Around the New Paradigm of Yeast: Multicellularity
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 10085
Special Issue Editor
2. Institute of Science and Innovation on Bio-sustainability (IB-S), University of Minho, 4710-054 Braga, Portugal
Interests: yeast; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; glycerol transport; glycerol/H+ symport; RAS protein; Hedgehog
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Yeasts are low Eukaryotes able to grow as dense planktonic cultures, or as multicellular structures. These can adhere to biological or inert surfaces, forming colonies, biofilms or stalks; or cells can attach to each other forming large clumps without physical support known as flocs. The information available on the underlying processes has been obtained using several models. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been mostly used to study adhesion and cell-cell aggregation processes in relation to flocculation, while the yeast human pathogens, mainly Candida albicans, have been mostly used to study yeast-to-hyphae differentiation/filamentation, invasive behavior and biofilm formation. These processes are important per se. Still, they are probably even more important because yeasts, as Eukaryotic models, provide insights into equivalent processes in higher organisms that can prove useful in the development of novel therapeutic solutions for serious diseases.
Yeasts have ways of dealing with multicellularity that only very recently have been acknowledged. Similar to higher Eukaryotes, they secret an extracellular matrix made of proteins and polysaccharides, they secrete diffusible signals to promote control group proliferation or death in a spatially controlled manner. Important genetic reprogramming accompanies these processes, promoting physiological and morphological changes which include differentiation into pseudo or true hyphae.
Most of the knowledge available on these processes is scarce. We suggest that the present book provides a fresh look into the subject, an integrative view of what we know about the ability of yeasts to form proto-tissues with multicellular-like behavior. This will probably be one of the most sought subjects in the near future for yeast researchers. It is most important when considering the use of microbes in biotechnology, but even more importantly in what regards the correspondent impact on health, either because of the formation of undesired infection-prone colonization of clinical devises, or because of the growing threat caused by untreatable fungal infections of man/animals and plants.
We call for original articles and review papers on the following potential topics and include works done preferentially in S. cerevisiae budding yeast, although other relevant yeast models may be considered:
- Biology of yeast multicellular aggregates (including Population Biology)
- Cell-cell recognition and communication
- Molecular Biology of yeast cell surface (membrane, wall, extracellular matrix, capsule)
- Molecular Biology of yeasts adhesion versus invasion
- Molecular Biology of yeasts growth polarity and cellular differentiation
- New techniques and methodologies to study yeast multi/extracellular biology
Each author that is willing to participate should send a proposal stating the subject of the review paper and why it I relevant for the above subject. The proposals will be analyzed and the chosen proposals will be notified of a dead line for submitting the paper, which will be subject to regular peer review.
Prof. Dr. Cândida LucasGuest Editor
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