J. Parvathy

The fine balance between cellular homeostasis and stress response is crucial for cell survival under conditions of genotoxic stress. Here, we identify a regulatory role for the translation repressor Sbp1 in modulating autophagy during hydroxyurea (HU)-induced replication stress. We observe that Sbp1 localizes to reversible, mRNA-containing cytoplasmic granules specifically upon HU treatment in an RGG motif-dependent manner. Loss of Sbp1 leads to selective translational upregulation of key autophagy genes ATG1, ATG2, and ATG9. Consistent with these translational changes, sbp1∆ cells exhibit increased selective macroautophagy/autophagy and enhanced bulk autophagy, whereas Sbp1 overexpression suppresses both processes. Interestingly, overexpression of Sbp1 shifts DNA repair toward non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair, linking altered autophagy to genome maintenance. Together, these findings identify Sbp1 as a negative regulator of autophagy during replication stress and suggest a regulatory axis linking granule-mediated mRNA sequestration, translational control of autophagy factors, and the cellular response to genotoxic stress.Abbreviations: CHX: cycloheximide; CPT: camptothecin; DDR: DNA damage response; GTA: genotoxin-associated targeted autophagy; HR: homologous recombination; HU: hydroxyurea; MMS: methyl methanesulfonate; mRNPs: mRNA-protein complexes; NHEJ: non-homologous end joining; P-bodies: processing bodies; RBPs: RNA binding proteins.

The antimicrobial resistance prevalence and the need to accelerate wound healing in chronic wounds demand effective alternative treatment strategies that can be a promising and safer therapeutic option than synthetic ones. Plant-derived essential oils, such as citronella oil (CTO), have gained attention for their broad-spectrum antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. This study investigates the antimicrobial and antioxidant potency of CTO through in vitro and in silico approaches. CTO exhibited inhibition zones of 10–19 mm in diameter against wound pathogens, except for that of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Radical scavenging and metal chelating assays revealed the IC[ ] value ranging from 72.96 [ ]l/ml to 155.73 [ ]l/ml. GC/MS analysis revealed the presence of compounds geraniol, 2,6-octadien-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl-, acetate, citronellal, geranial, and [ ]-citral, which are responsible for their drug-like and pharmacokinetic properties. Molecular docking results demonstrated strong binding affinities. In particular, 2,6-octadien-1-ol, 3,7-dimethyl-, acetate ligand showed the highest binding affinity towards N-myristoyltransferase (1NMT) of Candida albicans, indicating its potential role in disrupting fungal growth. This study confirms the antimicrobial efficacy of CTO by addressing a critical gap in the mechanism of action. Due to their enriched bioactive phytoconstituents, CTO might emerge as a promising natural agent for managing infections associated with wound pathogens.