[Cellular response to stress].

Environmental changes induce a cellular response characterized by a modification in the genetic expression and physiology of the cell. This modification allows the cell to survive and adapt to the new environment. Current studies on cellular stress response are mainly focused on the identification of the genetic expression patterns (transcriptome, proteome). and their relation with the biochemical (metabolome), structural and functional changes displayed by the cells under stress. In the symposium on Cellular Response to Stress, four works were presented about the stress effect on cellular functions of bacteria and fungi: 1) nutritional stress in Escherichia coli and DNA damage and mutagenesis. 2) nutritional and oxidative stress in Candida glabrata and subtelomeric silencing, 3) cold stress in E. coli and RNA degradation, and 4) oxidative and heat stress in E. coli and differential protein synthesis.