PRION-BASED MANIPULATION OF YEAST FERMENTATION AND GROWTH

摘要

In some aspects, the invention provides methods of modulating yeast fermentation or growth by modulating the [GAR+] prion. In some embodiments, [GAR+] is induced by contacting yeast cells with a bacterium that produces a small molecule inducer of [GAR+] or by contacting yeast cells with the small molecule or conditioned medium comprising the small molecule or a fraction of such medium that comprises the small molecule. In some aspects, the invention provides methods of identifying a modulator of a prion of interest. In some embodiments a methods of identifying a modulator of a prion comprises (a) providing a bacterially conditioned medium; (b) contacting at least one fraction of the bacterially conditioned medium with a non-bacterial cell; and (c) monitoring the cell for alteration of a phenotype assocatied with a prion of interest. In some embodiments the non-bacterial cell is a yeast cell. In some embodiments the prion is [GAR+].