Research, Research Articles

Reduced TORC1 signaling abolishes mitochondrial dysfunctions and shortened chronological lifespan of Isc1p-deficient cells

Vitor Teixeira1,2, Tânia C. Medeiros1, Rita Vilaça1,2, Pedro Moradas-Ferreira1,2, and Vítor Costa1,2

Overall, this article shows that the TORC1-Sch9p axis is deregulated in Isc1p-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells, contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction, enhanced oxidative stress sensitivity and premature aging of isc1Δ cells.

Early manifestations of replicative aging in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Maksim I. Sorokin1,3, Dmitry A. Knorre2,3, and Fedor F. Severin2,3

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.

Tracking autophagy during proliferation and differentiation of Trypanosoma brucei

William R. Proto1, Nathaniel G. Jones1, Graham H. Coombs2, and Jeremy C. Mottram1

This article provides insights into the function of autophagy, a cellular degradation and recycling pathway, in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei.

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Molecular signature of the imprintosome complex at the mating-type locus in fission yeast

January 16, 2018

Genetic and molecular studies have indicated that an epigenetic imprint at mat1, the sexual locus of fission yeast, initiates mating type switching. Here, Raimondi et al. characterized the recruitment of early players of mating type switching at the mat1 region and suggest a nucleoprotein protective structure defined as imprintosome.

Leishmania guyanensis parasites block the activation of the inflammasome by inhibiting maturation of IL-1β

January 14, 2018

The various symptomatic outcomes of cutaneous leishmaniasis relates to the type and potency of its underlying inflammatory responses mediated by Toll-Like-Receptor-3 (TLR3). Here, Hartely et al. investigated other innate pattern recognition receptors capable of reacting to dsRNA and potentially contributing to LRV1-mediated inflammatory pathology. They postulate that avoidance of the inflammasome pathways is likely an important mechanism of virulence in Leishmania infection irrespective of the LRV1-status.

A novel system to monitor mitochondrial translation in yeast

January 13, 2018

In this study Suhm et al. present a novel system to monitor mitochondrial translation by detection of mitochondrial GFP-translation through fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry in functional mitochondria. This novel tool allows the investigation of the function and regulation of mitochondrial translation during stress signaling, aging and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT or FITM) proteins are related to lipid phosphatase/phosphotransferase enzymes

December 28, 2017

Fat storage-inducing transmembrane (FIT or FITM) proteins have been implicated in the partitioning of triacylglycerol to lipid droplets and the budding of lipid droplets from the ER. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has two FITM homologues and the presented results suggest that Scs3p and Yft2p as well as FITMs in general are lipid phosphatase/phosphotransferase (LPT) enzymes involved in an as yet unknown critical step in phospholipid metabolism.

Yeast quiescence exit swiftness is influenced by cell volume and chronological age

December 6, 2017

Quiescence exit swiftness is crucial not only for micro-organisms in competition for an environmental niche, such as yeast, but also for the maintenance of tissue homeostasis in multicellular species. Here, Laporte et al. explore the effect of replicative and chronological age on Saccharomyces cerevisiae quiescence exit efficiency. Overall, their data illustrate that the quiescent state is a continuum evolving with time, early and deep quiescence being distinguishable by the cell’s proficiency to re-enter the proliferation cycle.

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

December 5, 2017

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

December 1, 2017

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

November 30, 2017

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

November 27, 2017

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

November 22, 2017

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.

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