Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae
08:12

High-throughput Screening for Protein-based Inheritance in S. cerevisiae

Published on: August 8, 2017

Prions in yeast

Susan W Liebman1, Yury O Chernoff

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA. suel@uic.edu

Genetics
|August 11, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Yeast prions, infectious proteins, demonstrate heritable traits and are typically amyloid aggregates. Recent discoveries highlight yeast

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Prions, infectious self-propagating protein isoforms, were first proposed to explain mammalian diseases.
  • The "protein only" model of prion transmission was initially validated using yeast prions.
  • Known prions typically form ordered cross-β aggregates, known as amyloids.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the significant advancements in understanding yeast prions.
  • To summarize the current knowledge on prion propagation, structure, formation, transmission, and biological roles in yeast.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing scientific literature on yeast prions.
  • Synthesis of findings related to prion biology in yeast.

Main Results:

  • A recent surge in the identification of new yeast prions.
  • Yeast serves as a leading model for studying prion propagation control, structure, de novo formation, transmission specificity, and biological functions.

Conclusions:

  • Yeast prions are crucial for understanding the fundamental mechanisms of protein-based inheritance.
  • Ongoing research in yeast continues to expand our knowledge of prion biology and its implications.

More Related Videos

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P5314:57

Yeast As a Chassis for Developing Functional Assays to Study Human P53

Published on: August 4, 2019

Budding Yeast Protein Extraction and Purification for the Study of Function, Interactions, and Post-translational Modifications09:22

Budding Yeast Protein Extraction and Purification for the Study of Function, Interactions, and Post-translational Modifications

Published on: October 30, 2013

Related Concept Videos

Yeast Signaling01:28

Yeast Signaling

Yeasts are single-celled organisms, but unlike bacteria, they are eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus). Cell signaling in yeast is similar to signaling in other eukaryotic cells. A ligand, such as a protein or a small molecule released from a yeast cell, attaches to a receptor on the cell surface. The binding stimulates second-messenger kinases to activate or inactivate transcription factors that further regulate gene expression. Many of the yeast intracellular signaling cascades have similar...
Prokaryotic cells01:51

Prokaryotic cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains—Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common organisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.
Prokaryotic Cells01:51

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains—Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common organisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.
Prokaryotic Cells01:28

Prokaryotic Cells

Prokaryotes are small unicellular organisms that include the domains — Archaea and Bacteria. Bacteria include many common microorganisms, such as Salmonella and E. coli, while the Archaea include extremophiles that live in harsh environments, such as volcanic springs.
Like eukaryotic cells, all prokaryotic cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane, have genetic material in the form of single, circular DNA, a cytoplasm that fills the interior of the cell, and ribosomes that synthesize proteins.
Translation in Prokaryotes01:29

Translation in Prokaryotes

Prokaryote translation is a complex, highly coordinated process that converts genetic information from mRNA into functional proteins. It involves three stages: initiation, elongation, and termination, each facilitated by specific molecular components.Initiation of TranslationThe process begins with the assembly of the ribosomal subunits and initiation factors on the mRNA. In bacteria, the 30S ribosomal subunit recognizes the Shine-Dalgarno sequence in the mRNA, a conserved region upstream of...
Replication in Prokaryotes02:35

Replication in Prokaryotes

Overview