08

Cells integrate multiple external and internal signals, but the underlying cross-talk mechanisms remain unclear. A recent “JCB” paper by the Peter group (IBC) now shows that physical stress activates Pkc1, which in turn inhibits pheromone signaling to prevent cell lysis during yeast mating.

Understanding the logic of biomolecular networks requires quantification of different molecule and reaction types. A recent "Nature Methods" paper led by Yaroslav Nikolaev (Allain lab) demonstrates the potential of NMR spectroscopy to obtain such multiplexed and dynamic information using single-sample observations.

Cytochrome oxidase, an essential enzyme for cellular respiration, carries a di-copper cofactor Cu_A that undergoes reversible redox switching during oxygen reduction. The hitherto unknown mechanism of Cu_A assembly is now reported in a "Science Advances" paper by Canonica et al. (Glockshuber group plus ETH collaborators).