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Toxins
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Yeast Killer Toxin
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Yeast Killer Toxin

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Mycotoxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 8487

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alessia Cappelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, via Gentile III da Varano, 62032 Camerino (MC), Italy
Interests: symbiosis; yeast; killer toxin; vector biology and control; vector-borne diseases

Special Issue Information

Yeasts can exhibit a killer phenotype by producing and secreting proteins with a lethal effect on sensitive strains, called killer toxins. To date, about 100 killer yeast species from diverse phylogenetic origins have been described, and several killer toxins have been investigated for their antimicrobial power, in particular against pathogenic microorganisms. Killer toxins show a broad spectrum of activity against bacteria, yeast, and protozoa. The action mechanism of the killer toxins is based on interference with the vital cellular processes, such as cell wall and membrane integrity, DNA replication, or mRNA translation.

Over the last decades, killer toxins and killer yeasts have been well characterized and have found interesting and advantageous applications in the food and feed industries, as well as in the biological control of plant pathogens and as insect vectors of human diseases. Killer yeasts can combat contaminating microorganisms in the production of wine, beer, and bread, or act as bio-control agents in the preservation of foods. Moreover, killer toxins and their derived-peptides are involved in the development of novel drugs for the treatment of human and plant–fungal infections.

Advanced studies on the deep characterization of killer toxins and biotechnology applications of killer yeasts and killer toxins will be the focus of the Special Issue titled Yeast Killer Toxin.

Dr. Alessia Cappelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • yeasts
  • killer toxins
  • biological control
  • biotechnology applications
  • antimicrobial activity

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1767 KiB  
Article
Formulation and Safety Tests of a Wickerhamomyces anomalus–Based Product: Potential Use of Killer Toxins of a Mosquito Symbiotic Yeast to Limit Malaria Transmission
by Alessia Cappelli, Consuelo Amantini, Federica Maggi, Guido Favia and Irene Ricci
Toxins 2021, 13(10), 676; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13100676 - 23 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2367
Abstract
Wickerhamomyces anomalus strain WaF17.12 is a yeast with an antiplasmodial property based on the production of a killer toxin. For its symbiotic association with Anopheles mosquitoes, it has been proposed for the control of malaria. In an applied view, we evaluated the [...] Read more.
Wickerhamomyces anomalus strain WaF17.12 is a yeast with an antiplasmodial property based on the production of a killer toxin. For its symbiotic association with Anopheles mosquitoes, it has been proposed for the control of malaria. In an applied view, we evaluated the yeast formulation by freeze-drying WaF17.12. The study was carried out by comparing yeast preparations stored at room temperature for different periods, demonstrating that lyophilization is a useful method to obtain a stable product in terms of cell growth reactivation and maintenance of the killer toxin antimicrobial activity. Moreover, cytotoxic assays on human cells were performed, showing no effects on the cell viability and the proinflammatory response. The post-formulation effectiveness of the killer toxin and the safety tests indicate that WaF17.12 is a promising bioreagent able to impair the malaria parasite in vector mosquitoes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Yeast Killer Toxin)
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20 pages, 13971 KiB  
Article
New Cytoplasmic Virus-Like Elements (VLEs) in the Yeast Debaryomyces hansenii
by Xymena Połomska, Cécile Neuvéglise, Joanna Zyzak, Barbara Żarowska, Serge Casaregola and Zbigniew Lazar
Toxins 2021, 13(9), 615; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13090615 - 01 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2799
Abstract
Yeasts can have additional genetic information in the form of cytoplasmic linear dsDNA molecules called virus-like elements (VLEs). Some of them encode killer toxins. The aim of this work was to investigate the prevalence of such elements in D. hansenii killer yeast deposited [...] Read more.
Yeasts can have additional genetic information in the form of cytoplasmic linear dsDNA molecules called virus-like elements (VLEs). Some of them encode killer toxins. The aim of this work was to investigate the prevalence of such elements in D. hansenii killer yeast deposited in culture collections as well as in strains freshly isolated from blue cheeses. Possible benefits to the host from harboring such VLEs were analyzed. VLEs occurred frequently among fresh D. hansenii isolates (15/60 strains), as opposed to strains obtained from culture collections (0/75 strains). Eight new different systems were identified: four composed of two elements and four of three elements. Full sequences of three new VLE systems obtained by NGS revealed extremely high conservation among the largest molecules in these systems except for one ORF, probably encoding a protein resembling immunity determinant to killer toxins of VLE origin in other yeast species. ORFs that could be potentially involved in killer activity due to similarity to genes encoding proteins with domains of chitin-binding/digesting and deoxyribonuclease NucA/NucB activity, could be distinguished in smaller molecules. However, the discovered VLEs were not involved in the biocontrol of Yarrowia lipolytica and Penicillium roqueforti present in blue cheeses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Yeast Killer Toxin)
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Review

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11 pages, 628 KiB  
Review
Wickerhamomyces Yeast Killer Toxins’ Medical Applications
by Laura Giovati, Tecla Ciociola, Tiziano De Simone, Stefania Conti and Walter Magliani
Toxins 2021, 13(9), 655; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxins13090655 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2630
Abstract
Possible implications and applications of the yeast killer phenomenon in the fight against infectious diseases are reviewed, with particular reference to some wide-spectrum killer toxins (KTs) produced by Wickerhamomyces anomalus and other related species. A perspective on the applications of these KTs in [...] Read more.
Possible implications and applications of the yeast killer phenomenon in the fight against infectious diseases are reviewed, with particular reference to some wide-spectrum killer toxins (KTs) produced by Wickerhamomyces anomalus and other related species. A perspective on the applications of these KTs in the medical field is provided considering (1) a direct use of killer strains, in particular in the symbiotic control of arthropod-borne diseases; (2) a direct use of KTs as experimental therapeutic agents; (3) the production, through the idiotypic network, of immunological derivatives of KTs and their use as potential anti-infective therapeutics. Studies on immunological derivatives of KTs in the context of vaccine development are also described. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Yeast Killer Toxin)
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