Vol. 01, 2014
On the link between cell cycle and infection of the Alphaproteobacterium Brucella abortus
Michaël Deghelt, Jean-Jacques Letesson, Xavier De Bolle
This article comments on work published by Deghelt et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which describe a cell cycle arrest and resume during the Brucella abortus trafficking in host cell, suggesting that like the model Alphaproteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus, these bacteria are able to block their cell cycle at the G1 phase when starvation is sensed.
Divide and conquer: processive transport enables multidrug transporters to tackle challenging drugs
Nir Fluman and Eitan Bibi
This article comments on work published by Fluman et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which describes the ability of bacterial multidrug transporters to move long molecules through the membrane in a processive manner.
The dual role of cyclin C connects stress regulated gene expression to mitochondrial dynamics
Randy Strich and Katrina F. Cooper
This work summarizes the role cyclin C plays in regulating stress-responsive transcription in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including mitochondrial fission and regulated cell death.
Combinatorial stress responses: direct coupling of two major stress responses in Escherichia coli
Daniel R. Brown, Geraint Barton, Zhensheng Pan, Martin Buck and Sivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
This article comments on work published by Brown et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which showed that the transcription of relA is activated by NtrC during nitrogen starvation, revealing that in E. coli and related bacteria, NtrC functions in combinatorial stress and serves to couple two major stress responses, the Ntr response and stringent response.
Time resolved DNA occupancy dynamics during the respiratory oscillation uncover a global reset point in the yeast growth program
Cornelia Amariei, Rainer Machné, Viktor Stolc, Tomoyoshi Soga, Masaru Tomita and Douglas B. Murray
Using multiple approaches, this work implies a nucleosome focusing event as a key step that resets transcription during the respiratory oscillation.
Cell wall dynamics modulate acetic acid-induced apoptotic cell death of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
António Rego#, Ana Marta Duarte#, Flávio Azevedo#, Maria João Sousa, Manuela Côrte-Real and Susana R. Chaves
This work characterizes the involvement of MAPK signaling pathways in cell death induced by acetic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Extracellular calcium triggers unique transcriptional programs and modulates staurosporine-induced cell death in Neurospora crassa
A. Pedro Gonçalves1,2, João Monteiro2, Chiara Lucchi2, David J. Kowbel3, J. Miguel Cordeiro1,4, Paulo Correia-de-Sá1,4, Daniel J. Rigden5, N. Louise Glass3, Arnaldo Videira1,2
The results presented here reveal that in Neurospora crassa, extracellular Ca2+ modulates cell death and the transcriptional alterations induced by staurosporine, and lead to the identification of two novel putative Ca2+-binding proteins, encoded by the NCU08524 and NCU06607 genes.
Multiple metabolic requirements for size homeostasis and initiation of division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Shivatheja Soma, Kailu Yang, Maria I. Morales and Michael Polymenis
This article reveals an unexpected diversity in the G1 cell cycle phenotypes of metabolic and biosynthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants, suggesting that growth requirements for cell division are multiple, distinct and imposed throughout the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
What’s the role of autophagy in trypanosomes?
Katherine Figarella1 and Néstor L. Uzcátegui1,2
This article comments on Proto et al. (Microbial Cell, 2014), who report first insights into the molecular mechanism of autophagy in African trypanosomes by generating reporter bloodstream form cell lines.
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.
A non-proteolytic function of ubiquitin in transcription repression
Ada Ndoja and Tingting Yao
This article comments on work published by Ndoja et al. (Mol Cell, 2014), which demonstrates that monoubiquitination of some transcription activators can inhibit transcription by recruiting the AAA+ ATPase Cdc48 (also known in metazoans as p97 or VCP), which then extracts the ubiquitinated activator from DNA.
Where antibiotic resistance mutations meet quorum-sensing
Rok Krašovec1, Roman V. Belavkin2, John A.D. Aston3, Alastair Channon4, Elizabeth Aston4, Bharat M. Rash1, Manikandan Kadirvel5,6, Sarah Forbes6, and Christopher G. Knight1
This article comments on work published by Krašovec et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which found that the modulation of de novo mutation to promote antibiotic resistance depends on the density of the bacterial population and cell-cell interactions (rather than, for instance, the level of stress).
Sphingolipids and mitochondrial function, lessons learned from yeast
Pieter Spincemaille1, Bruno P.A. Cammue1,2 and Karin Thevissen1
This article reviews recent research showing that Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an invaluable model to investigate sphingolipids as signaling molecules in modulating mitochondrial function, but can also be used as a tool to further enhance our current knowledge on sphingolipids and mitochondria in mammalian cells.
Genome evolution in yeast reveals connections between rare mutations in human cancer
Xinchen Teng1,2 and J. Marie Hardwick2
This article comments on work published by Teng et al. (Mol Cell, 2013), which, using the yeast knockout collections, provides hard evidence that single gene deletions/mutations in most non-essential genes can drive the selection for cancer-like mutations.
Decoding the biosynthesis and function of diphthamide, an enigmatic modification of translation elongation factor 2 (EF2)
Raffael Schaffrath and Michael J. R. Stark
This article comments on work published by Uthman et al. (PLoS Genet, 2013), which suggests that Dph5 has a novel role as an EF2 inhibitor that affects cell growth when diphthamide synthesis is blocked or incomplete and shows that diphthamide promotes the accuracy of EF2 performance during translation.
Autophagy extends lifespan via vacuolar acidification
Christoph Ruckenstuhl1, Christine Netzberger1, Iryna Entfellner1, Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Thomas Kickenweiz1, Slaven Stekovic1, Christina Gleixner1, Christian Schmid1, Lisa Klug1, Ivan Hajnal1, Alice G. Sorgo1, Tobias Eisenberg1, Sabrina Büttner1, Guillermo Marin͂o2-4, Rafal Koziel5, Christoph Magnes6, Frank Sinner6,7, Thomas R. Pieber6,7, Pidder Jansen-Dürr5, Kai-Uwe Fröhlich1, Guido Kroemer2,3,8-11, and Frank Madeo1
This article comments on work published by Ruckenstuhl et al. (PLoS Genet, 2014), which uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae to show that autophagy promotes lifespan extension upon MetR and requires the subsequent stimulation of vacuolar acidification, while it is epistatic to the equally autophagy-dependent anti-aging pathway triggered by TOR1 inhibition or deletion.
When less is more: hormesis against stress and disease
Andreas Zimmermann1, Maria A. Bauer1, Guido Kroemer2-5, Frank Madeo1 and Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1
This article condenses the conceptual and potentially therapeutic importance of hormesis by providing a short overview of current evidence in favor of the cytoprotective impact of hormesis, as well as of its underlying molecular mechanisms.
Morphed and moving: TNFα-driven motility promotes cell dissemination through MAP4K4-induced cytoskeleton remodeling
Min Ma1,2 and Martin Baumgartner1
This article comments on work published by Ma and Baumgartner (PLoS Patho, 2014), which investigated Theileria parasite control of host cell motile properties in the context of inflammatory signaling.
Only functional localization is faithful localization
Roland Lill1,2,3
This article comments on work published by Peleh et al. (Microbial Cell 2014), which analyzes the localization of Dre2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
One cell, one love: a journal for microbial research
Didac Carmona-Gutierrez1, Guido Kroemer2-6 and Frank Madeo1
In this inaugural article of Microbial Cell, we highlight the importance of microbial research in general and the journal's intention to serve as a publishing forum that supports and enfolds the scientific diversity in this area as it provides a unique, high-quality and universally accessible source of information and inspiration.
What’s the role of autophagy in trypanosomes?
Katherine Figarella1 and Néstor L. Uzcátegui1,2
This article comments on Proto et al. (Microbial Cell, 2014), who report first insights into the molecular mechanism of autophagy in African trypanosomes by generating reporter bloodstream form cell lines.
Divide and conquer: processive transport enables multidrug transporters to tackle challenging drugs
September 23, 2014
This article comments on work published by Fluman et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which describes the ability of bacterial multidrug transporters to move long molecules through the membrane in a processive manner.
The dual role of cyclin C connects stress regulated gene expression to mitochondrial dynamics
September 14, 2014
This work summarizes the role cyclin C plays in regulating stress-responsive transcription in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, including mitochondrial fission and regulated cell death.
Combinatorial stress responses: direct coupling of two major stress responses in Escherichia coli
September 1, 2014
This article comments on work published by Brown et al. (Nat Comm, 2014), which showed that the transcription of relA is activated by NtrC during nitrogen starvation, revealing that in E. coli and related bacteria, NtrC functions in combinatorial stress and serves to couple two major stress responses, the Ntr response and stringent response.
Time resolved DNA occupancy dynamics during the respiratory oscillation uncover a global reset point in the yeast growth program
September 1, 2014
Using multiple approaches, this work implies a nucleosome focusing event as a key step that resets transcription during the respiratory oscillation.
Cell wall dynamics modulate acetic acid-induced apoptotic cell death of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
August 27, 2014
This work characterizes the involvement of MAPK signaling pathways in cell death induced by acetic acid in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Extracellular calcium triggers unique transcriptional programs and modulates staurosporine-induced cell death in Neurospora crassa
August 9, 2014
The results presented here reveal that in Neurospora crassa, extracellular Ca2+ modulates cell death and the transcriptional alterations induced by staurosporine, and lead to the identification of two novel putative Ca2+-binding proteins, encoded by the NCU08524 and NCU06607 genes.
Multiple metabolic requirements for size homeostasis and initiation of division in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
August 1, 2014
This article reveals an unexpected diversity in the G1 cell cycle phenotypes of metabolic and biosynthetic Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants, suggesting that growth requirements for cell division are multiple, distinct and imposed throughout the G1 phase of the cell cycle.
The replication timing program in the hands of two HDACs
July 25, 2014
This article comments on work published by Yoshida et al. (Mol Cell, 2014), which performed a systematic analysis of the role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in the regulation of origin activity in budding yeast, finding that the epigenetic regulation of repetitive sequences is a key determinant of the DNA replication program.
Increased Trypanosoma brucei cathepsin-L activity inhibits human serum-mediated trypanolysis
July 14, 2014
This article comments on work published by Alsford et al. (PLoS Pathogens, 2014), which identified a Trypanosoma brucei lysosomal cathepsin with an inhibitory effect on human serum’s trypanolytic action.
Metabolic pathways further increase the complexity of cell size control in budding yeast
Jorrit M. Enserink
This article comments on work published by Soma et al. (Microbial Cell, 2014), which teased apart the effect of metabolism and growth rate on setting of critical cell size in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.