Expression of neuronal protein Tau in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a dimorphic, opportunist fungal pathogen in which cell adhesion and filamentation contribute to host tissue invasiveness and fungal pathogenicity. Morphogenesis in C. albicans which involves yeast to hyphae transition is dependent on temperature, the growth media composition, and is regulated by quorum sensing. In yeasts, filament formation and polarized growth are associated with the actin cytoskeletal network and microtubule interactions. The microtubule associated protein (MAP), Tau (tau), is a neuronal protein in mammals that participates in microtubule binding, microtubule assembly, bundling and stabilization. In the current study, we generated an electroporated tau derivative of a strain of C. albicans. We have observed that tau expression accelerates and increases the extent of medium dependent filamentation. We have also noted tau interacts mainly with actin filaments and to some extent, microtubules. We believe that these interactions are involved in the temporal control of filament formation in tau-containing cells. Key words: Candida albicans, tau, pathogenicity, morphogenesis.