Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 27, 2026

High-throughput Yeast Plasmid Overexpression Screen
Published on: July 27, 2011
Yeast cells provide insight into alpha-synuclein biology and pathobiology
Tiago Fleming Outeiro1, Susan Lindquist
1Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Abstract:
Alpha-synuclein is implicated in several neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, yet its functions remain obscure. When expressed in yeast, alpha-synuclein associated with the plasma membrane in a highly selective manner, before forming cytoplasmic inclusions through a concentration-dependent, nucleated process. Alpha-synuclein inhibited phospholipase D, induced lipid droplet accumulation, and affected vesicle trafficking. This readily manipulable system provides an opportunity to dissect the molecular pathways underlying normal alpha-synuclein biology and the pathogenic consequences of its misfolding.
Related Concept Videos
Yeast Signaling
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Lysosomal Hydrolases
Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology

