Yeast
Yeasts are very versatile, model unicellular eukaryotes that have been extensively used for over a century to explore fundamental aspects of living systems. This collection brings together the latest studies showcasing research on biotechnological applications of yeasts, yeasts as disease models, and pathogenic yeasts.
Collection Contents
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The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Mtf2 is required for mitochondrial cox1 gene expression
More LessMitochondrial gene expression is essential for adenosine triphosphate synthesis via oxidative phosphorylation, which is the universal energy currency of cells. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mtf2 (also called Nam1) in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The Δmtf2 mutant with the intron-containing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibited impaired growth on a rich medium containing the non-fermentable carbon source glycerol, suggesting that mtf2 is involved in mitochondrial function. mtf2 deletion in a mitochondrial intron-containing background resulted in a barely detectable level of the cox1 mRNA and a reduction in the level of the cob1 mRNA, and severely impaired cox1 translation. In contrast, mtf2 deletion in a mitochondrial intron-less background did not affect the levels of cox1 and cob1 mRNAs. However, Cox1 synthesis could not be restored to the control level in the Δmtf2 mutant with intron-less mtDNA. Our results suggest that unlike its counterpart in S. cerevisiae which plays a general role in synthesis of mtDNA-encoded proteins, S. pombe Mtf2 primarily functions in cox1 translation and the effect of mtf2 deletion on splicing of introns in mtDNA is likely due to a deficiency in the synthesis of intron-encoded maturases.
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Fusion proteins towards fungi and bacteria in plant protection
More LessIn agriculture, although fungi are considered the foremost problem, infections by bacteria also cause significant economical losses. The presence of different diseases in crops often leads to a misuse of the proper therapeutic, or the combination of different diseases forces the use of more than one pesticide. This work concerns the development of a ‘super-Blad’: a chimeric protein consisting of Blad polypeptide, the active ingredient of a biological fungicide already on the market, and two selected peptides, SP10-5 and Sub5, proven to possess biological potential as antibacterial agents. The resulting chimeric protein obtained from the fusion of Blad with SP10-5 not only maintained strong antibacterial activity, especially against Xanthomonas spp. and Pseudomonas syringae, but was also able to retain the ability to inhibit the growth of both yeast and filamentous fungi. However, the antibacterial activity of Sub5 was considerably diminished when fused with Blad, which seems to indicate that not all fusion proteins behave equally. These newly designed drugs can be considered promising compounds for use in plant protection. A deeper and focused development of an appropriate formulation may result in a potent biopesticide that can replace, per se, two conventional chemistries with less impact on the environment.
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