New micro-protein helps yeast cells cope with nutrient scarcity
Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Montreal (Canada) have discovered that a micro-protein, which they named Nrs1, supports cell division and proliferation when nutrients are scarce. This result, published in PLOS Biology yesterday, sheds a new light on how evolution subtly reshapes the genomes of unicellular microorganisms, providing them with plasticity to adjust their growth and proliferation to ever-changing environments. At the turn of the millennium, scientists became able to experimentally determine the DNA sequence of entire genomes. They