Copper is an essential trace element in all organisms and serves as a catalytic cofactor for many biological processes in cells. Yet excess cuprous and cupric forms can be high toxic to the cells. Thus cells must have developed diverse mechanisms to control the uptake and distribution of copper. Much are known about the copper metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a few other fungi. In this review, we focus on the recent research in copper uptake, transport and distribution in model organism baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as the new frontier in other fungi, e.g., the novel roles of copper in the pathogenesis of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans.
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Nucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Department of Physics, 845 W Taylor St, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
Altered DNA dynamics at lesion sites are implicated in how DNA repair proteins sense damage within genomic DNA. Using laser temperature-jump (T-jump) spectroscopy combined with cytosine-analog Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) probes that sense local DNA conformations, we measured the intrinsic dynamics of DNA containing 3 base-pair mismatches recognized in vitro by Rad4 (yeast ortholog of XPC). Rad4/XPC recognizes diverse lesions from environmental mutagens and initiates nucleotide excision repair.
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January 2025
Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy.
Microbial fermentation is a primary method by which a variety of foods and beverages are produced. The term refers to the use of microbes such as bacteria, yeasts, and molds to transform carbohydrates into different substances. Fermentation is important for preserving, enhancing flavor, and improving the nutritional quality of various perishable foods.
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January 2025
Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia do Café (INCT), Lavras CEP 37203-202, MG, Brazil.
One strategy for adding unique characteristics and flavors to improve coffee quality is the selection of starter microorganisms. Here, we aimed to evaluate the effect of LNFCA11 and B10 as starter cultures on the quality of four different wet-fermented coffee varieties. Microbiological, molecular, and chemical analyses were carried out to identify yeast, bacteria, volatile compounds, carbohydrates and bioactive compounds in coffee.
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December 2024
Institute of Bioengineering, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 119071 Moscow, Russia.
In winemaking, malolactic fermentation (MLF), which converts L-malic acid to L-lactic acid, is often applied after the alcoholic fermentation stage to improve the sensory properties of the wine and its microbiological stability. MLF is usually performed by lactic acid bacteria, which, however, are sensitive to the conditions of alcoholic fermentation. Therefore, the development of wine yeast strains capable of both alcoholic fermentation and MLF is an important task.
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January 2025
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry and Geosciences, Vilnius University, Naugarduko Str. 24, LT-03225 Vilnius, Lithuania.
This research presents a simple procedure for chemically modifying yeast () cells with nickel hexacyanoferrate (NiHCF) and ferric hexacyanoferrate, also known as Prussian blue (PB), to increase the conductivity of the yeast cell wall. Using linear sweep voltammetry, NiHCF-modified yeast and PB-modified yeast (NiHCF/yeast and PB/yeast, respectively) were found to have better cell wall conductivity in [Fe(CN)] and glucose-containing phosphate-buffered solution than unmodified yeast. Spectrophotometric analysis showed that the modification of yeast cells with NiHCF had a less harmful effect on yeast cell viability than the modification of yeast cells with PB.
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