Yeast Lsm Pro-Apoptotic Mutants Show Defects in Autophagy.

is an essential yeast gene encoding a component of different LSM complexes involved in the regulation of mRNA splicing, stability, and translation. In previous papers, we reported that the expression in of the gene lacking the C-terminal Q/N-rich domain in an null strain () restored cell viability. Nevertheless, in this transformed strain, we observed some phenotypes that are typical markers of regulated cell death, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and oxidated RNA accumulation.

In Vitro Probiotic Properties and In Vivo Anti-Ageing Effects of PFA2018AU Strain Isolated from Carrots on .

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) share and provide several beneficial effects on human health, such as the release of bioactive metabolites, pathogen competition, and immune stimulation. The two major reservoirs of probiotic microorganisms are the human gastro-intestinal tract and fermented dairy products. However, other sources, such as plant-based foods, represent important alternatives thanks to their large distribution and nutritive value.

Light Stress in Yeasts: Signaling and Responses in Creatures of the Night.

Living organisms on the surface biosphere are periodically yet consistently exposed to light. The adaptive or protective evolution caused by this source of energy has led to the biological systems present in a large variety of organisms, including fungi. Among fungi, yeasts have developed essential protective responses against the deleterious effects of light.

The C-terminal region of yeast ubiquitin-protein ligase Not4 mediates its cellular localization and stress response.

Transient modification of the environment involves the expression of specific genes and degradation of mRNAs and proteins. How these events are linked is poorly understood. CCR4-NOT is an evolutionary conserved complex involved in transcription initiation and mRNA degradation.

In a Pair of Paralogous Isozymes Catalyze the First Committed Step of Leucine Biosynthesis in Either the Mitochondria or the Cytosol.

Divergence of paralogous pairs, resulting from gene duplication, plays an important role in the evolution of specialized or novel gene functions. Analysis of selected duplicated pairs has elucidated some of the mechanisms underlying the functional diversification of (. ) paralogous genes.

Statins interfere with the attachment of mtDNA to the inner mitochondrial membrane.

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, a key enzyme of the mevalonate pathway for the synthesis of cholesterol in mammals (ergosterol in fungi), is inhibited by statins, a class of cholesterol lowering drugs. Indeed, statins are in a wide medical use, yet statins treatment could induce side effects as hepatotoxicity and myopathy in patients. We used as a model to investigate the effects of statins on mitochondria.

The hypoxic expression of the glucose transporter RAG1 reveals the role of the bHLH transcription factor Sck1 as a novel hypoxic modulator in Kluyveromyces lactis.

Glucose is the preferred nutrient for most living cells and is also a signaling molecule that modulates several cellular processes. Glucose regulates the expression of glucose permease genes in yeasts through signaling pathways dependent on plasma membrane glucose sensors. In the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, sufficient levels of glucose induction of the low-affinity glucose transporter RAG1 gene also depends on a functional glycolysis, suggesting additional intracellular signaling.

Ergosterol reduction impairs mitochondrial DNA maintenance in S. cerevisiae.

Sterols are essential lipids, involved in many biological processes. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the enzymes of the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway (Erg proteins) are localized in different cellular compartments. With the aim of studying organelle interactions, we discovered that Erg27p resides mainly in Lipid Droplets (LDs) in respiratory competent cells, while in absence of respiration, is found mostly in the ER.

Annurca apple (M. pumila Miller cv Annurca) extracts act against stress and ageing in S. cerevisiae yeast cells.

Background: During the past years, a number of studies have demonstrated the positive effect of apple on ageing and different diseases such as cancer, degenerative and cardiovascular diseases. The unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents a simple eukaryotic model to study the effects of different compounds on lifespan. We previously demonstrated that apple extracts have anti-ageing effects in this organism because of their antioxidant properties.

Epigenetic and Posttranslational Modifications in Light Signal Transduction and the Circadian Clock in Neurospora crassa.

Blue light, a key abiotic signal, regulates a wide variety of physiological processes in many organisms. One of these phenomena is the circadian rhythm presents in organisms sensitive to the phase-setting effects of blue light and under control of the daily alternation of light and dark. Circadian clocks consist of autoregulatory alternating negative and positive feedback loops intimately connected with the cellular metabolism and biochemical processes.

Getting lipids from glycerol: new perspectives on biotechnological exploitation of Candida freyschussii.

Background: Microbial lipids represent a valuable alternative feedstock for biodiesel production when oleaginous microbes are cultured with inexpensive substrates in processes exhibiting high yield and productivity. In this perspective, crude glycerol is among the most promising raw materials for lipid production, because it is the costless residual of biodiesel production. Thus, cultivation of oleaginous yeasts in glycerol-based media is attracting great interest and natural biodiversity is increasingly explored to identify novel oleaginous species recycling this carbon source for growth and lipid production.

Strain-specific nuclear genetic background differentially affects mitochondria-related phenotypes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

In the course of our studies on mitochondrial defects, we have observed important phenotypic variations in Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains suggesting that a better characterization of the genetic variability will be essential to define the relationship between the mitochondrial efficiency and the presence of different nuclear backgrounds. In this manuscript, we have extended the study of such relations by comparing phenotypic assays related to mitochondrial functions of three wild-type laboratory strains. In addition to the phenotypic variability among the wild-type strains, important differences have been observed among strains bearing identical mitochondrial tRNA mutations that could be related only to the different nuclear background of the cells.

Direct interaction of Gas41 and Myc encoded by amplified genes in nervous system tumours.

In order to understand better the role of the human Tip60 complex component Gas41, we analysed its expression levels in brain tumours and searched for possible interactors. Two-hybrid screening of a human foetal brain library allowed identification of some molecular interactors of Gas41. Among them we found n-Myc transcription factor.