| Group Members | Research Interests | Projects | Publications | Opportunities |

GROUP MEMBERS

Dr. JUAN CARLOS RIBAS ELCOROBARRUTIA. Investigador Cientifico (CSIC).
Dr. ANGEL DURÁN BRAVO. Investigador Cientifico (CSIC).

D. JAVIER MUÑOZ GARCÍA. Becario predoctoral (JCyL).
D. JOSE ANGEL CLEMENTE RAMOS. Becario predoctoral (FPI).
Dª MARIONA RAMOS VECINO. Becaria predoctoral (Programa I3P/CSIC).

Dra.BELEN MORENO SALAS. Titulada superior contratada (CSIC).

Cell Wall and Morphogenesis in Yeast Group 03 - 08


RESEARCH INTERESTS

The cell wall is a vital structure that confers mechanical strength and structural support to the fungal cell and it is absent in animal cells. The aim of this project is to characterize essential fungal proteins, which could be used in the search for new fungal cell growth inhibitors. Among them, those involved in the biosynthesis of the structural polymers of the fungal cell wall are especially interesting. We will continue our present studies of the Bgs proteins family, which are different catalytic subunit responsible for the (1-3)?-D-glucan synthesis, one of the main fungal cell wall polymers. This study will be performed using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe as a model. Any of these four Bgs proteins is essential for the cell and therefore, they should be good targets for the design of new antifungal drugs, as they synthesize an essential polysaccharide for the fungal cell integrity. We will study their specific functions and the mechanism of action of the three known antifungal families that specifically inhibit the (1-3)?-D-glucan synthesis, as well as the mechanisms promoted by the cell to generate individual or general resistance to all of them. By other hand, Bgs4p is essential for cell integrity maintenance and this feature has served to construct bgs4+ shut-off autolytic strains for heterologous proteins production. In this study, we will improve these autolytic strains by suppressing the contributions or the compensatory mechanisms that may promote the rest of Bgs proteins or the (1-3)?-D-glucan synthase Ags1p. As the cell wall biosynthesis is coupled to other cellular processes, we consider extremely important to analyze the processes in which the essential functions of each Bgs family member are involved. This will allow us to define the differential role of each one in morphogenetic processes as important as cytokinesis, polarity establishment and cell integrity maintenance. In summary, this project combines the study of basic features, such as the mechanisms that regulate cell morphogenesis, and applied aspects, which are likely biotechnologically interesting.

PROJECTS


Morfogénesis en levaduras: Biogénesis de la pared celular fúngica, su relación con el crecimiento celular y su utilización como diana en la busqueda de nuevos agentes antifúngicos. GR231. 2008-2010. Dr. A. Durán.

Las subunidades catalíticas de la actividad (1,3)B-D-glucan sintasa y el control de integridad, polaridad y citocinesis celular. Herramientas biotecnológicas y dianas para la búsqueda de antifúngicos. BIO2006-13566. 2006-2009. Dr. J. C. Ribas (incluido Dr. A. Durán).

Análisis funcional de la biosíntesis del (1,3)ß-D-glucano de la pared celular fúngica: un modelo morfogenético y una herramienta en la búsqueda de nuevos antifúngicos.BIO2003-01040. 2003-2006. Dr. J.C. Ribas.

Estudio de las subunidades catalíticas responsables de la síntesis del (1,3)ß-D-glucano de la pared celular fúngica. Dianas útiles para el diseño de nuevos antifúngicos. BIO2000-1448. 2000-2003. Dr. J.C. Ribas.


REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS


WICKNER, R.B., RIBAS, J.C. 2008. Totivirus, Totiviridae En The Springer Index of Viruses, 2nd Edition.Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. Alemania.

CORTES, J. C. G., KONOMI, M., MARTINS, I., MUÑOZ, J., MORENO, M. B., OSUMI, M., DURAN, A., RIBAS, J. C. 2007. (1,3)b-D-glucan synthase subunit Bgs1p is responsible for the fission yeast primary septum formation. Mol. Microbiol. 65:201-217. (portada de revista). Pubmed

LOPEZ, S. N., CASTELLI, M. V., DE CAMPOS, F., CORREA, R., CECHINEL FILHO, V., YUNES, R. A., ZAMORA, M, A., ENRIZ, R. D., RIBAS, J. C., FURLAN, R. L., ZACCHINO, S. A. 2005. In vitro antifungal properties structure-activity relationships and studies on the mode of action of N-phenyl, N-aryl, N-phenylalkyl maleimides and related compounds. Arzneimittelforschung 55:123-32. A. Pubmed

CORTES, J. C. G., CARNERO, E., ISHIGURO, J., SANCHEZ, Y., DURAN, A., RIBAS J. C. 2005. The novel (1,3)Beta-D-glucan synthase catalytic subunit bgs4p from fission yeast is essential during both cytokinesis and polarized growth. J. Cell Sci. 118:157-174. Pubmed

VINK, E., RODRIGUEZ-SUAREZ, R. J., GÉRARD-VINCENT, M., RIBAS, J. C., DE NOBEL, H., VAN DEN ENDE, H., DURAN, A., KLIS, F. M., BUSSEY, H. 2004. An in vitro assay for (1-6)Beta-D-glucan synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast   21: 1121-1131. Pubmed

CORTÉS, J. C. G., KATOH-FUKUI, R., MOTO, K., RIBAS, J.C., ISHIGURO, J. 2004. Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pmr1p is essential for cell wall integrity and is required for polarized cell growth and cytokinesis.  Eukaryot. Cell 3: 1124-1135. A. Pubmed

PEREZ, P., RIBAS, J.C. 2004. Cell wall analysis. Methods  33: 245-251. Pubmed

KAROLYHAZY, L., FREILE, M., ANWAIR, M. N., BEKE, G., GIANNINI, F., CASTELLI, M. V., SORTINO, M., RIBAS, J.C., ZACCHINO, S., MATYUS, P., EIRIZ, R. D.  2003. Synthesis, in vitro/in vivo antifungal evaluation and structure-activity relationship study of 3(2H)-pyridazinones. Arzneimittelforschung. 53: 738-743.

ZACCHINO, S.A., YUNES, R.A., CECHINEL FILHO, V., ENRIZ, R.D., KOUZNETSOV, V., RIBAS, J.C.  2003. “The need for new antifungal drugs. Screening for antifungal compounds with a selective mode of action with emphasis in the inhibitors of the fungal cell wall”. En: Plant Derived Antimycotics. pp.1-47. Rai, M. K. y Mares, D. (Eds.), The Haworth Press, Inc. Binghamton, NY. USA.

VARGAS, M. LY, CASTELLI, M. V., KOUZNETSOV, V. V., URBINA, G, JM, LOPEZ, S, N., SORTINO, M., EIRIZ, R, D., RIBAS, J. C., ZACCHINO, S. 2003. In vitro antifungal activity of new series of homoallylamines and related compounds with inhibitory properties of the synthesis of fungal cell wall polymers. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 11: 1531-1550.

CORTES, J. C.G., ISHIGURO, J., DURAN, A., RIBAS, J. C. 2002 Localization of the (1,3)Beta-D-glucan synthase catalytic subunit homologue Bgs1p/Cps1p from fission yeast suggests it is involved in septation, polarized growth, mating, spore wall formation and spore germination. J. Cell Sci. 115: 4081-4096.

CASTELLI, M., CORTÉS, J. C. G., ESCALANTE, A., BAH, M., PEREDA-MIRANDA, R., RIBAS, J.C. ZACCHINO, S. 2002. Inhibition of (1,3)-Beta-glucan synthase by glycolipids from convolvulaceous species. Planta Med. 68: 739-742.

WICKNER, R. B., RIBAS, J.C. y SEARFOSS, A. 2002. “The double-stranded RNA viruses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae” En dsRNA Genetic Elements: Concepts and Applications in Agriculture, Forestry and Medicine. pp  67-108. Tavantzis, S. M. (Ed.), CRC Press LLC. Boca Raton, FL. USA. 

RIBAS, J.C., WICKNER, R. B. 2002. “Genus Totivirus (Totiviridae)” En The Springer Index of Viruses pp 1-6. Tidona, C. A., Darai G. (Eds.), Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. Alemania.

LOPEZ, S.N., CASTELLI, M.V., ZACCHINO, S.A., DOMINGUEZ ,J.N., LOBO, G,, CHARRIS-CHARRIS, J., CORTES, J.C., RIBAS, J.C., DEVIA, C., RODRIGUEZ, A.M., ENRIZ, R.D. 2001. In vitro antifungal evaluation and structure-activity relationships of a new series of chalcone derivatives and synthetic analogues, with inhibitory properties against polymers of the fungal cell wall. Bioorg Med Chem. 9: 1999-2013.

IBEAS, J.I., YUN, D.J., DAMSZ, B., NARASIMHAN, M.L., UESONO, Y., RIBAS, J.C., LEE, H., HASEGAWA, P.M., BRESSAN, R.A., PARDO, J.M. 2001. Resistance to the plant PR-5 protein osmotin in the model fungus Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mediated by the regulatory effects of SSD1 on cell wall composition. Plant J. 25: 271-280.

ZACCHINO, S.A., YUNES, R.A., CECHINEL FILHO, V., ENRIZ, R.D., KOUZNETSOV, V., RIBAS, J.C. 2001. The need for new antifungal drugs. Screening for antifungal compounds with a selective mode of action with emphasis in the inhibitors of the fungal cell wall, in "Plant Derived Antimycotics". Ed. Rai, M.K. and Mares, D. The Haworth Press, Inc. Binghamton, NY. USA.


OPPORTUNITIES

If you are interested in any of our work and would like to join the group as a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow, then please write to Dr. JUAN CARLOS RIBAS ( ribas@usal.es ) or Dr. ANGEL DURÁN ( adb@usal.es ) and include a copy of your current C.V.