Protein homeostasis, or proteostasis, is essential for preserving all cellular functions and involves a balance of protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation. A collapse in proteostasis is a common feature of many neurodegenerative disorders that are characterized by the accumulation of insoluble protein aggregates in the brain. Parkinson’s disease (PD)...
Prions are self-perpetuating, alternative protein conformations associated with neurological diseases and normal cellular functions. Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains many endogenous prions – providing a powerful system to study prionization. Previously, the Li Lab demonstrated that Swi1, a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, can form the prion [SWI+]. A small region,...
Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains several epigenetic elements known as yeast prions. Our laboratory discovered the yeast prion [SWI+], whose protein determinant is Swi1, a subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex. Formation of [SWI+] results in abolishment of multicellular features and a partial loss-of-function phenotype of non-glucose carbon source usage. Our laboratory...
