PHYGE team

We have long been interested in the composition, architecture and function of the yeast cell wall, focusing on its physiological and technological properties.

One aspect of our studies has been to establish analytical and biophysical methods for investigating the biochemical and mechanical properties mechanically of the yeast cell wall, which includes notably the atomic force microscopy. This technology enables to image the yeast in 3D, to study the plasticity of its wall and to map the distribution of polysaccharides on the yeast surface. We investigate the importance of the genetic background of yeast strains on the composition and architecture of the yeast cell wall as well as on the impact of the industrial production processes on the technological properties of the yeast cell wall by an integrative approach.

The other aspect focuses on a particular protein, the Knr4/Smi1 protein, known to be a hub of the S. cerevisiae interactome interacting with a large number of protein partners. Knr4 is a protein containing large intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs). We have shown that it is located at the crossroads of the main parietal stress signaling pathways: the cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway and the calcineurin (CN) pathway involved in the stress response and cell wall remodeling. Using a multidisciplinary approach (genetics, molecular biology, biophysics, structural biology) we have also obtained a structural view of this protein and our objective is currently to decipher the interaction with its key partners in order to define molecular targets for potential inhibitors that would represent leads towards future antifungal agents.