De Virgilio Group, University of Fribourg ^{Research Labs}

All living cells are capable of exiting the normal cell cycle (proliferating state) and entering an alternative (resting) state termed quiescence or G0. Despite the fact that most eukaryotic cells - whether they exist as single cells or as part of a multicellular organism - spend most of their life in a quiescent state, relatively little is known about the regulatory mechanisms that control entry into or exit from such a state. The available body of data, nevertheless, indicates that disruption of G0-entry/exit control mechanisms is often associated with either cellular transformation (particularly in multicellular organisms), or dramatically reduced life span (of unicellular organisms). In this context, lab study the mechanisms controlling entry into, survival in, and exit from quiescence in the unicellular, eukaryotic model organism S. cerevisiae. So far, several studies (including theirs) have uncovered that the nutrient-regulated hub TORC1 orchestrates both entry into and exit from G0. Their research is therefore specifically focused on the elucidation of both the mechanisms that regulate TORC1 activity and the nature of the effectors that are regulated by TORC1.