Protein inheritance and regulation of gene expression in yeast

Prions of lower eukaryotes are genetic determinants of protein nature. Last years are marked by rapid development of the conception of prion inheritance. The list of yeast proteins, which have been shown to exist in the prion form in vivo, and phenotypic manifestation of prions provide good reason to believe that protein prionization may represent epigenetic mechanism regulating adaptability of a single cell and cellular population to environmental conditions.