Mutational Analysis of Essential Septins Reveals a Role for Septin-Mediated Signaling in Filamentation |
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| Authors: | Jill R Blankenship Shaoji Cheng Carol A Woolford Wenjie Xu Tanner M Johnson P David Rogers Saranna Fanning M Hong Nguyen Cornelius J Clancy Aaron P Mitchell |
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| Institution: | aDepartment of Biology, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska, USA;bDepartment of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;cDepartment of Medicine, Infectious Disease Division, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;dDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA |
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| Abstract: | Septin proteins are conserved structural proteins that often demarcate regions of cell division. The essential nature of the septin ring, composed of several septin proteins, complicates investigation of the functions of the ring, although careful analysis in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has elucidated the role that septins play in the cell cycle. Mutation analysis of nonessential septins in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans has shown that septins also have vital roles in cell wall regulation (CWR), hyphal formation, and pathogenesis. While mutations in nonessential septins have been useful in establishing phenotypes, the septin defect is so slight that identifying causative associations between septins and downstream effectors has been difficult. In this work, we describe decreased abundance by mRNA perturbation (DAmP) alleles of essential septins, which display a septin defect more severe than the defect observed in deletions of nonessential septins. The septin DAmP alleles have allowed us to genetically separate the roles of septins in hyphal growth and CWR and to identify the cyclic AMP pathway as a pathway that likely acts in a parallel manner with septins in hyphal morphogenesis. |
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