Research Reports – Page 5

Research, Research Reports

A versatile plasmid system for reconstitution and analysis of mammalian ubiquitination cascades in yeast

Rossella Avagliano Trezza^1,#, Janny van den Burg¹, Nico van den Oever¹ and Ben Distel^1,2

In this article Avagliano Trezza et al. describe a versatile vector system that allows the reconstitution of specific ubiquitination cascades in the model eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisae (baker’s yeast) that provides a versatile tool to study complex post-translational modifications in a cellular setting.

Alcohols enhance the rate of acetic acid diffusion in S. cerevisiae : biophysical mechanisms and implications for acetic acid tolerance

Lina Lindahl¹, Samuel Genheden², Fábio Faria-Oliveira¹, Stefan Allard³, Leif A. Eriksson², Lisbeth Olsson¹, Maurizio Bettiga^1,4

Microbial cell factories with the ability to maintain high productivity in the presence of weak organic acids, such as acetic acid, are required in many industrial processes. This study demonstrates that the rate of acetic acid diffusion can be strongly affected by compounds that partition into the cell membrane, and highlights the need for considering interaction effects between compounds in the design of microbial processes.

Mitochondrial energy metabolism is required for lifespan extension by the spastic paraplegia-associated protein spartin

Julia Ring¹, Patrick Rockenfeller^{1, 3}, Claudia Abraham¹, Jelena Tadic¹, Michael Poglitsch¹, Katherina Schimmel^{1, 4}, Julia Westermayer¹, Simon Schauer¹, Bettina Achleitner¹, Christa Schimpel^{1, 5}, Barbara Moitzi¹, Gerald N. Rechberger^{1, 6}, Stephan J. Sigrist^{7, 8}, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez¹, Guido Kroemer^{9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}, Sabrina Büttner^{1, 16}, Tobias Eisenberg^{1, 2}, Frank Madeo^{1, 2}

This article indicates that spartin, a protein linked to hereditary spastic paraplegias, extends yeast lifespan and reduces age-related damage by associating with mitochondria and interacting with key metabolic proteins, implicating energy metabolism in its protective role during aging.

A genome-wide screen for FTY720-sensitive mutants reveals genes required for ROS homeostasis

Kanako Hagihara¹, Kanako Kinoshita¹, Kouki Ishida¹, Shihomi Hojo¹, Yoshinori Kameoka¹, Ryosuke Satoh¹, Teruaki Takasaki¹ and Reiko Sugiura¹

Fingolimod hydrochloride (FTY720) is an immune modulator for multiple sclerosis that also induces cancer cell apoptosis through reactive oxygen species generation, with a new study using fission yeast uncovering a gene network related to ROS homeostasis as a possible mechanism of FTY720's toxicity.

Untargeted metabolomics confirms and extends the understanding of the impact of aminoimidazole carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) in the metabolic network of Salmonella enterica

Jannell V. Bazurto¹, Stephen P. Dearth², Eric D. Tague², Shawn R. Campagna² and Diana M. Downs¹

In Salmonella enterica, aminoimidazole carboxamide ribotide (AICAR) is a purine biosynthetic intermediate and a substrate of the AICAR transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase (PurH) enzyme. Data herein describe the use of metabolomics to identify the metabolic state of mutant strains and probe the underlying mechanisms used by AICAR to inhibit thiamine synthesis. The results obtained provide a cautionary tale of using metabolite concentrations as the only data to define the physiological state of a bacterial cell.

The cytosolic glyoxalases of Plasmodium falciparum are dispensable during asexual blood-stage development

Cletus A. Wezena¹, Romy Alisch¹, Alexandra Golzmann², Linda Liedgens¹, Verena Staudacher^1,3, Gabriele Pradel² and Marcel Deponte^1,3

In this study the authors demonstrate that, PfGlo1 and PfcGlo2 are dispensable during asexual blood-stage development while the loss of PfcGlo2 may induce the formation of transmissible gametocytes. These combined data show that PfGlo1 and PfcGlo2 are most likely not suited as targets for selective drug development against the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Aminoglycoside resistance profile and structural architecture of the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase AAC(6’)-Im

Clyde A. Smith¹, Monolekha Bhattacharya², Marta Toth², Nichole K. Stewart² and Sergei B. Vakulenko²

AAC(6')-Im, a monofunctional acetyltransferase, imparts increased resistance to certain aminoglycosides compared to its bifunctional homolog AAC(6')-Ie, with structural studies revealing differences in substrate binding that explain the discrepancies in their enzymatic activity and resistance profiles.

Cross-species complementation of bacterial- and eukaryotic-type cardiolipin synthases

Petra Gottier¹, Mauro Serricchio¹, Rita Vitale², Angela Corcelli², and Peter Bütikofer¹

This article shows that cardiolipin is crucial for cellular respiration and membrane integrity, with cardiolipin synthase enzymes like TbCLS in Trypanosoma brucei being potential drug targets due to their essential role in survival. The study demonstrates TbCLS's ability to restore cardiolipin production in yeast, highlighting the specificity and potential co-localization required for cardiolipin synthesis and remodeling, and underscoring the differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cardiolipin synthase mechanisms.

Identification of SUMO conjugation sites in the budding yeast proteome

Miguel Esteras¹, I-Chun Liu¹, Ambrosius P. Snijders², Adam Jarmuz¹ and Luis Aragon¹

The authors present a proteomic study that mapped SUMO acceptor lysines in budding yeast, identifying 257 potential conjugation sites, including both known and novel substrates, and providing a significant resource for future research into the functional implications of SUMOylation in yeast.

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Early manifestations of replicative aging in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

January 4, 2014

The data preseted herein suggest that retrograde signaling starts to malfunction in relatively young cells, leading to accumulation of heterogeneous mitochondria within one cell. The latter may further contribute to a decline in stress resistances.