Open AccessrtfA controls development, secondary metabolism, and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus
Author(s) -
Ryan R. Myers,
Timothy D. Smith,
Sherine F. Elsawa,
Olivier Puel,
Souria Tadrist,
Ana M. Calvo
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0176702
Subject(s) - aspergillus fumigatus , virulence , biology , aspergillus nidulans , conidiation , microbiology and biotechnology , aspergillosis , secondary metabolism , gene , pathogen , fungal protein , virulence factor , galleria mellonella , genetics , immunology , mutant , biosynthesis
Invasive aspergillosis by Aspergillus fumigatus is a leading cause of infection-related mortality in immune-compromised patients. In order to discover potential genetic targets to control A . fumigatus infections we characterized rtfA , a gene encoding a putative RNA polymerase II transcription elongation factor-like protein. Our recent work has shown that the rtfA ortholog in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans regulates morphogenesis and secondary metabolism. The present study on the opportunistic pathogen A . fumigatus rtfA gene revealed that this gene influences fungal growth and conidiation, as well as production of the secondary metabolites tryptoquivaline F, pseurotin A, fumiquinazoline C, festuclavine, and fumigaclavines A, B and C. Additionally, rtfA influences protease activity levels, the sensitivity to oxidative stress and adhesion capacity, all factors important in pathogenicity. Furthermore, rtfA was shown to be indispensable for normal virulence using Galleria mellonella as well as murine infection model systems.