Premium
Dosage‐dependent roles of the Cwt1 transcription factor for cell wall architecture, morphogenesis, drug sensitivity and virulence in C andida albicans
Author(s) -
Moreno Inmaculada,
MartinezEsparza María,
Laforet Leslie Carolina,
Sentandreu Rafael,
Ernst Joachim F.,
Valentin Eulogio
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
yeast
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.923
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1097-0061
pISSN - 0749-503X
DOI - 10.1002/yea.1733
Subject(s) - candida albicans , biology , morphogenesis , virulence , corpus albicans , phenotype , mutant , transcription factor , cell , microbiology and biotechnology , antifungal drug , cell wall , virulence factor , in vitro , genetics , gene
The Cwt1 transcription factor is involved in cell wall architecture of the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans . We demonstrate here that deficiency of Cwt1 leads to decreased β1,6‐glucan in the cell wall, while mannoproteins are increased in the cell wall of exponentially growing cells and are released into the medium of stationary phase cells. Hyphal morphogenesis of cwt1 mutants is reduced on the surfaces of some inducing media. Unexpectedly, the CWT1 / cwt1 heterozygous strains shows some stronger in vitro phenotypes compared to the homozygous mutant. The heterozygous but not the homozygous strain is also strongly impaired for its virulence in a mouse model of systemic infection. We suggest that an intermediate dosage of Cwt1 affects phenotypes profoundly, while its complete absence may elicit compensatory responses of C. albicans . Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.