Research, Research Articles

Type II-Metacaspases are involved in cell stress but not in cell death in the unicellular green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta

M. Teresa Mata1,&, Armando Palma1, Candela García-Gómez1,#, María López-Parages1, Víctor Vázquez1, Iván Cheng-Sánchez2, Francisco Sarabia2, Félix López-Figueroa1, Carlos Jiménez1 and María Segovia1

This article shows that in the green alga Dunaliella tertiolecta, Type-II metacaspases are involved in the stress response to ultraviolet radiation but are not linked to cell death, suggesting their role in survival strategies under stressful environmental conditions.

Transcriptomic and chemogenomic analyses unveil the essential role of Com2-regulon in response and tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to stress induced by sulfur dioxide

Patrícia Lage1,2, Belém Sampaio-Marques3,4, Paula Ludovico3,4, Nuno P. Mira5 and Ana Mendes-Ferreira1,2

This article shows that in the presence of sulfur dioxide (SO2), the transcription factor Com2 plays a critical role in the tolerance and response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, affecting the expression of a majority of SO2-activated genes and contributing to the protection against stress induced by SO2 at an enologically relevant pH.

Proline metabolism regulates replicative lifespan in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Yukio Mukai1, Yuka Kamei1, Xu Liu1, Shan Jiang1, Yukiko Sugimoto2, Noreen Suliani binti Mat Nanyan2, Daisuke Watanabe2 and Hiroshi Takagi2

This article shows that intracellular proline levels in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are correlated with its replicative lifespan, suggesting a protective role of proline against cellular senescence due to various stresses.

Network dynamics of the yeast methyltransferome

Guri Giaever1, Elena Lissina1 and Corey Nislow1

This article presents a systematic genetic analysis of methyltransferases (MTases) under normal and stress conditions, uncovering the complex and adaptive nature of the methyltransferome and discovering a potential connection between phospholipid methylation and histone methylation, suggesting interplay between lipid homeostasis and epigenetic regulation.

Functional link between mitochondria and Rnr3, the minor catalytic subunit of yeast ribonucleotide reductase

Isaac Corcoles-Saez1, Jean-Luc Ferat2, Michael Costanzo3, Charles M. Boone3 and Rita S. Cha1

This article shows that the carbon source affects the abundance of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) subunits in yeast, with a novel Mec1 signaling axis regulating Rnr3 independently of known DNA damage response pathways, and reveals Rnr3's unexpected role in mitochondrial function.

Mitochondria-Associated Membranes (MAMs) are involved in Bax mitochondrial localization and cytochrome c release

Alexandre Légiot1, Claire Céré1, Thibaud Dupoiron1, Mohamed Kaabouni1, Nadine Camougrand1 and Stéphen Manon1

This study investigated the role of Mitochondria-Associated Membranes (MAMs) in the regulation of apoptosis by analyzing the localization and function of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax in yeast, finding that disruption of MAMs by deletion of the MDM34 gene affects Bax's mitochondrial localization and the release of cytochrome c.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is present in the dental plaque of periodontitis patients and stimulates an inflammatory response in gingival epithelial cells

Cássio Luiz Coutinho Almeida-da-Silva1, Tamer Alpagot2, Ye Zhu1, Sonho Sierra Lee3,4, Brian P. Roberts5, Shu-Chen Hung1, Norina Tang1,2 and David M. Ojcius1

This study found that Chlamydia pneumoniae is present more frequently in the dental plaque of individuals with periodontal disease, can invade human gingival epithelial cells causing inflammatory responses, and may therefore be a contributing factor to periodontal disease and a potential indicator of risk.

Simultaneous profiling of sexually transmitted bacterial pathogens, microbiome, and concordant host response in cervical samples using whole transcriptome sequencing analysis

Catherine M. O’Connell1,#, Hayden Brochu2,#, Jenna Girardi1, Erin Harrell2, Aiden Jones2, Toni Darville1, Arlene C. Seña3 and Xinxia Peng2,4

This study used total RNA sequencing to analyze cervical samples from women at high risk for STIs, revealing that host transcriptional profiles can be linked to microbiome composition and STI infections, with implications for advancing our understanding of PID and identifying potential biomarkers.

Genome-wide analysis of yeast expression data based on a priori generated co-regulation cliques

Siyuan Sima1, Lukas Schmauder1 and Klaus Richter1

The study demonstrates the use of predefined genome-wide expression cliques, derived from extensive microarray data, to effectively analyze and visualize the complete gene expression response across various cellular conditions in yeast.

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Role of the putative sit1 gene in normal germination of spores and virulence of the Mucor lusitanicus

August 12, 2025

Mucormycosis is a life-threatening infection caused by certain members of the fungal order Mucorales, with increased incidence in recent years. Individuals with untreated diabetes mellitus, and patients treated with deferoxamine are particularly susceptible to this infection.

Tumor microenvironment signatures enhances lung adenocarcinoma prognosis prediction: Implication of intratumoral microbiota

August 11, 2025

The interaction between intratumoral microbiome and the tumor microenvironment (TME) has furthered our understanding of tumor ecology. Yet, the implications of their interaction for lung cancer management remain unclear.

Persistence phenotype of adherent-invasive Escherichia coli in response to ciprofloxacin, revealing high-persistence strains

July 11, 2025

We investigated the roles of the resident antibiotic resistance plasmid, the stress response protein HtrA, and macrophage-induced persister formation. Our results revealed broad variability in persister cell formation among AIEC strains.

Knocking out histidine ammonia-lyase by using CRISPR-Cas9 abolishes histidine role in the bioenergetics and the life cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi

June 25, 2025

Recent studies have highlighted the importance of this pathway in ATP production, redox balance, and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis in T. cruzi. In this work, we focus on the first step of the histidine degradation pathway, which is performed by the enzyme histidine ammonia lyase. Here we determined the kinetic and biochemical parameters of the T. cruzi histidine ammonia-lyase.

Dissecting the cell cycle regulation, DNA damage sensitivity and lifespan effects of caffeine in fission yeast

June 24, 2025

Our findings show that caffeine accelerates mitotic division and is beneficial for CLS through AMPK. Direct pharmacological targeting of AMPK may serve towards healthspan and lifespan benefits beyond yeasts, given the highly conserved nature of this key regulatory cellular energy sensor.

Uga3 influences nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by modulating arginine biosynthesis

June 12, 2025

Nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is tightly regulated to optimize the utilization of available nitrogen sources. Uga3 is a known transcription factor involved in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) pathway; however, its broader role in nitrogen metabolism remains unclear.

An adenine model of inborn metabolism errors alters TDP-43 aggregation and reduces its toxicity in yeast revealing insights into protein misfolding diseases

May 22, 2025

This work offers new insights into the potential interactions between me-tabolite-based amyloids and pathological protein aggregates, with broad implications for understanding protein misfolding diseases.

Microbiota and metabolome dynamics induced by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in an in vitro model of an infant’s colon

April 14, 2025

This study provides new evidence of the impact of EHEC in the microbiota and metabolome dynamics in an in vitro gut model that could be useful in understanding their physiopathology in this at-risk population, considering inter-individual variabilities in gut microbiota.

Ampicillin treatment in persister cell studies may cause non-physiological artifacts

March 20, 2025

This study shows at the example of L2 how insufficient purification of ampicillin persister cells can lead to the generation of non-physiological artifacts and provides a novel tool to improve the removal of residual cell debris.

Clostridium scindens promotes gallstone formation by inducing intrahepatic neutrophil extracellular traps through CXCL1 produced by colonic epithelial cells

March 19, 2025

Through in vivo and in vitro experiments, we validated the reliability of C. scindens stimulating colonic epithelial cells to produce TLR2, activating the NF-κB signaling pathway, promoting CXCL1 expres-sion, and inducing intrahepatic neutrophil NETosis, which may be associated with gallstone formation.

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