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Apoptosis in Yeasts
Author(s) -
Weinberger Martin,
Ramachandran Lakshmi,
Burhans William
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
iubmb life
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.132
H-Index - 113
eISSN - 1521-6551
pISSN - 1521-6543
DOI - 10.1080/15216540310001612336
Subject(s) - apoptosis , dna damage , biology , yeast , cell cycle , microbiology and biotechnology , argument (complex analysis) , dna , caspase , programmed cell death , computational biology , cell cycle checkpoint , genetics , biochemistry
Although yeasts lack some elements of the complex apoptotic machinery of metazoan cells, recent studies show that many features of apoptosis, including a caspase‐like activity, can be induced in these organisms by DNA damage and other apoptotic triggers. These remarkable findings provide a compelling argument for increased efforts to bring the powerful genetic approaches available to yeast researchers more directly to bear on questions related to apoptosis and its induction or inhibition by drugs. Yeasts may provide a particularly useful model for understanding connections between DNA damage, cell cycle regulation and apoptosis. Here we summarize these recent findings and explore their implications, particularly for the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for treating cancer. IUBMB Life, 55: 467‐472, 2003