Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atf1p is an alcohol acetyltransferase and a thioesterase in vitro.

The alcohol-O-acyltransferases are bisubstrate enzymes that catalyse the transfer of acyl chains from an acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) donor to an acceptor alcohol. In the industrial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae this reaction produces acyl esters that are an important influence on the flavour of fermented beverages and foods. There is also a growing interest in using acyltransferases to produce bulk quantities of acyl esters in engineered microbial cell factories.

Mechanism of antineoplastic activity of lonidamine.

Lonidamine (LND) was initially introduced as an antispermatogenic agent. It was later found to have anticancer activity sensitizing tumors to chemo-, radio-, and photodynamic-therapy and hyperthermia. Although the mechanism of action remained unclear, LND treatment has been known to target metabolic pathways in cancer cells.

Direct evidence of the molecular basis for biological silicon transport.

Diatoms are an important group of eukaryotic algae with a curious evolutionary innovation: they sheath themselves in a cell wall made largely of silica. The cellular machinery responsible for silicification includes a family of membrane permeases that recognize and actively transport the soluble precursor of biosilica, silicic acid. However, the molecular basis of silicic acid transport remains obscure.

The anti-tumour agent lonidamine is a potent inhibitor of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier and plasma membrane monocarboxylate transporters.

Lonidamine (LND) is an anti-tumour drug particularly effective at selectively sensitizing tumours to chemotherapy, hyperthermia and radiotherapy, although its precise mode of action remains unclear. It has been reported to perturb the bioenergetics of cells by inhibiting glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration, whereas indirect evidence suggests it may also inhibit L-lactic acid efflux from cells mediated by members of the proton-linked monocarboxylate transporter (MCT) family and also pyruvate uptake into the mitochondria by the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC). In the present study, we test these possibilities directly.