Vol. 07, 2020

New insights in the mode of action of anti-leishmanial drugs by using chemical mutagenesis screens coupled to next-generation sequencing

Arijit Bhattacharya¹, Sophia Bigot², Prasad Kottayil Padmanabhan², Angana Mukherjee², Adriano Coelho³, Philippe Leprohon², Barbara Papadopoulou² and Marc Ouellette²

In this article, the authors comment on the study "Coupling chemical mutagenesis to next generation sequencing for the identification of drug resistance mutations in Leishmania" by Bhattacharya et al. (Nat Commun, 2019), which introduces Mut-seq, a chemical mutagenesis and sequencing approach, to uncover drug resistance mechanisms in Leishmania, revealing links between lipid metabolism genes and miltefosine resistance, and a protein kinase involved in translation conferring paromomycin resistance.

Microfluidic techniques for separation of bacterial cells via taxis

Jyoti P. Gurung¹, Murat Gel^2,3 and Matthew A. B. Baker^1,3

Microfluidic tools, ideal for studying microbial motility due to their control over laminar flows at microscopic scales, enable precise analysis of various taxis behaviors and have advanced applications in synthetic biology, directed evolution, and medical microbiology.

Influence of delivery and feeding mode in oral fungi colonization – a systematic review

Maria Joao Azevedo^1,2,3,4, Maria de Lurdes Pereira^1,5, Ricardo Araujo^2,3,6, Carla Ramalho^3,7,8, Egija Zaura⁴ and Benedita Sampaio-Maia^1,2,3

A systematic review of oral fungal colonization in infants found that while breastfeeding did not significantly affect the oral mycobiome, vaginal delivery was associated with higher oral yeast colonization, particularly of Candida albicans.

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.

Viral attenuation by Endonuclease G during yeast gametogenesis: insights into ancestral roles of programmed cell death?

Jie Gao¹, Sabrina Chau¹ and Marc D. Meneghini¹

This article relates to the study "Meiotic viral attenuation through an ancestral apoptotic pathway" by Gao et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci, 2019), which shows that programmed cell death may have evolved as a viral defence mechanism, as demonstrated by yeast studies showing that the mitochondrial nuclease Nuc1 translocates to the cytosol during meiosis to attenuate dsRNA viruses, linking viral control to meiotic cell death processes.

Depletion of SNAP-23 and Syntaxin 4 alters lipid droplet homeostasis during Chlamydia infection

Tiago Monteiro-Brás^1,2,3, 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.

The role of Lactobacillus species in the control of Candida via biotrophic interactions

Isabella Zangl¹, Ildiko-Julia Pap², Christoph Aspöck² and Christoph Schüller^1,3

Microbial communities, including Candida and Lactobacillus species, play a crucial role in human health, particularly in the context of mucosal infections, but our understanding of their interactions and effects is still incomplete due to the variability of species and isolates as well as the complexity of the human host.

Yeast can express and assemble bacterial secretins in the mitochondrial outer membrane

Janani Natarajan¹, Anasuya Moitra¹, Sussanne Zabel^1,§, Nidhi Singh², Samuel Wagner^2,3 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.

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.

A novel c-di-GMP signal system regulates biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Gukui Chen¹ and Haihua Liang¹

This article relates to the study "The SiaA/B/C/D signaling network regulates biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa" by Chen et al. (EMBO J, 2020) that reveals a novel signaling network encoded by the siaABCD operon in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that regulates biofilm and aggregate formation by controlling the diguanylate cyclase activity of SiaD through phosphorylation-dependent interactions with SiaC, highlighting a potential antimicrobial target.

A multifunctional small RNA binding protein for sensing and signaling cell envelope precursor availability in bacteria

Muna A. Khan¹ and Boris Görke¹

This article relates to the study "Small RNA‐binding protein RapZ mediates cell envelope precursor sensing and signaling in Escherichia coli" by Khan et al. (EMBO J, 2020) that uncovers a complex regulatory network in E. coli where the RNA-binding protein RapZ functions as a sensor for GlcN6P, coordinating sRNA activity and a two-component system to maintain GlcN6P homeostasis and regulate cell envelope biosynthesis.

Sulforaphane alters the acidification of the yeast vacuole

Alexander Wilcox^1,#, Michael Murphy^1,#, Douglass Tucker^1,#, 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.

Regulation of anti-microbial autophagy by factors of the complement system

Christophe Viret¹, Aurore Rozières¹, Rémi Duclaux-Loras¹, Gilles Boschetti¹, Stéphane Nancey¹ and
Mathias Faure^1,2

This review explores emerging evidence that components of the complement system, beyond their traditional immune roles, modulate autophagy - particularly xenophagy - thereby influencing cell-autonomous antimicrobial responses during host-pathogen interactions.

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.

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Influence of delivery and feeding mode in oral fungi colonization – a systematic review

Maria Joao Azevedo^1,2,3,4, Maria de Lurdes Pereira^1,5, Ricardo Araujo^2,3,6, Carla Ramalho^3,7,8, Egija Zaura⁴ and Benedita Sampaio-Maia^1,2,3

The role of Lactobacillus species in the control of Candida via biotrophic interactions

Isabella Zangl¹, Ildiko-Julia Pap², Christoph Aspöck² and Christoph Schüller^1,3

Regulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore and its effects on aging

Damiano Pellegrino-Coppola¹

Aging is linked to mitochondrial function, with the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) playing a key role. Yeast is a useful model for studying how mPTP affects cell survival, aging, and related diseases.

Fungal infections in humans: the silent crisis

Katharina Kainz¹, Maria A. Bauer¹, Frank Madeo^1-3 and Didac Carmona-Gutierrez¹

This article highlights the growing global threat of fungal infections - exacerbated by rising drug resistance and medical practices - and emphasizes the urgent need for intensified research to develop more effective antifungal strategies.

Digesting the crisis: autophagy and coronaviruses

Didac Carmona-Gutierrez¹, Maria A. Bauer¹, Andreas Zimmermann^1,2, Katharina Kainz¹,
Sebastian J. Hofer¹, Guido Kroemer^3-7 and Frank Madeo^1,2,8

This article reviews the multifaceted role of autophagy in antiviral defense and highlights how coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, interact with this pathway, raising the possibility that targeting autophagy could offer novel therapeutic strategies against COVID-19.

Raman-based sorting of microbial cells to link functions to their genes

Kang Soo Lee¹, Michael Wagner^2,3 and Roman Stocker¹

In this article, the authors comment on the study "An automated Raman-based platform for the sorting of live cells by functional properties" by Lee et al. (Nat Microbiol, 2019), which presents a high-throughput optofluidic platform that integrates Raman microspectroscopy and microfluidics to accurately link microbial phenotypes to genotypes within complex communities, enabling efficient functional sorting and analysis of microbiome members.

Viral attenuation by Endonuclease G during yeast gametogenesis: insights into ancestral roles of programmed cell death?

Jie Gao¹, Sabrina Chau¹ and Marc D. Meneghini¹

The euchromatic histone mark H3K36me3 preserves heterochromatin through sequestration of an acetyltransferase complex in fission yeast

January 3, 2020