Phenotypic Switching

Phenotypic Switching: Implications in Biology and Medicine provides a comprehensive examination of phenotypic switching across biological systems, including underlying mechanisms, evolutionary significance, and its role in biomedical science. Contributions from international leaders discuss conceptual and theoretical aspects of phenotypic plasticity, its influence over biological development, differentiation, biodiversity, and potential applications in cancer therapy, regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy, among other treatments. Chapters discuss fundamental mechanisms of phenotypic switching, including transition states, cell fate decisions, epigenetic factors, stochasticity, protein-based inheritance, specific areas of human development and disease relevance, phenotypic plasticity in melanoma, prostate cancer, breast cancer, non-genetic heterogeneity in cancer, hepatitis C, and more. This book is essential for active researchers, basic and translational scientists, clinicians, postgraduates and students in genetics, human genomics, pathology, bioinformatics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology and adaptive opportunities in yeast. Thoroughly addresses the conceptual, experimental and translational aspects that underlie phenotypic plasticity Emphasizes quantitative approaches, nonlinear dynamics, mechanistic insights and key methodologies to advance phenotypic plasticity studies Features a diverse range of chapter contributions from international leaders in the field

Bacteria have been the dominant forms of life on Earth for the past 3.5 billion years. They rapidly evolve, constantly changing their genetic architecture through horizontal DNA transfer and other mechanisms. Consequently, it can be difficult to define individual species and determine how they are related. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology examines how bacteria and other microbes evolve, focusing on insights from genomics-based studies. Contributors discuss the origins of new microbial populations, the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that keep species separate once they have diverged, and the challenges of constructing phylogenetic trees that accurately reflect their relationships. They describe the organization of microbial genomes, the various mutations that occur, including the birth of new genes de novo and by duplication, and how natural selection acts on those changes. The role of horizontal gene transfer as a strong driver of microbial evolution is emphasized throughout. The authors also explore the geologic evidence for early microbial evolution and describe the use of microbial evolution experiments to examine phenomena like natural selection. This volume will thus be essential reading for all microbial ecologists, population geneticists, and evolutionary biologists.

Candida albicans is a major fungal pathogen of humans. It is a harmless commensal in healthy individuals, but it can cause serious infections in immune-compromised hosts. C. albicans undergoes a meta-stable and reversible switch between two distinct cell types known as white and opaque. The role of white-opaque switching in the biology of C. albicans was originally not well understood. We discovered an unexpected relationship between white-opaque switching and the sexual cycle of C. albicans . The mating type locus of C. albicans (MTL) encodes transcriptional regulatory proteins that regulate mating. We demonstrated that two MTL -encoded homeodomain proteins, a 1 and alpha2, work together to repress white-opaque switching in C. albicans . The observations that the MTL locus controlled both mating and white-opaque switching led us to hypothesize that opaque cells played a role in mating. Indeed, we found that opaque cells mate one million times more efficiently than do white cells. Additionally, opaque cells, but not white cells, developed specialized mating projections when exposed to mating pheromone. Thus, opaque cells are a specialized mating form of C. albicans . As white cells are generally more robust in a mammalian host than opaque cells, this strategy allows the organism to survive the rigors of life within a mammalian host, while generating a small population of mating-competent cells. The mechanism that controls white-opaque switching is not well understood. To better understand the mechanism, we investigated the regulation of white-opaque switching by a 1-alpha2. We demonstrated that a 1-alpha2 regulates white-opaque switching by destabilizing opaque cells, and we monitored gene expression during the transition from opaque to white using DNA microarrays. We used a candidate approach to identify additional regulators of white-opaque switching among genes enriched for their expression in the opaque phase. We identified two potent positive regulators of white-opaque switching: the opaque-specific transcriptional regulatory proteins Czf1 and Naf1. We also further investigated the role of Efg1, a previously identified regulator of white-opaque switching, and found that efg1/efg1 mutants were unable to bypass a 1-alpha2 repression of switching. Finally, we determined the epistatic and regulatory relationships between Efg1, Czf1 and Naf1.

The process of Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT) is known to result in a phenotype change in cells from a proliferative state to a more invasive state. EMT has been reported to drive the metastatic spread of various cancers and has also been associated with drug resistance to cytotoxics and targeted therapeutics. Recently phenotype switching akin to EMT has been reported in non-epithelial cancers such as metastatic melanoma. This process involves changes in EMT-Transcription Factors (EMT-TFs), suggesting that phenotype-switching may be common to several tumour types. It remains unclear as to whether the presence of both Epilthelial-like and Mesenchymal-like cells are a pre-requisite for phenotype switching within a tumour, how this heterogeneity is regulated, and if alteration of cell phenotype is sufficient to mediate migratory changes, or whether drivers of cell migration result in an associated phenotype switch in cancer cells. Similarly it has yet to be clarified if cells in an altered phenotype can be refractory to drug therapy or whether mediators of drug resistance induce a concurrent phenotypic change. Little is known today about the underlying genetic, epigenetic and transient changes that accompany this phenotypic switch and about the role for the tumor micro-environment in influencing it. Hence this is currently an area of speculation and keen interest in the Oncology field with wide-ranging translational implications. In this Frontiers Research Topic, we discuss our current understanding of these concepts in various cancer types including breast cancer, colorectal cancer and metastatic melanoma. This topic covers how these processes of cellular and phenotypic plasticity are regulated and how they relate to cancer initiation, progression, dormancy, metastases and response to cytotoxics or targeted therapies.

This text gives an overview of the fundamental aspects of molecular fungal development in one comprehensive volume, highlighting different elements in the maturational and reproductive cycles of selected fungal taxa.

This book is about the growth and differentiation processes underlying the growth and differentia of filamentous fungi. The impetus for this work tion of fungi and that it provides the reader with stems from our perception that the coverage of adequate source references for further information. this highly diverse and important group of organ It is estimated conservatively that there are more isms has been neglected in recent years, despite than 1. 5 million species of fungi - more than five many significant advances in our understanding of times the number of vascular plants and second the underlying mechanisms of growth. This situ only in diversity to the insects. The extreme ation contrasts with the treatment of Saccharomyces diversity of form in the fungi has always been a cerevisiae, for example, which because of its ideal source of inspiration for mycologists. This book is properties for genetic analyses, has established concerned mainly with those systems that have itself as the model eukaryote for the analysis of the been well characterized from the biochemical, cell cycle, and basic studies of biochemical and physiological or genetic points of view. Although genetic regulation. This book does not deal with it has not been possible to illustrate the breadth of the detailed growth phYSiology of S.

Handbook of Epigenetics: The New Molecular and Medical Genetics, Third Edition provides a comprehensive analysis of epigenetics, from basic biology to clinical application. This new edition has been fully revised to cover the latest and evolving topics in epigenetics, with chapters updated and new chapters added on topics such as single-cell epigenetics, DNA methylation clocks in age-related diseases, transposable elements and epigenetics, X chromosome inactivation, and the epigenetics of drug addiction, among other topics. Throughout this edition, greater emphasis falls on epigenomic analyses and incorporating multi-omics approaches rather than gene-specific analyses. In addition, this edition has also been enhanced with step-by-step instructions in research methods, as well as easy-to-digest disease case studies and clinical trials that provide context and applied examples of recent advances in disease understanding and epigenetic therapeutics. These features empower researchers to reproduce the approaches and studies discussed and aid clinical translation. Live links across chapters tie in relevant external datasets and resources. Provides a timely and comprehensive collection of fully up-to-date coverage of epigenetics Covers basic epigenetic biology, research methods and technology, disease relationships and clinical medicine Written at a verbal and technical level that can be understood by scientists and students alike, with chapter summaries and conclusions included throughout Discusses exciting new topics in epigenetics, such as DNA methylation clocks in age-related diseases, transposable elements and epigenetics, X chromosome inactivation, and the epigenetics of drug addiction Includes step-by-step instructions in research protocols to aid reproducibility, as well as easy-to-digest disease case studies and clinical trials, providing context and applied examples of recent clinical translation