Crucial mitochondrial impairment upon CDC48 mutation in apoptotic yeast.

Mutation in CDC48 (cdc48(S565G)), a gene essential in the endo-plasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD) pathway, led to the discovery of apoptosis as a mechanism of cell death in the unicellular organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Elucidating Cdc48p-mediated apoptosis in yeast is of particular interest, because Cdc48p is the highly conserved yeast orthologue of human valosin-containing protein (VCP), a pathological effector for polyglutamine disorders and myopathies. Here we show distinct proteomic alterations in mitochondria in the cdc48(S565G) yeast strain.

An AIF orthologue regulates apoptosis in yeast.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF), a key regulator of cell death, is essential for normal mammalian development and participates in pathological apoptosis. The proapoptotic nature of AIF and its mode of action are controversial. Here, we show that the yeast AIF homologue Ynr074cp controls yeast apoptosis.