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Updated: Aug 22, 2026

High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae
Published on: August 8, 2017
Prion genetics: new rules for a new kind of gene
Reed B Wickner1, Herman K Edskes, Eric D Ross
1Laboraory of Biochemistry and Genetics, National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-0830, USA. wickner@helix.nih.gov
Abstract:
Just as nucleic acids can carry out enzymatic reactions, proteins can be genes. These heritable infectious proteins (prions) follow unique genetic rules that enable their identification: reversible curing, inducible "spontaneous generation," and phenotype surprises. Most prions are based on self-propagating amyloids, depend heavily on chaperones, show strain phenomena and, like other infectious elements, show species barriers to transmission. A recently identified prion is based on obligatory self-activation of an enzyme in trans. Although prions can be detrimental, they may also be beneficial to their hosts.
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