NEWS 2008
Events
On june 11th (2008) the contract for the construction
of a new building for the Instituto de Microbiología
Bioquímica (IMB) was granted to the firm Collosa S.A.
The beguinning of the construction was signed and approved
on august 12th . It is planned that the building will be finished
within a 24 months period.
2008-2009 extension of the "Quality mention" granted
by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the "Molecular
Microbiology and Genetics" Ph. D. Program in which the
IMB participates.
Award of a “Research group of excellence” grant
from the Regional Government (“Junta de Castilla y León”)
to the “Cell wall and morphogenesis in yeast”
group (IMB Research Unit I) (2008-2010 period).
Appointment of Dr. Pilar Pérez as Research Professor
of CSIC at the IMB. Incorporation
of Dr. Cristina Castellanos as Research Associate and Isabel
Acosta as Staff Technician of the CSIC
at the IMB. Leave of absence of Mrs. B. Anta for child caring.
Allocation of two Research Associate staff positions to the
IMB as a part of the 2008 Public Employment Offer granted
to the CSIC.
Scientific highlights
1) The production of riboflavin in the fungus Ashbya gossypii
is highly influenced by the activity of the phosphorybosil
pyrophosphate (PRPP) synthetase, which catalyzes the biosynthesis
of PRPP from ATP and ribose-5-phosphate. The overexpression
of mutant alleles of two PRPP synthetase-encoding genes (AGR371C
and AGL080C) in A. gossypii significantly enhanced the production
of riboflavin in the engineered strains. Moreover, the intracellular
pool of PRPP also affects the growth pattern of the fungus.
Dr. J. L. Revuelta (BMC
Biotechnology) (featured
article).
2) Candida albicans is able to grow as yeast or hyphae. Hyphal
growth is characterized by inhibition of cell separation,
but the molecular basis of this inhibition is poorly known.
Septins are important for hypha formation and virulence. In
this work, we found that septin rings have different dynamics
during yeast and hyphal growth. Upon hyphal induction, rings
are converted to a hypha-specific state, which is necessary
to inhibit cell separation of the hyphal compartments. The
modification of septin dynamics during hyphal growth is dependent
on the Sep7 septin (Mol.
Biol. Cell).
3) Pxl1p from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe,
homolog to the paxillin protein from animal cells, interacts
and negatively regulates the Rho1 GTPase, is part of the actomyosing
ring essential during the process of citokynesis and participates
in the formation and the contraction of this structure (Dra.
P. Pérez) (Mol.
Biol. Cell) (considered
as a relevant paper in the corresponding issue).
4) In contrast
to the currently accepted scenario stating that each genomic
fragment replicates only once per cell cycle, our work demonstrates
that DNA replication origin activation during S phase generates
several copies of short DNA molecules. These overabundant
DNA fragments behave as genuine replication intermediates
and derive from the nucleosome free-region that surrounds
the transcription start sites of active promoters. This finding
may provide a new framework to study replication origin regulation
in mammalian cells (Gómez and Antequera) (Genes Dev).
NEWS 2007
Events
Announcement on February 26th, 2007, to invite tenders for the
project of a new building for the IMB. Awarding of the winning
project on May
23rd, 2007. Approval of the technical development of the project
on October 2007.
Allocation of one position of staff Research Associate and one position
of staff Technician to the IMB as a part of the 2007 Public Employment Offer granted to the CSIC.
Organization of the "X Meeting of the Spanish
Net: Lignin and Hemicellulose biodegradation”
2007-2008 extension of the "Quality mention" granted
by the Spanish Dept. of Education and Science to the "Molecular
Microbiology and Genetics" Ph. D. Program in which the
IMB participates.
Appointment of Dr. P. Pérez as
a member of the European Science Foundation LESC committee
on behalf of the Spanish Department of Education and Science
and the CSIC, for the 2007-2010 period.
Appointment as “Research group of excellence”
from the Regional Government (“Junta de Castilla y León) to
the “Cell wall and morphogenesis in yeast” IMB group (GR231)
and to the GR147 group presented respectively by Dr. A. Durán
and Prof. J. L. Revuelta.
Promotion of Dr. C. R. Vazquez de
Aldana to the position of Associate Scientist and both Mrs
E. Estevez and Mr. F. Soriano to the position of Staff Technician.
Leave of absence of Mrs. B. Anta for child caring.
Scientific
highlights
1) Cdc42 is an essential protein for polar growth in eukaryotic
cells. Using the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces
pombe as a model, it has been shown that Hob3p,
homolog to BIN3 from human cells, is required to recruit and
activate Cdc42p in the cell division zone. Such a function,
important in citokynesis, is probable conserved among Eukaryots.
(Dra. P. Pérez) (EMBO J.).
2) L33, a 60S subunit specific ribosomal
protein in Eukaryots is required for the processing of pre-rRNAs,
the biogenesis of the two ribosomal subunits and the translational
regulation of GCN4 in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
In addition, L33 is essential for 60S and 40S interaction
during translation, probably throughout the tRNAs (Dra. M.
Tamame) (Mol. Cell. Biol.)
3) Bgs1p one of the four essential catalytic
subunits involved in the biosynthesis of the cell wall (1,3)ß-D-glucan
component in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces
pombe is required to the biosynthesis of the linear
(1,3)ß-D-glucan that forms the primary septum. In the absence
of Bgs1p abnormal septa are made, the cells do not separate
and eventually die. (Dr. J. C. Ribas) (Mol.
Microbiol.; issue cover).
NEWS 2006
Events
Agreement between CSIC and USAL to promote the construction of a new
building for the IMB. This project has been possible thanks to the approval in the General
National Budget for 2006 of 9.1 million euros, to be received
by the CSIC through the Ministry
of Education and Science. The other key factor has been the
donation of a plot, next to the Miguel de Unamuno Campus,
by City Council of Salamanca to the University.
2006-2007
extension of the "Quality mention" granted by the
Spanish Dept. of Education and Science to the "Molecular
Microbiology and Genetics" Ph. D. Program in which the
IMB participates.
Incorporation of Dr. O. Calvo
as a postdoctoral of the “Ramón y Cajal” program. Sabbatical
stay of Prof. D. Zurek from the Pittsburg State University,
Kansas, USA in the laboratory of Prof. J. M. Fernández-Abalos.
Early retirement of Prof. M. Sánchez.
Appointment of Prof. Dr. A. Dominguez as USAL Vice-rector
of Technologies of Information and Communication. Appointment
of Dr. A. Jimenez as Assistant Professor.
Scientific
highlights
Participation of Dr. F. Antequera
group in the characterization of the oncogenic activity of
Cdc6 throughout the repression of INK4/ARF locus (Nature).
Paper by Prof. C. Roncero group (Eukaryot. Cell) included in the “Journal Highlights” section of the “ASM News” Journal.
Description of Rgf1p as a new specific positive regulator
of the GTPase Rho1p from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces
pombe by the group of Prof. Y.Sánchez (Mol. Biol. Cell).
Appointment of Prof. A. Domínguez as member of the editorial
board of “FEMS Yeast Research” journal and of Prof. J. L.
Revuelta as “senior editor” of the “Journal of Industrial
Microbiology and Biotechnology”.
NEWS 2005
Events
2005-2006 extension of the "Quality mention" granted
by the Spanish Dept. of Education and Science to the "Molecular
Microbiology and Genetics" Ph. D. Program in which the
IMB participates.
Promotion of Dr .F. Antequera to the position of Research
Professor, Dr. R. Esteban to Research Scientist and Dr. C.
Castro to “ High level Technician”.
Incorporation of Dr. P. San Segundo as IMB staff Research
Associate and Dr. B. Anta as IMB staff “Medium level
Technician”.
Incorporation of three temporal “Low Level Technician”
for the 2005-2007 two years period under the “CSIC I3P
program” co-sponsored by the European Social Fund (ESF)
from the CE.
Scientific highlights
Paper by “Cabib, E., Duran, A.” (J.
Biol. Chem.) selected as “paper of the week”.
Paper by “Vicentefranqueira, R., Moreno, M.A., Leal,
F., Calera J.A.” (Eukaryot.
Cell) included in the “Journal Highlights”
section of the “ASM News” Journal.
Generation of a new animal model in which p53 tumour suppressor
gene has been substituted by a variant that can be activated
or inactivated in a reversible way. This is the first mouse
model genetically modified in which the function of a gene
can be manipulate in a fast, specific and reversible way.
This mouse model will allow to answer question not able to
be answered by p53 KO classical mouse models (Nature
Genet.).
“Research group of excellence” grant, from the
Regional Government (“Junta de Castilla y León)
to the “Cell wall and morphogenesis in yeast”
IMB group (2005-2006 period).
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