Microreviews, Review
A global view of substrate phosphorylation and dephosphorylation during budding yeast mitotic exit
Sandra A. Touati1 and Frank Uhlmann1
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Phosphoproteome dynamics during mitotic exit in budding yeast" by Touati (EMBO J, 2018) that described a time-resolved global phosphoproteome analysis during a cell cycle phase known as mitotic exit in budding yeast revealed the principles of phosphoregulation governing the ordered sequence of events such as spindle elongation, chromosome decondensation, and completion of cell division.
Gammaretroviruses tether to mitotic chromatin by directly binding nucleosomal histone proteins
Madushi Wanaguru1 and Kate N. Bishop1
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Murine leukemia virus p12 tethers the capsid-containing pre-integration complex to chromatin by binding directly to host nucleosomes in mitosis" by Wanaguruet al. (PLoS Pathog, 2018) that highlights the essential role of the gammaretroviral gag cleavage product, p12, at both early and late stages of the virus life cycle, particularly in the integration of the viral DNA into the host cell chromatin to form a provirus. It also emphasizes the recent findings regarding the N- and C-terminal domains of p12, revealing their direct binding to the viral capsid lattice and nucleosomal histone proteins, respectively, thus elucidating the mechanism by which p12 links the viral pre-integration complex to mitotic chromatin.
Methodologies for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm agents and surface coatings against fungal biofilms
Patrick Van Dijck1,2,‡, Jelmer Sjollema3,‡, Bruno P.A. Cammue4,5, Katrien Lagrou6,7, Judith Berman8, Christophe d’Enfert9, David R. Andes10,11, Maiken C. Arendrup12-14, Axel A. Brakhage15, Richard Calderone16, Emilia Cantón17, Tom Coenye18,19, Paul Cos20, Leah E. Cowen21, Mira Edgerton22, Ana Espinel-Ingroff23, Scott G. Filler24, Mahmoud Ghannoum25, Neil A.R. Gow26, Hubertus Haas27, Mary Ann Jabra-Rizk28, Elizabeth M. Johnson29, Shawn R. Lockhart30, Jose L. Lopez-Ribot31, Johan Maertens32, Carol A. Munro26, Jeniel E. Nett33, Clarissa J. Nobile34, Michael A. Pfaller35,36, Gordon Ramage19,37, Dominique Sanglard38, Maurizio Sanguinetti39, Isabel Spriet40, Paul E. Verweij41, Adilia Warris42, Joost Wauters43, Michael R. Yeaman44, Sebastian A.J. Zaat45, Karin Thevissen4,*
This article highlights the critical importance of accurate susceptibility testing methods and the discovery of novel antifungal and antibiofilm agents in combating invasive fungal infections associated with biofilm formation on medical devices, thereby emphasizing the need for advancements in medical mycology research to address these complex diseases.
Shepherding DNA ends: Rif1 protects telomeres and chromosome breaks
Gabriele A. Fontana1, Julia K. Reinert1,2, Nicolas H. Thomä1, Ulrich Rass1
This review discusses the conserved mechanisms cells have evolved to protect DNA ends at chromosomal termini and DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), focusing on the protein Rif1’s roles in telomere homeostasis and DSB repair in eukaryotes. It highlights the intriguing connection between Rif1's involvement in both telomere maintenance and DSB repair, and suggests that excluding end-processing factors may underlie Rif1's diverse biological functions at telomeres and chromosome breaks.
The CRISPR conundrum: evolve and maybe die, or survive and risk stagnation
Jesús García-Martínez1, Rafael D. Maldonado1, Noemí M. Guzmán1 and Francisco J. M. Mojica1,2
In this article García-Martínez et al. cover how the model bacterium Escherichia coli deals with CRISPR-Cas to tackle the major dilemma of evolution versus survival.
Metabolic disharmony and sibling conflict mediated by T6SS
Vera Troselj1 and Daniel Wall1
In this article, the authors comment on the study "Physiological Heterogeneity Triggers Sibling Conflict Mediated by the Type VI Secretion System in an Aggregative Multicellular Bacterium" by Troselj et al. (MBio, 2018) discussing that M. xanthus uses T6SS to eliminate less fit cells from their population and identified toxic effector and cognate immunity protein (TsxEI) that mediates this sibling antagonism.
Helicobacter hepaticus polysaccharide induces an anti-inflammatory response in intestinal macrophages
Camille Danne1 and Fiona Powrie1
In this article, the authors comment on the study "A Large Polysaccharide Produced by Helicobacter hepaticus Induces an Anti-inflammatory Gene Signature in Macrophages. " by Danne et al, (Cell Host Microbe 2017), discussing the interactions between H. hepaticus and intestinal macrophages that promote mutualism.
The interaction between herpes simplex virus 1 genome and promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) as a hallmark of the entry in latency
November 4, 2016
This article comments on work published by Maroul et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which demonstrates that the interaction of the viral genomes with the nuclear architecture and specifically the promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies is a major determinant for the entry of HSV-1 into latency.
Francisella IglG protein and the DUF4280 proteins: PAAR-like proteins in non-canonical Type VI secretion systems?
October 30, 2016
This article comments on work published by Rigard et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2013), which identified the function of IgIG, a protein of unknown function, encoded within the Francisella Pathogenicity Island.
B cell-helping functions of gut microbial metabolites
September 23, 2016
This article comments on work published by Kim et al. (Cell Host & Microbe, 2016), which showed that the microbial metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) regulate the metabolism and gene expression in B cells to promote antibody production.
How do yeast sense mitochondrial dysfunction?
September 22, 2016
Apart from energy transformation, mitochondria play important signaling roles. In yeast, mitochondrial signaling relies on several molecular cascades. However, it is not clear how a cell detects a particular mitochondrial malfunction. In our review we argue that in yeast the major known routes of mitochondrial signaling are moderated by non-mitochondrial inputs.
Chlamydia trachomatis Genital Infections
September 4, 2016
Chlamydia trachomatis infections are the most commonly reported sexually transmitted bacterial infections in the US and globally. Ascending infection may result in infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain in some women. In this review we provide an overview of current knowledge regarding epidemiology, disease outcomes and effective treatment of chlamydial genital tract infection and explore potential mechanisms facilitating C. trachomatis infection of genital mucosa identified via bioinformatics and other molecular approaches.
Hepatitis B virus and its sexually transmitted infection – an update
September 4, 2016
About 5% of the world’s population has chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, and nearly 25% of carriers develop chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The purpose of this article is to provide up-to-date information on HBV and HBV infection as a major sexually transmitted infection.
Gonorrhea – an evolving disease of the new millennium
September 4, 2016
Neisseria gonorrhoeae (the gonococcus) is a Gram-negative diplococcus, an obligate human pathogen, and the etiologic agent of the sexually transmitted disease, gonorrhea. This review provides insight into the molecular epidemiology, virulence mechanisms, pathogenesis and therapeutic options.
Cryptococcus flips its lid – membrane phospholipid asymmetry modulates antifungal drug resistance and virulence
August 1, 2016
This article comments on work published by Huang et al. (MBio, 2016), which reported that in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans loss of lipid flippase activity sensitized cryptococcal cells to multiple classes of antifungal drugs and abolished fungal virulence in murine models.