Studying Fungal Pathogenesis in Drosophila

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 291-296
Author(s):  
Dimitrios P. Kontoyiannis ◽  
Russell E. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogenesis

scholarly journals Structural, Evolutionary, and Functional Analysis of the Protein O-Mannosyltransferase Family in Pathogenic Fungi

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 328
Author(s):  
María Dolores Pejenaute-Ochoa ◽  
Carlos Santana-Molina ◽  
Damien P. Devos ◽  
José Ignacio Ibeas ◽  
Alfonso Fernández-Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Secretory Pathway ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
Fungal Pathogenesis ◽  
Post Translational Modification ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Single Deletion ◽  
Asymmetrical Impact ◽  
Substrate Proteins

Protein O-mannosyltransferases (Pmts) comprise a group of proteins that add mannoses to substrate proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum. This post-translational modification is important for the faithful transfer of nascent glycoproteins throughout the secretory pathway. Most fungi genomes encode three O-mannosyltransferases, usually named Pmt1, Pmt2, and Pmt4. In pathogenic fungi, Pmts, especially Pmt4, are key factors for virulence. Although the importance of Pmts for fungal pathogenesis is well established in a wide range of pathogens, questions remain regarding certain features of Pmts. For example, why does the single deletion of each pmt gene have an asymmetrical impact on host colonization? Here, we analyse the origin of Pmts in fungi and review the most important phenotypes associated with Pmt mutants in pathogenic fungi. Hence, we highlight the enormous relevance of these glycotransferases for fungal pathogenic development.

scholarly journals A Pathogenesis Assay Using Saccharomycescerevisiae and Caenorhabditiselegans Reveals Novel Roles for Yeast AP-1, Yap1, and Host Dual Oxidase BLI-3 in Fungal Pathogenesis

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1218-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charu Jain ◽  
Meijiang Yun ◽  
Samuel M. Politz ◽  
Reeta Prusty Rao
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Infections ◽  
Fungal Pathogenesis ◽  
Host Responses ◽  
Ros Production ◽  
Oxygen Species ◽  
Fungal Virulence ◽  
Oxidase Gene ◽  
Dual Oxidase ◽  
Chemical Inhibition ◽  
Yeast Mutants

ABSTRACT Treatment of systemic fungal infections is difficult because of the limited number of antimycotic drugs available. Thus, there is an immediate need for simple and innovative systems to assay the contribution of individual genes to fungal pathogenesis. We have developed a pathogenesis assay using Caenorhabditis elegans, an established model host, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the invading fungus. We have found that yeast infects nematodes, causing disease and death. Our data indicate that the host produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to fungal infection. Yeast mutants sod1Δ and yap1Δ, which cannot withstand ROS, fail to cause disease, except in bli-3 worms, which carry a mutation in a dual oxidase gene. Chemical inhibition of the NADPH oxidase activity abolishes ROS production in worms exposed to yeast. This pathogenesis assay is useful for conducting systematic, whole-genome screens to identify fungal virulence factors as alternative targets for drug development and exploration of host responses to fungal infections.

scholarly journals Chitosan Biosynthesis and Virulence in the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus gattii

mSphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Woei C. Lam ◽  
Rajendra Upadhya ◽  
Charles A. Specht ◽  
Abigail E. Ragsdale ◽  
Camaron R. Hole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Fungal Pathogen ◽  
Cryptococcus Gattii ◽  
Fungal Cell Wall ◽  
Fungal Pathogenesis ◽  
Protective Response ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Fungal Virulence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mammalian Infection

ABSTRACT Cryptococcus gattii R265 is a hypervirulent fungal strain responsible for the recent outbreak of cryptococcosis in Vancouver Island of British Columbia in Canada. It differs significantly from Cryptococcus neoformans in its natural environment, its preferred site in the mammalian host, and its pathogenesis. Our previous studies of C. neoformans have shown that the presence of chitosan, the deacetylated form of chitin, in the cell wall attenuates inflammatory responses in the host, while its absence induces robust immune responses, which in turn facilitate clearance of the fungus and induces a protective response. The results of the present investigation reveal that the cell wall of C. gattii R265 contains a two- to threefold larger amount of chitosan than that of C. neoformans. The genes responsible for the biosynthesis of chitosan are highly conserved in the R265 genome; the roles of the three chitin deacetylases (CDAs) have, however, been modified. To deduce their roles, single and double CDA deletion strains and a triple CDA deletion strain were constructed in a R265 background and were subjected to mammalian infection studies. Unlike C. neoformans where Cda1 has a discernible role in fungal pathogenesis, in strain R265, Cda3 is critical for virulence. Deletion of either CDA3 alone or in combination with another CDA (cda1Δ3Δ or cda2Δ3Δ) or both (cda1Δ2Δ3Δ) rendered the fungus avirulent and cleared from the infected host. Moreover, the cda1Δ2Δ3Δ strain of R265 induced a protective response to a subsequent infection with R265. These studies begin to illuminate the regulation of chitosan biosynthesis of C. gattii and its subsequent effect on fungal virulence. IMPORTANCE The fungal cell wall is an essential organelle whose components provide the first line of defense against host-induced antifungal activity. Chitosan is one of the carbohydrate polymers in the cell wall that significantly affects the outcome of host-pathogen interaction. Chitosan-deficient strains are avirulent, implicating chitosan as a critical virulence factor. C. gattii R265 is an important fungal pathogen of concern due to its ability to cause infections in individuals with no apparent immune dysfunction and an increasing geographical distribution. Characterization of the fungal cell wall and understanding the contribution of individual molecules of the cell wall matrix to fungal pathogenesis offer new therapeutic avenues for intervention. In this report, we show that the C. gattii R265 strain has evolved alternate regulation of chitosan biosynthesis under both laboratory growth conditions and during mammalian infection compared to that of C. neoformans.

Identification of an Extracellular Acid Trehalase and Its Gene Involved in Fungal Pathogenesis of Metarizium anisopliae

2006 ◽  
Vol 140 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Zhao ◽  
Anthony Keith Charnley ◽  
Zhongkang Wang ◽  
Youping Yin ◽  
Zhenlun Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogenesis ◽  
Acid Trehalase ◽  
Its Gene

scholarly journals Pexophagy in Fungal Pathogenesis

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1030-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Bertoni
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogenesis

Suppressor Production as a Key Factor for Fungal Pathogenesis

1991 ◽  
pp. 151-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomonori Shiraishi ◽  
Tetsuji Yamada ◽  
Hachiro Oku ◽  
Hirofumi Yoshioka
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogenesis ◽  
Key Factor
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