Research, Research Reports
Systematic analysis of nuclear gene function in respiratory growth and expression of the mitochondrial genome in S. cerevisiae
Maria Stenger1, Duc Tung Le1, Till Klecker1 and Benedikt Westermann1
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
Pedro Ortega1, Desiré García-Pichardo1, Marta San Martin-Alonso1, Ana G. Rondón1, Belén Gómez-González1 and Andrés Aguilera1
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
Alexander Wilcox1,#, Michael Murphy1,#, Douglass Tucker1,#, David Laprade1, Breton Roussel1, Christopher Chin2, Victoria Hallisey1, Noah Kozub1, Abraham Brass2 and Nicanor Austriaco1
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
Edruce Edouarzin1, Connor Horn2, Anuja Paudyal2, Cunli Zhang1, Jianyu Lu1, Zongbo Tong1, Guri Giaever3, Corey Nislow3, Raja Veerapandian2, Duy H. Hua1 and Govindsamy Vediyappan2
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
Jutta Diessl1, Arpita Nandy1, Christina Schug1, Lukas Habernig1 and Sabrina Büttner1,2
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
Paula R. Georgescu1, Matías Capella1, Sabine Fischer-Burkart1 and Sigurd Braun1
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
Tiago Monteiro-Brás1,2,3, Jordan Wesolowski1 and Fabienne Paumet1
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
Janani Natarajan1, Anasuya Moitra1, Sussanne Zabel1,§, Nidhi Singh2, Samuel Wagner2,3 and Doron Rapaport1
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
Julia Telser1,2,#, Chiara Volani1,3,#, Richard Hilbe1,2, Markus Seifert1,2, Natascha Brigo1, Giuseppe Paglia4 and Günter Weiss1,2
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.
Unresolved mystery of cyclic nucleotide second messengers, periplasmic acid phosphatases and bacterial natural competence
July 18, 2024
In this study we aimed to identify the promotors responsible for the expression of the non-specific acid phosphatase AphA during different starvation conditions, to confirm the requirement of the cAMP-dependent CRP regulon for aphA expression, and to finally identify regulators of its expression.
Polyadenylated versions of small non-coding RNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are degraded by Rrp6p/Rrp47p independent of the core nuclear exosome
May 22, 2024
In this investigation, we unveiled a novel functional role of the major nuclear 3′→5′ exoribonuclease, Rrp6p, and its cofactor Rrp47p in the degradation of polyadenylated versions of several mature sncRNAs, including 5S, 5.8S rRNAs, all sn- and some select snoRNAs in the baker’s yeast S. cerevisiae.
Exploring carbon source related localization and phosphorylation in the Snf1/Mig1 network using population and single cell-based approaches
May 16, 2024
In this work we set out to explore the relationship between the subcellular localization and regulation of kinases in the context of carbon source signaling. The data presented in this paper reinforce the notion that not only the activation/inactivation of kinases but also their subcellular localization and that of their targets influence fate decisions in response to environmental changes.
A Modular Cloning Toolkit for the production of recombinant proteins in Leishmania tarentolae
April 30, 2024
Modular Cloning (MoClo) is based on libraries of standardized genetic parts that can be directionally assembled via Golden Gate cloning in one-pot reactions into transcription units and multigene constructs. We established a MoClo toolkit and exemplified its application for the production of recombinant proteins in L. tarentolae.
The effect of multiple sclerosis therapy on gut microbiota dysbiosis: a longitudinal prospective study
April 6, 2024
The gut microbiota, a complex ecosystem with various immune functions, plays a significant role in MS, and its response to different treatments is highlighted in this study. In clinical practice, maintaining a healthy microbiota is crucial for individuals with MS.
Comparison of microbial communities and the profile of sulfate-reducing bacteria in patients with ulcerative colitis and their association with bowel diseases: a pilot study
March 14, 2024
Considerable evidence has accumulated regarding the molecular relationship between gut microbiota (GM) composition and the onset (clinical presentation and prognosis) of ulcerative colitis UC. Our findings highlight, among other observations, significant variations in the gut microbial composition among patients with varying disease severity and activity.
Replicative aging in yeast involves dynamic intron retention patterns associated with mRNA processing/export and protein ubiquitination
February 27, 2024
Saccharomyces cerevisiae has yielded relevant insights into some of the basic mechanisms of organismal aging. Among these are genomic instability, oxidative stress, caloric restriction and mitochondrial dysfunction. Our work uncovers a previously unexplored layer of the transcriptional program of yeast aging and, more generally, expands the knowledge on the occurrence of alternative splicing in baker´s yeast.