title: Are prions part of the dark matter of the cell?
abstract: The [PSI+] determinant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the prion protein corresponding to the eRF3 translation termination factor. Numerous infectious proteins have been described in yeast, in comparison of the unique PrP protein in higher eukaryotes. The presence of the PrP prion is associated with mammalian diseases. Whether fungal prions are beneficial or deleterious are still under discussions. The review focuses on [PSI+]-induced phenotypes and the resulting physiological consequences to shed light on the cellular changes occurring in a [PSI+] cell and its possible role in nature. To date, only two genes directly regulated at the translational level by [PSI+] have been identified. Yet, through all the published works, obtaining a consensus for the described [PSI+] phenotypes appeared a tricky task. They are highly dependent on the prion variant and the genetic background of the strain. The [PSI+] prion might generate diverse modifications not only at the translational, but also at the transcriptional levels, and the phenotypic heterogeneity is the result of these complex combinations of the genotypic expression.
authors: Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, University Paris-Sud, CNRS, Orsay, France.
authors: Agnès
authors: A
authors: Baudin-Baillieu
authors: Céline
authors: C
authors: Fabret
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Namy
mesh_terms: D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis
chemical_list: D000682:Amyloid; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors; D011328:Prions; C087971:peptide-chain-release factor 3