Heterotrimeric G-protein subunit function in Candida albicans: both the alpha and beta subunits of the pheromone response G protein are required for mating

A pheromone-mediated signaling pathway that couples seven-transmembrane-domain (7-TMD) receptors to a mitogen-activated protein kinase module controls Candida albicans mating. 7-TMD receptors are typically connected to heterotrimeric G proteins whose activation regulates downstream effectors. Two Galpha subunits in C. albicans have been identified previously, both of which have been implicated in aspects of pheromone response. Cag1p was found to complement the mating pathway function of the pheromone receptor-coupled Galpha subunit in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Gpa2p was shown to have a role in the regulation of cyclic AMP signaling in C. albicans and to repress pheromone-mediated arrest. Here, we show that the disruption of CAG1 prevented mating, inactivated pheromone-mediated arrest and morphological changes, and blocked pheromone-mediated gene expression changes in opaque cells of C. albicans and that the overproduction of CAG1 suppressed the hyperactive cell cycle arrest exhibited by sst2 mutant cells. Because the disruption of the STE4 homolog constituting the only C. albicans gene for a heterotrimeric Gbeta subunit also blocked mating and pheromone response, it appears that in this fungal pathogen the Galpha and Gbeta subunits do not act antagonistically but, instead, are both required for the transmission of the mating signal.     

Many of the genes required for mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are also required for mating in Candida albicans

Candida albicans is the single, most frequently isolated human fungal pathogen. As with most fungal pathogens, the factors which contribute to pathogenesis in C. albicans are not known, despite more than a decade of molecular genetic analysis. Candida albicans was thought to be asexual until the discovery of the MTL loci homologous to the mating type (MAT) loci in Saccharomyces cerevisiae led to the demonstration that mating is possible. Using Candida albicans mutants in genes likely to be involved in mating, we analysed the process to determine its similarity to mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We examined disruptions of three of the genes in the MAPK pathway which is involved in filamentous growth in both S. cerevisiae and C. albicans and is known to control pheromone response in the former fungus. Disruptions in HST7 and CPH1 blocked mating in both MTLa and MTL(alpha) strains, whereas disruptions in STE20 had no effect. A disruption in KEX2, a gene involved in processing the S. cerevisiae pheromone Mf(alpha), prevented mating in MTL(alpha) but not MTLa cells, whereas a disruption in HST6, the orthologue of the STE6 gene which encodes an ABC transporter responsible for secretion of the Mfa pheromone, prevented mating in MTLa but not in MTL(alpha) cells. Disruption of two cell wall genes, ALS1 and INT1, had no effect on mating, even though ALS1 was identified by similarity to the S. cerevisiae sexual agglutinin, SAG1. The results reveal that these two diverged yeasts show a surprising similarity in their mating processes.     

Functional expression of the Candida albicans alpha-factor receptor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Candida albicans genes involved in mating have been identified previously by homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating pathway components. The C. albicans genome encodes CaSte2p, a homolog of the S. cerevisiae alpha-mating pheromone receptor Ste2p, and two potential pheromones, alpha-F13 (GFRLTNFGYFEPG) and alpha-F14 (GFRLTNFGYFEPGK). The response of several C. albicans strains to the synthesized peptides was determined. The alpha-F13 was degraded by a C. albicans MTLa strain but not by S. cerevisiae MATa cells. The CaSTE2 gene was cloned and expressed in a ste2-deleted strain of S. cerevisiae. Growth arrest and beta-galactosidase activity induced from a FUS1-lacZ reporter construct increased in a dose-dependent manner upon exposure of transgenic S. cerevisiae to alpha-F13. Mating between the strain expressing CaSTE2 and an opposite mating type was mediated by alpha-F13 and not by the S. cerevisiae alpha-factor. The results indicated that CaSte2p effectively coupled to the S. cerevisiae signal transduction pathway. Functional expression of CaSte2p in S. cerevisiae provides a well-defined system for studying the biochemistry and molecular biology of the C. albicans pheromone and its receptor.     

A functional analysis of the Candida albicans homolog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae VPS4

To investigate the role of the prevacuolar secretion pathway in the trafficking of vacuolar proteins in Candida albicans, the C. albicans homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar protein sorting gene VPS4 was cloned and analyzed. Candida albicans VPS4 encodes a deduced AAA-type ATPase that is 75.6% similar to S. cerevisiae Vps4p, and plasmids bearing C. albicans VPS4 complemented the abnormal vacuolar morphology and carboxypeptidase missorting in S. cerevisiae vps4 null mutants. Candida albicans vps4Delta null mutants displayed a characteristic class E vacuolar morphology and multilamellar structures consistent with an aberrant prevacuolar compartment. The C. albicans vps4Delta mutant degraded more extracellular bovine serum albumin than did wild-type strains, which implied that this mutant secreted more extracellular protease activity. These phenotypes were complemented when a wild-type copy of VPS4 was reintroduced into its proper locus. Using a series of protease inhibitors, the origin of this extracellular protease activity was identified as a serine protease, and genetic analyses using a C. albicans vps4Deltaprc1Delta mutant identified this missorted vacuolar protease as carboxypeptidase Y. Unexpectedly, C. albicans Sap2p was not detected in culture supernatants of the vps4Delta mutants. These results indicate that C. albicans VPS4 is required for vacuolar biogenesis and proper sorting of vacuolar proteins.     

白念珠菌CaPPE1的克隆及其在酿酒酵母形态发生中的功能研究

白念珠茵的致病性与其形态转变相关,白念珠茵的形态转换受各种外界信号和细胞内信号转导途径的调控。转录因子Flo8在酿酒酵母形态发生中起重要作用,我们将白念珠茵基因组文库导入flo8缺失株中,筛选能够校正flo8缺失株侵入生长缺陷的基因,分离得到一个与酿酒酵母蛋白磷酸酯酶甲基酯酶PPEI同源的基因,命名为CaPPEl。CaPPEl的基因编码区全长1083bp,推测编码一个361氨基酸的蛋白。在单倍体酿酒酵母中,CaPPE1基因的表达可以部分回复flo8缺失株的侵入生长缺陷,但是在MAPK途径缺失株中不能进行侵入生长。在双倍体酿酒酵母中,CaPPEl基因的表达可以部分激活MAPK途径成员缺失株的茵丝生长缺陷,但却只能在flo8缺失株中产生微弱的激活作用。结果表明CaPpel在酿酒酵母的假茵丝生长和侵入生长中参与的信号转导途径不同。     

白念珠菌CaPPEl的克隆及其在酿酒酵母形态发生中的功能研究

白念珠菌的致病性与其形态转变相关,白念珠菌的形态转换受各种外界信号和细胞内信号转导途径的调控。转录因子Flo8在酿酒酵母形态发生中起重要作用,我们将白念珠菌基因组文库导入flo8缺失株中,筛选能够校正flo8缺失株侵入生长缺陷的基因,分离得到一个与酿酒酵母蛋白磷酸酯酶甲基酯酶PPEl同源的基因,命名为CaPPEl。CaPPEl的基因编码区全长1083bp,推测编码一个361氨基酸的蛋白。在单倍体酿酒酵母中,CaPPEl基因的表达可以部分回复flo8缺失株的侵入生长缺陷,但是在MAPK途径缺失株中不能进行侵入生长。在双倍体酿酒酵母中,CaPPEl基因的表达可以部分激活MAPK途径成员缺失株的菌丝生长缺陷,但却只能在flo8缺失株中产生微弱的激活作用。结果表明CaPpel在酿酒酵母的假菌丝生长和侵入生长中参与的信号转导途径不同。     

Barrier activity in Candida albicans mediates pheromone degradation and promotes mating

Mating in Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated by the secretion of peptide pheromones that initiate the mating process. An important regulator of pheromone activity in S. cerevisiae is barrier activity, involving an extracellular aspartyl protease encoded by the BAR1 gene that degrades the alpha pheromone. We have characterized an equivalent barrier activity in C. albicans and demonstrate that the loss of C. albicans BAR1 activity results in opaque a cells exhibiting hypersensitivity to alpha pheromone. Hypersensitivity to pheromone is clearly seen in halo assays; in response to alpha pheromone, a lawn of C. albicans Deltabar1 mutant cells produces a marked zone in which cell growth is inhibited, whereas wild-type strains fail to show halo formation. C. albicans mutants lacking BAR1 also exhibit a striking mating defect in a cells, but not in alpha cells, due to overstimulation of the response to alpha pheromone. The block to mating occurs prior to cell fusion, as very few mating zygotes were observed in mixes of Deltabar1 a and alpha cells. Finally, in a barrier assay using a highly pheromone-sensitive strain, we were able to demonstrate that barrier activity in C. albicans is dependent on Bar1p. These studies reveal that a barrier activity to alpha pheromone exists in C. albicans and that the activity is analogous to that caused by Bar1p in S. cerevisiae.     

CaSRB9基因的克隆及其在酿酒酵母形态发生中的作用

白色念珠菌是一种重要的人体致病真菌 ,致病机制与其形态发生紧密相关。酿酒酵母Flo8因子在其形态发生中起重要作用 ,我们把白色念珠菌基因组DNA导入酿酒酵母flo8基因缺失株中 ,筛选能够互补 flo8侵入生长缺陷的基因 ,分离到了一个与酿酒酵母SRB9同源的新基因 ,命名为CaSRB9。该基因全长 4998bp ,编码一种16 6 5个氨基酸的蛋白质。在双倍体酿酒酵母中CaSRB9可以部分互补MAPK途径基因缺失株以及 flo8缺失株的菌丝生长缺陷 ;在单倍体酿酒酵母中表达能够互补 flo8缺失株的侵入生长缺陷 ,但在MAPK途径基因缺失株中不能形成侵入生长     

Functional characterization of the MKC1 gene of Candida albicans, which encodes a mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog related to cell integrity.

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases represent a group of serine/threonine protein kinases playing a central role in signal transduction processes in eukaryotic cells. Using a strategy based on the complementation of the thermosensitive autolytic phenotype of slt2 null mutants, we have isolated a Candida albicans homolog of Saccharomyces cerevisiae MAP kinase gene SLT2 (MPK1), which is involved in the recently outlined PKC1-controlled signalling pathway. The isolated gene, named MKC1 (MAP kinase from C. albicans), coded for a putative protein, Mkc1p, of 58,320 Da that displayed all the characteristic domains of MAP kinases and was 55% identical to S. cerevisiae Slt2p (Mpk1p). The MKC1 gene was deleted in a diploid Candida strain, and heterozygous and homozygous strains, in both Ura+ and Ura- backgrounds, were obtained to facilitate the analysis of the function of the gene. Deletion of the two alleles of the MKC1 gene gave rise to viable cells that grew at 28 and 37 degrees C but, nevertheless, displayed a variety of phenotypic traits under more stringent conditions. These included a low growth yield and a loss of viability in cultures grown at 42 degrees C, a high sensitivity to thermal shocks at 55 degrees C, an enhanced susceptibility to caffeine that was osmotically remediable, and the formation of a weak cell wall with a very low resistance to complex lytic enzyme preparations. The analysis of the functions downstream of the MKC1 gene should contribute to understanding of the connection of growth and morphogenesis in pathogenic fungi.     

Identification of a novel inhibitor specific to the fungal chitin synthase. Inhibition of chitin synthase 1 arrests the cell growth, but inhibition of chitin synthase 1 and 2 is lethal in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans

As in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans harbors three chitin synthases called CaChs1p, CaChs2p, and CaChs3p, which are structurally and functionally analogous to the S. cerevisiae ScChs2p, ScChs1p, and ScChs3p, respectively. In S. cerevisiae, ScCHS1, ScCHS2, and ScCHS3 are all non-essential genes; only the simultaneous disruption of ScCHS2 and ScCHS3 is lethal. The fact that a null mutation of the CaCHS1 is impossible, however, implies that CaCHS1 is required for the viability of C. albicans. To gain more insight into the physiological importance of CaCHS1, we identified and characterized a novel inhibitor that was highly specific to CaChs1p. RO-09-3143 inhibited CaChs1p with a K(i) value of 0.55 nm in a manner that was non-competitive to the substrate UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. RO-09-3143 also hampered the growth of the C. albicans cells with an MIC(50) value of 0.27 microm. In the presence of RO-09-3143, the C. albicans cells failed to form septa and displayed an aberrant morphology, confirming the involvement of the C. albicans Chs1p in septum formation. Although the effect of RO-09-3143 on the wild-type C. albicans was fungistatic, it caused cell death in the cachs2Delta null mutants but not in the cachs3Delta null mutants. Thus, it appears that in C. albicans, inhibition of CaChs1p causes cell growth arrest, but simultaneous inhibition of CaChs1p and CaChs2p is lethal.     

Effects of iprodione and fludioxonil on glycerol synthesis and hyphal development in Candida albicans

We investigated the effects of iprodione and fludioxonil on the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. Growth of the wild-type IFO1385 strain of C. albicans was inhibited by both fungicides, while Saccharomyces cerevisiae was basically unaffected by them even at a concentration of 25 microg/ml. Both fungicides stimulated glycerol synthesis in C. albicans but not in S. cerevisiae. The antioxidant alpha-tocopherol acetate and the cytochrome P-450 inhibitor piperonyl butoxide antagonized the fungitoxicity of iprodione and fludioxonil in C. albicans. It is known that mutations within the histidine kinase NIK1/OS-1 gene confer resistance to iprodione and fludioxonil in Neurospora crassa, while the fungicide-insensitive S. cerevisiae has only one histidine kinase SLN1 gene in its genome. In contrast, C. albicans has three histidine kinase genes, namely CaSLN1, CaNIK1/COS1, and CaHK1, the null mutants of which were found to impair the hyphal formation. Iprodione and fludioxonil were found to suppress filamentation when the IFO1385 strain was incubated on a solid medium containing fetal bovine serum. These observations suggest that iprodione and fludioxonil interfere with the CaNIK1/COS1 signal transduction pathway, resulting in glycerol synthesis stimulation and the inhibition of hyphal formation.     

Identification of an exoribonuclease homolog, CaKEM1/CaXRN1, in Candida albicans and its characterization in filamentous growth

KEM1/XRN1 and RAT1 are two known exoribonuclease genes in Saccharomyces cereivsiae and encode a cytoplasmic and nuclear exoribonuclease, respectively. CaKEM1/CaXRN1 and CaRAT1, the Candida albicans homologs of 5'-->3' exoribonuclease genes, were identified by protein sequence comparisons and by functional complementation of the S. cerevisiae kem1/xrn1 null mutation. The deduced amino acid sequences of CaKEM1 and CaRAT1 show 51% and 55% identities to those of the S. cerevisiae KEM1 and RAT1, respectively. The exonuclease motifs were found to be highly conserved in CaKem1p and CaRat1p. We disrupted two chromosomal copies of CaKEM1 in a diploid C. albicans strain and demonstrate that C. albicans kem1/kem1 mutants are defective in filamentous growth on filamentous-inducing media. These results imply that CaKEM1 is involved in filamentous growth of C. albicans.