On February 4, a team led by Professor Mingtao Huang from the School of Food Science and Engineering at South China University of Technology (SCUT) published a paper in Research titled “The Absence of Sec72 Reshapes Yeast Cell Functions to Increase Protein Secretion”. Focusing on steps in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) targeting and transport in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the team elucidated the role of Sec72, a subunit of the Sec complex, in signal peptide–mediated entry of proteins into the ER. It also proposed a secretion-enhancement strategy based on Sec72 deletion.

Sec72 deletion–driven intracellular remodeling synergistically enhances protein secretion

This study showed that Sec72 deletion differentially affects secretion depending on signal peptide properties and validated a Sec72 deletion-centered strategy to enhance secretion. By connecting signal peptide properties with ER translocation and system-level cellular responses, the study outlines key engineering targets and combinatorial directions for improving yeast secretion and recombinant protein production.