Frontiers in Molecular Life Sciences

Monday 3 February, 3 PM in the Lecture Theatre E306

Speaker: Professor Claudio De Virgilio

Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

The ins and outs of quiescence in yeast

All living cells are capable of exiting the normal cell cycle and entering an alternative resting state termed quiescence or G0. Despite the fact that most eukaryotic cells, whether they exist as single cells or as part of a multi-cellular organism, spend most of their life in a quiescent state, relatively little is known about the regulatory mechanisms that control entry into or exit from such a state. The available body of data, nevertheless, indicates that disruption of G0-entry/exit control mechanisms is often associated with either cellular transformation (in multi-cellular organisms), or dramatically reduced life span (particularly in unicellular organisms). Elucidation of the conserved mechanisms controlling entry into, survival in, and exit from G0 should therefore not only enhance our basic understanding of diseases such as cancer or premature aging,
but also provide a basis for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools to treat cancer and prolong life. To easily address basic aspects of quiescence experimentally, we have chosen the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system. Our current data show that the conserved protein kinase A (PKA) and target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) signaling pathways orchestrate both entry into and exit from G0.
 

Would you like to meet Claudio de Virgilio, contact Per Ljungdahl (per.ljungdahl@su.se)