Contributions of the Prion Protein Sequence, Strain, and Environment to the Species Barrier.

ABSTRACT: Amyloid propagation requires high levels of sequence specificity so that only molecules with very high sequence identity can form cross-β-sheet structures of sufficient stringency for incorporation into the amyloid fibril. This sequence specificity presents a barrier to the transmission of prions between two species with divergent sequences, termed a species barrier. Here we study the relative effects of protein sequence, seed conformation, and environment on the species barrier strength and specificity for the yeast prion protein Sup35p from three closely related species of the Saccharomyces sensu stricto group; namely, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces bayanus, and Saccharomyces paradoxus. Through in vivo plasmid shuffle experiments, we show that the major characteristics of the tr

SUBMITTER: Sharma A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4714215 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature