Engineering heterothallic strains in fission yeast

Review Microbiology

The Fission Yeast Mating-Type Switching Motto: One-for-Two and Two-for-One

Benoit Arcangioli et al.

Summary: This article describes how Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a variant of the budding yeast, relies on efficient genetic sex determination and alternating haploid/diploid phases to achieve high reproductive efficiency in response to environmental conditions. By exploring the mating-type switching process and the interaction between genetics and epigenetics, it underscores the significance of basic research in gaining a better understanding of chromatin biology.

MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS (2023)

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Article Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

An essential role for the Ino80 chromatin remodeling complex in regulation of gene expression during cellular quiescence

Yasaman Zahedi et al.

Summary: Cellular quiescence is a vital physiological state that occurs at the G(0) stage in both single-celled and multicellular eukaryotes. The chromatin remodeling complex Ino80C has been found to play a crucial role in the survival of quiescent cells. In this study, we demonstrate that Ino80C is involved in the regulation of gene expression in G(0) cells. Null mutants for certain Ino80C subunits, the histone variant H2A.Z, and Inositol kinase Asp1 exhibit similar phenotypes in quiescence, including reduced genome-wide transcription and failure to activate quiescence genes, particularly those localized to subtelomeric regions. Our findings suggest that Ino80C evicts H2A.Z from chromatin in quiescent cells, leading to the inactivation of subtelomeric boundary element and the activation of genes necessary for survival in quiescence.

CHROMOSOME RESEARCH (2023)

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Article Biology

Diverse mating phenotypes impact the spread of wtf meiotic drivers in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Jose Fabricio Lopez Hernandez et al.

Summary: Meiotic drivers are genetic elements that can break Mendel's law of segregation by being transmitted to more than half of the offspring produced by a heterozygote. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, which is reported to rarely outcross, there are many meiotic drivers present. Different natural isolates of S. pombe have varying propensities for cells from distinct clonal lineages to mate, and preferential mating between cells from the same lineage can affect the spread of a meiotic driver. Understanding the parameters critical to the evolution of S. pombe and the behavior of meiotic drivers is important for studying genetic inheritance and evolution in this species.

ELIFE (2021)

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Article Multidisciplinary Sciences