467 - Prion Pivots Productive Pathways

Saccharomyces yeast
By Mogana Das Murtey and
Patchamuthu Ramasamy
CC BY-SA 3.0

This episode: Prions in yeast can allow better adaptation to changing conditions!

Thanks to David Garcia for his contribution!

Download Episode (9.5 MB, 13.9 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Hepatovirus F

News item

Takeaways

Prions can be deadly. They're misshapen proteins that cause a cascade of misfolding of similar proteins if they get into the nervous system, resulting in neurodegeneration in mammals. But in other organisms, they are not always so scary; some fungi use prions to regulate their behavior in varying conditions.

In this study, a prion allows yeast to switch between a fast-growing lifestyle with shorter reproductive lifespan that can be beneficial in conditions where nutrients are often plentiful, and a slower-growing but more enduring lifestyle that helps in more scarce conditions.

Journal Paper:
Garcia DM, Campbell EA, Jakobson CM, Tsuchiya M, Shaw EA, DiNardo AL, Kaeberlein M, Jarosz DF. 2021. A prion accelerates proliferation at the expense of lifespan. eLife 10:e60917.

Other interesting stories:

• Modified yeast probiotic could tune its effects as needed by sensing bowel inflammation

Post questions or comments here or email to bacteriofiles@gmail.com. Thanks for listening!

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