Open AccessAntagonistic interplay of Swi1 and Tup1 on filamentous growth of Candida albicans
Author(s) -
Mao Xuming,
Li Yandong,
Wang Huafeng,
Cao Fang,
Chen Jiangye
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2008.01236.x
Subject(s) - mutant , candida albicans , saccharomyces cerevisiae , fungal protein , phenotype , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , yeast , chemistry , genetics , gene
Candida albicans is a polymorphic human opportunistic pathogen in which the Swi–Snf complex functions as an activator whereas Tup1 acts as a general repressor during the yeast‐hyphae transition. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the interplay between the Swi–Snf complex and the Tup1–Ssn6 repressive complex regulates the balance between active and repressed chromatin structures of a number of genes. To study the interplay between Candida albicans Swi1 and Tup1 and their effects on morphogenesis, we analyzed phenotypes of swi1 / swi1 , tup1 / tup1 and swi1 / swi1 tup1 / tup1 mutants under various growth conditions. The swi1 / swi1 mutant failed to form true hyphae, whereas the tup1 / tup1 mutant exhibited constitutive filamentous growth. Deletion of SWI1 in the tup1 / tup1 mutant completely blocked hyphal growth under all the conditions examined. Under aerobic conditions, the swi1 / swi1 tup1 / tup1 mutant most resembled the swi1 / swi1 mutant in phenotype, actin polarization and gene expression pattern. In invaded agar, the double mutant showed similar phenotypes as the swi1 / swi1 mutant, while under embedded conditions, it grew as a pseudohypha‐like form different from that of the wild‐type strain, swi1 / swi1 or tup1 / tup1 mutants. These results suggest that Swi1 may play a dominant role by antagonizing the repressive effect of the Tup1 on hyphal development in C. albicans .