Université de Fribourg

The yeast cell wall protein Pry3 inhibits mating through highly conserved residues within the CAP domain

Cottier, Stéphanie ; Darwiche, Rabih ; Meyenhofer, Felix ; Debelyy, Mykhaylo O. ; Schneiter, Roger

In: Biology Open, 2020, vol. 9, no. 6, p. bio053470

Members of the CAP/SCP/TAPS superfamily have been implicated in many different physiological processes, including pathogen defense, sperm maturation and fertilization. The mode of action of this class of proteins, however, remains poorly understood. The genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes three CAP superfamily members, Pry1-3. We have previously shown that Pry1 function is required...

Université de Fribourg

Localization and functional characterization of the pathogenesis-related proteins Rbe1p and Rbt4p in Candida albicans

Bantel, Annick ; Darwiche, Rabih ; Rupp, Steffen ; Schneiter, Roger ; Sohn, Kai

In: PLOS ONE, 2018, vol. 13, no. 8, p. e0201932

Members of the Cysteine-rich secretory protein, Antigen 5 and Pathogenesis-related 1 (CAP) protein superfamily are important virulence factors in fungi but remain poorly characterized on molecular level. Here, we investigate the cellular localization and molecular function of Rbe1p and Rbt4p, two CAP family members from the human pathogen Candida albicans. We unexpectedly found that Rbe1p...

Université de Fribourg

The function of yeast CAP family proteins in lipid export, mating, and pathogen defense

Darwiche, Rabih ; Atab, Ola El ; Cottier, Stéphanie ; Schneiter, Roger

In: FEBS Letters, 2018, vol. 592, no. 8, p. 1304–1311

In their natural habitat, yeast cells are constantly challenged by changing environmental conditions and a fierce competition for limiting resources. To thrive under such conditions, cells need to adapt and divide quickly, and be able to neutralize the toxic compounds secreted by their neighbors. Proteins like the pathogen‐related yeast, Pry proteins, which belong to the large CAP/SCP/TAPS ...

Université de Fribourg

Crystal structure of Brugia malayi venom allergen-like protein-1 (BmVAL-1), a vaccine candidate for lymphatic filariasis

Darwiche, Rabih ; Lugo, Fernanda ; Drurey, Claire ; Varossieau, Koen ; Smant, Geert ; Wilbers, Ruud H. P. ; Maizels, Rick M. ; Schneiter, Roger ; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A.

In: International Journal for Parasitology, 2018, vol. 48, no. 5, p. 371–378

Brugia malayi is a causative agent of lymphatic filariasis, a major tropical disease. The infective L3 parasite stage releases immunomodulatory proteins including the venom allergen-like proteins (VALs), which are members of the SCP/TAPS (Sperm-coating protein/Tpx/antigen 5/pathogenesis related-1/Sc7) superfamily. BmVAL-1 is a major target of host immunity with >90% of infected B. malayi...

Université de Fribourg

Crystal Structure of Borrelia turicatae protein, BTA121, a differentially regulated gene in the tick-mammalian transmission cycle of relapsing fever spirochetes

Luo, Zhipu ; Kelleher, Alan J. ; Darwiche, Rabih ; Hudspeth, Elissa M. ; Shittu, Oluwatosin K. ; Krishnavajhala, Aparna ; Schneiter, Roger ; Lopez, Job E. ; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A.

In: Scientific Reports, 2017, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 15310

Tick-borne relapsing fever (RF) borreliosis is a neglected disease that is often misdiagnosed. RF species circulating in the United States include Borrelia turicatae, which is transmitted by argasid ticks. Environmental adaptation by RF Borrelia is poorly understood, however our previous studies indicated differential regulation of B. turicatae genes localized on the 150 kb linear...

Université de Fribourg

Plant pathogenesis-related proteins of the cacao fungal pathogen Moniliophthora perniciosa differ in their lipid-binding specificities

Darwiche, Rabih ; El Atab, Ola ; Baroni, Renata Moro ; Teixeira, Paulo J. P. L. ; Mondego, Jorge M. C. ; Pereira, Gonçalo A. G. ; Schneiter, Roger

In: Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2017, p. jbc.M117.811398

Moniliophthora perniciosa is the causative agent of witches' broom disease, which devastates cacao cultures in South America. This pathogenic fungus infects meristematic tissues and derives nutrients from the plant apoplast during an unusually long-lasting biotrophic stage. In order to survive, the fungus produces proteins to suppress the plant immune response. Proteins of the Pathogenesis...

Université de Fribourg

Crystal structure of MpPR-1i, a SCP/TAPS protein from Moniliophthora perniciosa , the fungus that causes witches’ broom disease of cacao

Baroni, Renata M. ; Luo, Zhipu ; Darwiche, Rabih ; Hudspeth, Elissa M. ; Schneiter, Roger ; Pereira, Gonçalo A. G. ; Mondego, Jorge M. C. ; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A.

In: Scientific Reports, 2017, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 7818

The pathogenic fungi Moniliophthora perniciosa causes Witches’ Broom Disease (WBD) of cacao. The structure of MpPR-1i, a protein expressed by M. perniciosa when it infects cacao, are presented. This is the first reported de novo structure determined by single-wavelength anomalous dispersion phasing upon soaking with selenourea. Each monomer has flexible loop regions linking the core...

Université de Fribourg

The pathogen-related yeast protein Pry1, a member of the CAP protein superfamily, is a fatty acid-binding protein

Darwiche, Rabih ; Mène-Saffrané, Laurent ; Gfeller, David ; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A. ; Schneiter, Roger

In: Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2017, p. -

Members of the CAP superfamily (cysteine-rich secretory proteins, antigen 5, and pathogenesis related 1 proteins), also known as SCP superfamily (sperm-coating proteins), have been implicated in many physiological processes, including immune defenses, venom toxicity, and sperm maturation. Their mode of action, however, remains poorly understood. Three proteins of the CAP superfamily, Pry1, 2, and...

Université de Fribourg

The sterol-binding activity of PATHOGENESIS-RELATED PROTEIN 1 reveals the mode of action of an antimicrobial protein

Gamir, Jordi ; Darwiche, Rabih ; Hof, Pieter van't ; Choudhary, Vineet ; Stumpe, Michael ; Schneiter, Roger ; Mauch, Felix

In: The Plant Journal, 2017, vol. 89, no. 3, p. 502–509

Pathogenesis-related proteins played a pioneering role 50 years ago in the discovery of plant innate immunity as a set of proteins that accumulated upon pathogen challenge. The most abundant of these proteins, PATHOGENESIS-RELATED 1 (PR-1) encodes a small antimicrobial protein that has become, as a marker of plant immune signaling, one of the most referred to plant proteins. The biochemical...

Université de Fribourg

Structural and functional characterization of the CAP domain of pathogen-related yeast 1 (Pry1) protein

Darwiche, Rabih ; Kelleher, Alan ; Hudspeth, Elissa M. ; Schneiter, Roger ; Asojo, Oluwatoyin A.

In: Scientific Reports, 2016, vol. 6, p. 28838

The production, crystal structure, and functional characterization of the C-terminal cysteine-rich secretory protein/antigen 5/pathogenesis related-1 (CAP) domain of pathogen-related yeast protein-1 (Pry1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is presented. The CAP domain of Pry1 (Pry1CAP) is functional in vivo as its expression restores cholesterol export to yeast mutants lacking endogenous Pry1 and...