title: A short history of small s: a prion of the fungus Podospora anserina.
abstract: Prions are infectious proteins. In fungi, prions correspond to non-Mendelian genetic elements whose mode of inheritance has long eluded explanation. The [Het-s] cytoplasmic genetic element of the filamentous fungus Podospora anserina, was originally identified in 1952 and recognized as a prion nearly half a century later. The present chapter will attempt to describe the work on [Het-s] from a historical perspective. The initial characterization and early genetic and physiological studies of [Het-s] are described together with the isolation of the [Het-s] encoding gene. More recent work that led to the construction of a structural model for this prion is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire des Champignons, Institut de Biochimie et de Génétique Cellulaires, UMR 5095 CNRS/Université de Bordeaux 2, Bordeaux Cedex 33077, France. sven.saupe@ibgc.u-bordeaux2.fr
authors.forename: Sven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Saupe
mesh_terms: D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D008958:Models, Molecular; D048468:Podospora; D011328:Prions / Q000235:genetics* / Q000266:history / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; C083891:HET-S protein, Podospora anserina; D011328:Prions