Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
Yeast Prions: Their Assembly into
Protein Fibrils and the Role of Assembly
Modulators
Luc Bousset and Ronald Melki
Laboratoire d'Enzymologie et Biochimie Structurales,
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Bâtiment 34, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse,
91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
melki@lebs.cnrs-gif.fr
Prions are proteins that propagate phenotypic traits through self-
perpetuating folding events. The nature of the conformational
change that conveys the functional constitutive form of a prion
protein to a form with persistent altered function and the ability to
convert constitutive prion molecules into modified prions is poorly
understood. We present here what is known about the assembly into
protein fibrils of four yeast prions in test tubes. We also describe
how molecular chaperones modulate the assembly of yeast prions
in vitro
and through their assembly, promoting and sequestering
activities, tune the propagation of prions phenotypic traits from
mother to daughter cells. Finally the notion of prion “infectivity” is
discussed in a cellular context and from a structural perspective.
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