Research, Research Reports
Metagenomic and microbiological analyses of historical manuscripts for bacterial community profiling and bacteria-related biodeterioration assessment
Esra Keles1,* and Ozge Celik2
By documenting both culturable and non-culturable taxa, this work provides a foundational dataset for understanding bacterial contributions to manuscript stability and offers a methodological framework for future research on biodeterioration dynamics in Islamic and global documentary heritage.
Overcoming phagocytosis resistance of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae by directly targeting capsules
Shogo Tsubaki1, Touya Toyomoto1, Rika Tanaka2,3, Jin Imai4,5, Juntaro Matsuzaki6,7, Katsuto Hozumi2 and Hitoshi Tsugawa1,5*
This study highlights a promising strategy for disarming hypervirulent K. pneumoniae by directly targeting its key virulence factors and provides novel insights into antibacterial therapeutic approaches against this clinically significant pathogen.
VapA/Scs2 sustains polarized growth in Aspergillus nidulans by maintaining AP-2-mediated apical endocytosis
Xenia Georgiou1, Sofia Politi1, Sotiris Amillis1 and George Diallinas1,2,*
To explore the functional significance of ER–PM contact sites in filamentous fungi, we identified and genetically characterized all Aspergillus nidulans proteins homologous to Snc2/VAP, Ist2, or tricalbins.
Genetic make-up and regulation of the L-lysine biosynthesis pathway in Vibrio natriegens
Elly Straube1, Johannes Radde1, Thi Van Anh Tran1, Negin Keihani Yazdi1, Rubén Crespo Blanco1, Ha Thanh Le2, Cláudio J.R. Frazão1 and Thomas Walther1,*
This study analysed the make-up and regulation of the biosynthetic pathway for L-lysine and related L-aspartate family amino acids (AFAAs) in Vibrio natriegens DSM759 to provide a comprehensive basis for future metabolic engineering endeavours aiming at developing this strain into an amino acid overproducer.
Regulation of extracellular vesicles for protein secretion in Aspergillus nidulans
Rebekkah E. Pope1, Patrick Ballmann2, Lisa Whitworth3 and Rolf A. Prade1,*
This study reveals that Aspergillus nidulans boosts extracellular vesicle production when ER-trafficked enzymes are induced, uncovering how fungi remodel their secretome through vesicle-mediated secretion to adapt to changing environments and biofilm formation.
Transcriptomic response to different heme sources in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes
Evelyn Tevere1,a, María G. Mediavilla1,a, Cecilia B. Di Capua1, Marcelo L. Merli1, Carlos Robello2,3, Luisa Berná2,4 and Julia A. Cricco
This study uncovers how the Chagas disease parasite adapts to changes in heme, an essential molecule for its survival, providing transcriptional clues to heme metabolism and identifying a previously unreported heme-binding protein in T. cruzi.
Sir2 regulates selective autophagy in stationary-phase yeast cells
Ji-In Ryua, Juhye Junga, and Jeong-Yoon Kim
This study establishes Sir2 as a previously unrecognized regulator of selective autophagy during the stationary phase and highlight how cells dynamically control organelle degradation.
Luminal acetylation of microtubules is not essential for Plasmodium berghei and Toxoplasma gondii survival
Thrishla Kumar1,a, Katharina Röver2,a, Johannes F. Stortz3,a, Annika M. Binder2,a, Benjamin Spreng2, Madlen Konert2, Markus Meissner1, Friedrich Frischknecht2,4 and Elena Jimenez-Ruiz1,*
Acetylation of α-tubulin at lysine 40 is not essential for cytoskeletal stability in Plasmodium berghei or Toxoplasma gondii, suggesting redundancy and plasticity in microtubule regulation in these parasites.
The dual-site agonist for human M2 muscarinic receptors Iper-8-naphtalimide induces mitochondrial dysfunction in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Angela Cirigliano1,a, Antonia Amelina2,a, Elena Passarini2, Alessandra Ricelli1, Nicole Balasco1, Mattia Mori3, Bruno Botta4, Maria Egle De Stefano2,5, Claudio Papotto6, Claudia Guerriero2, Ada Maria Tata2,5 and Teresa Rinaldi2,*
S. cerevisiae is a model to study human GPCRs. N-8-Iper, active against glioblastoma via M2 receptor, causes mitochondrial damage in yeast by binding Ste2, highlighting evolutionary conservation of GPCRs.
Systematic analysis of nuclear gene function in respiratory growth and expression of the mitochondrial genome in S. cerevisiae
June 30, 2020
Using yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the authors identified 254 nuclear genes essential for respiratory growth and 12 required for viability without mtDNA. They also found 176 genes involved in mitochondrial protein synthesis and mtDNA maintenance, offering a comprehensive view of the processes supporting oxidative phosphorylation.
Histone H3E73Q and H4E53A mutations cause recombinogenic DNA damage
April 24, 2020
This study reveals that conserved residues H3E73 and H4E53 in histones H3 and H4 play a crucial role in maintaining genome stability. Mutations at these sites increase recombinogenic DNA damage, likely due to replication-associated issues rather than transcriptional activity, highlighting their importance in DNA damage prevention and repair.
Sulforaphane alters the acidification of the yeast vacuole
March 20, 2020
This study identifies vacuolar pH regulation as a key factor in sulforaphane (SFN) sensitivity, showing that SFN-induced cell death in yeast - and potentially in human cancer cells - is linked to its ability to raise vacuolar or lysosomal pH.
Broad-spectrum antifungal activities and mechanism of drimane sesquiterpenoids
March 12, 2020
This study identifies (-)-drimenol as a potent broad-spectrum antifungal agent effective against multiple pathogenic fungi, including drug-resistant strains, and reveals its mechanism of action involves disruption of fungal membranes and targeting Crk1-related pathways, with potential for structural optimization to enhance efficacy.
Stable and destabilized GFP reporters to monitor calcineurin activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
February 5, 2020
This study introduces GFP-based transcriptional reporters driven by a calcineurin-dependent response element, enabling real-time monitoring of calcineurin activity in live yeast cells for studying stress responses, aging, and antifungal drug screening.
The euchromatic histone mark H3K36me3 preserves heterochromatin through sequestration of an acetyltransferase complex in fission yeast
January 3, 2020
This study reveals that the loss of heterochromatin silencing in Set2-deficient cells is due to unrestrained Mst2C activity, highlighting the need for spatially restricted chromatin-modifying enzymes to maintain distinct chromatin states.
Depletion of SNAP-23 and Syntaxin 4 alters lipid droplet homeostasis during Chlamydia infection
December 3, 2019
This study reveals that the plasma membrane SNARE proteins SNAP-23 and Syntaxin 4 are crucial for Chlamydia trachomatis development by regulating lipid droplet homeostasis and supporting the formation of infectious progeny within host cells.
Yeast can express and assemble bacterial secretins in the mitochondrial outer membrane
November 19, 2019
Secretins, essential components of bacterial secretion systems, can be expressed in yeast and show differential dependencies on mitochondrial import and assembly factors for membrane integration, suggesting diverse pathways for their assembly into the bacterial outer membrane.
Metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella infected macrophages and its modulation by iron availability and the mTOR pathway
November 14, 2019
This article shows that iron plays a critical role in both the immune response and metabolic reprogramming of macrophages during infection, influencing the TCA cycle and mTOR pathway, with implications for the growth of intracellular bacteria like Salmonella.