Telomere-localized SUN and KASH proteins induce formation of a microtubule-based “telocentrosome” that fosters microtubule motor-dependent telomere clustering.

During mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) inhibits the Cdc20-activated anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/CCdc20), which promotes protein degradation, and delays anaphase onset to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. However, the SAC function in meiotic anaphase regulation is poorly understood. Here, we examined the SAC function in fission yeast meiosis. As in mitosis, a SAC factor, Mad2, delayed anaphase onset via Slp1 (fission yeast Cdc20) when chromosomes attach to the spindle improperly. However, when the SAC delayed anaphase I, the interval between meiosis I and II shortened. Furthermore, anaphase onset was advanced and the SAC effect was reduced at meiosis II. The advancement of anaphase onset depended on a meiosis-specific, Cdc20-related factor, Fzr1/Mfr1, which contributed to anaphase cyclin decline and anaphase onset and was inefficiently inhibited by the SAC. Our findings show that impacts of SAC activation are not confined to a single division at meiosis due to meiosis-specific APC/C regulation, which has probably been evolved for execution of two meiotic divisions.

No abstract

Sour beer production has been gradually increasing in Japan. Generally, sour beer is brewed by natural fermentation, long-term aging in wooden barrels, or by the kettle souring method. Here, the kettle souring method was selected because this method has advantages over other methods in terms of handling and preventing contamination at the brewing site. To develop a sour beer unique to Shizuoka Prefecture, lactic acid bacteria isolated in Shizuoka and a beer yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae NMZ-0688 that was developed previously, were utilized. Four optimal strains of lactic acid bacteria (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum TIG-0372, L. plantarum NMZ-1139, Lacticaseibacillus casei TIG-0429, and Schleiferilactobacillus harbinensis NMZ-1200) were selected from 147 isolated strains with high lactic acid productivity at 40 °C after preculturing at 30 °C. Yeast resistant to 2-deoxyglucose was reared from S. cerevisiae NMZ-0688 to improve the fermentation ability of the wort. The 2-deoxyglucose-resistant yeast increased the fermentation efficiency to a level equivalent to that of commercial beer yeast and was selected as the optimal strain. Eight types of small -scale brewing tests were performed with various combinations of these strains. Sensory evaluation by experts showed that the sour beers brewed by microorganisms from Shizuoka Prefecture had a fruity aroma, mainly due to isoamyl acetate, and a refreshing sour taste, which was attributed to the lactic acid.

Lactiplantibacillus plantarum NMZ-1139 was isolated from whisky mash and applied to sour beer production. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of L. plantarum NMZ-1139, which contains 3,117 protein-coding sequences, including genes associated with hop resistance, such as horA and hitA .