurence Arbibe.

In this microreview, the authors discuss the article "Shigella flexneri targets the HP1γ subcode through the phosphothreoninelyase OspF" by Harouz et al. (2014), EMBO J, 22 : 2606-2622.

Plasmodium spp. membrane glutathione S-transferases: detoxification units and drug targets

Andreas Martin Lisewski

This article comments on work published by Lisewski et al. (Cell, 2014), which reported the first examples of membrane-associated proteins in eicosanoid and glutathione metabolism members among Plasmodium spp.

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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.