A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Arturo Hernández-Cervantes, Sadri Znaidi, Lasse Wijlick, Iryna Denega, Virginia Basso, Jeanne Ropars, Natacha Sertour, Derek Sullivan, Gary Moran, Louise Basmaciyan, Fabienne Bon, Frédéric Dalle, Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux, Teun Boekhout, Ying Yang, Zongwei Li, Sophie Bachellier-Bassi () and Christophe d’Enfert ()
Additional contact information
Arturo Hernández-Cervantes: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Sadri Znaidi: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Lasse Wijlick: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Iryna Denega: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Virginia Basso: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Jeanne Ropars: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Natacha Sertour: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Derek Sullivan: Dublin Dental University Hospital and School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin
Gary Moran: Dublin Dental University Hospital and School of Dental Science, Trinity College Dublin
Louise Basmaciyan: UMR PAM, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, AgroSup Dijon – Equipe VAIMiS
Fabienne Bon: UMR PAM, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, AgroSup Dijon – Equipe VAIMiS
Frédéric Dalle: UMR PAM, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, AgroSup Dijon – Equipe VAIMiS
Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Teun Boekhout: Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute
Ying Yang: Beijing Institute of Radiation Medicine
Zongwei Li: Center for Hospital Infection Control, Institute for Disease Control & Prevention
Sophie Bachellier-Bassi: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC
Christophe d’Enfert: Unité Biologie et Pathogénicité Fongiques, Institut Pasteur, USC

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract Transcription factor Rme1 is conserved among ascomycetes and regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genome of the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans encodes an Rme1 homolog that is part of a transcriptional circuitry controlling hyphal growth. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide expression analyses to study a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis. We find that Rme1 binds upstream and activates the expression of genes that are upregulated during chlamydosporulation, an asexual process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolishes chlamydosporulation in three Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypasses the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators. RME1 expression levels correlate with chlamydosporulation efficiency across clinical isolates. Interestingly, RME1 displays a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase dependent on Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. Our results indicate that Rme1 plays a central role in chlamydospore development in Candida species.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

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