Cyclic AMP, a possible regulator of glycolysis in the ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita muscaria

Molecular Context of ADP-ribosylation in Schistosomes for Drug Discovery and Vaccine Development

Schistosome infection is regarded as one of the most important and neglected tropical diseases associated with poor sanitation. Like other living organisms, schistosomes employ multiple biological processes, of which some are regulated by a post-translational modification called Adenosine Diphosphate-ribosylation (ADP-ribosylation), catalyzed by ADP-ribosyltransferases. ADP-ribosylation is the addition of ADP-ribose moieties from Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) to various targets, which include proteins and nucleotides. It is crucial in biological processes such as DNA repair, apoptosis, carbohydrate metabolism and catabolism. In the absence of a vaccine against schistosomiasis, this becomes a promising pathway in the identification of drug targets against various forms of this infection. The tegument of the worm is an encouraging immunogenic target for anti-schistosomal vaccine development. Vaccinology, molecular modeling and target-based drug discovery strategies have been used for years in drug discovery and for vaccine development. In this paper, we outline ADP-ribosylation and other different approaches to drug discovery and vaccine development against schistosomiasis.

A high concentration of glucose inhibits Tuber borchii mycelium growth: a biochemical investigation

Tuber borchii mycelium (strain 1BO) is able to utilise glucose, fructose or mannitol in the culture medium as a carbohydrate source. Since sugars not only function as a metabolic resource and structural constituent of cells, but also act as important regulators of various processes, we investigated if high sugar concentrations could influence fungal growth and development. The studies performed in this paper revealed that fructose or mannitol used at high concentration (50 g l-1) in the culture medium do not influence the growth and the biochemical responses of fungus but the growth of T. borchii mycelium is subject to glucose repression. In experiments with a high glucose concentration (50 g l-1) and with 2-deoxyglucose, a non-metabolisable glucose analogue, the growth of T. borchii was halved with respect to the control (10 g l-1 of glucose). The morphological and biochemical analyses revealed that the hyphae were metabolically and functionally active, but the activity of mannitol dehydrogenase was reduced to one-third in the high glucose treatment. This is the first evidence of glucose repression of growth and activity in the ascomycetous ectomycorrhizal fungus T. borchii.