scholarly journals Fungal cell structure and organization

Author(s):  
Nick D Read

Human pathogenic fungi produce three basic ‘cell’ types: hyphae, yeast cells, and spores. The organization and subcellular structure of these different cell types and their modes of growth and formation are reviewed. Growth and form is the consequence of how new cell surface is formed. This is generated by the delivery of vesicles to the surface which provides new membrane and the enzymes for cell wall synthesis. To generate these various cell types, the pathway of vesicle secretion to the surface has to be carefully regulated. These vesicles have to be transported through the cell by the cytoskeleton, and in filamentous cells these vesicles accumulate at a supply centre called the Spitzenkörper before docking and fusion with the hyphal apex. Ultimately, membrane is also endocytosed and recycled behind actively expanding regions of the fungal surface. These various processes are described and particular emphasis is given to the structural and organizational features of fungal cells that play roles in their pathogenesis and virulence.

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Alex Andrianopoulos

Fungi are a large group of eukaryotic microorganisms that are of medical, agricultural and biotechnological importance. They are a diverse group, occupying their own kingdom, and range from single cells to what is arguably the largest mutlicellular organism on earth. Despite this diversity, fungi exhibit two predominant growth forms; unicellular yeast and multicellular filamentous hyphae. Some fungi can alternate between these two forms in response to an intrinsic or extrinsic stimulus, a process known as dimorphic switching.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo D. Bemena ◽  
Kyunghun Min ◽  
James B. Konopka ◽  
Aaron M. Neiman

AbstractThe polysaccharide chitosan is found in the cell wall of specific cell types in a variety of fungal species where it contributes to stress resistance, or in pathogenic fungi, virulence. Under certain growth conditions, the pathogenic yeast Candida dubliniensis forms a cell type termed a chlamydosospore, which has an additional internal layer in its cell wall as compared to hyphal or yeast cell types. We report that this internal layer of the chlamydospore wall is rich in chitosan. The ascospore wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae also has a distinct chitosan layer. As in S. cerevisiae, formation of the chitosan layer in the C. dubliniensis wall requires the chitin synthase CHS3 and the chitin deacetylase CDA2. In addition, three lipid droplet-localized proteins Rrt8, Srt1, and Mum3, identified in S. cerevisiae as important for chitosan layer assembly in the ascospore wall, are required for the formation of the chitosan layer of the chlamydospore wall in C. dubliniensis. These results reveal that a conserved machinery is required for the synthesis of a distinct chitosan layer in the walls of these two yeasts and may be generally important for incorporation of chitosan into fungal walls.ImportanceThe cell wall is the interface between the fungal cell and its environment and disruption of cell wall assembly is an effective strategy for antifungal therapies. Therefore, a detailed understanding of how cell walls form is critical to identify potential drug targets and develop therapeutic strategies. This work shows that a set of genes required for assembly of a chitosan layer in the cell wall of S. cerevisiae is also necessary for chitosan formation in a different cell type in a different yeast, C. dubliniensis. Because chitosan incorporation into the cell wall can be important for virulence, the conservation of this pathway suggests possible new targets for antifungals aimed at disrupting cell wall function.


Author(s):  
B. G. Timms ◽  
D.W. Wilson

In animal tissues, the characteristic appearance of different cell types enables histologists and electron microscopists to identify a particular tissue. Uniformity of cell structure represents a dynamic morphological equilibrium dependent on the influences of cellular metabolism, the extracellular milieu and tissue specific messages from the nucleus. Using stereological techniques. Loud (1968) has demonstrated that these structural equilibria exist in normal rat liver parenchymal cells. Although stereology is widely used to provide a numerical description of the geometrical properties of cells and organelles (Weibel & Bolender, 1973), little attention has been given to devising a comparable scheme for qualitative aspects of morphology.This report concerns the development of an –Identicel— reference library of pictorial representations used to categorise the salient features of different organelles with respect to their morphological variation. An important feature of this development has been the optimisation of the number and type of descriptive elements which would, in our opinion, provide useful information.


Author(s):  
U. Aebi ◽  
P. Rew ◽  
T.-T. Sun

Various types of intermediate-sized (10-nm) filaments have been found and described in many different cell types during the past few years. Despite the differences in the chemical composition among the different types of filaments, they all yield common structural features: they are usually up to several microns long and have a diameter of 7 to 10 nm; there is evidence that they are made of several 2 to 3.5 nm wide protofilaments which are helically wound around each other; the secondary structure of the polypeptides constituting the filaments is rich in ∞-helix. However a detailed description of their structural organization is lacking to date.


1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (01) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Meulien ◽  
M Nishino ◽  
C Mazurier ◽  
K Dott ◽  
G Piétu ◽  
...  

SummaryThe cloning of the cDNA encoding von Willebrand factor (vWF) has revealed that it is synthesized as a large precursor (pre-pro-vWF) molecule and it is now clear that the prosequence or vWAgll is responsible for the intracellular multimerization of vWF. We have cloned the complete vWF cDNA and expressed it using a recombinant vaccinia virus as vector. We have characterized the structure and function of the recombinant vWF (rvWF) secreted from five different cell types: baby hamster kidney (BHK), Chinese hamster ovary (CHO), human fibroblasts (143B), mouse fibroblasts (L) and primary embryonic chicken cells. Forty-eight hours after infection, the quantity of vWF antigen found in the cell supernatant varied from 3 to 12 U/dl depending on the cell type. By SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis, the percentage of high molecular weight forms of vWF varied from 39 to 49% relative to normal plasma for BHK, CHO, 143B and chicken cells but was less than 10% for L cells. In all cell types, the two anodic subbands of each multimer were missing. The two cathodic subbands were easily detected only in BHK and L cells. By SDS-PAGE of reduced samples, pro-vWF was present in similar quantity to the fully processed vWF subunit in L cells, present in moderate amounts in BHK and CHO and in very low amounts in 143B and chicken cells. rvWF from all cells bound to collagen and to platelets in the presence of ristocetin, the latter showing a high correlation between binding efficiency and degree of multimerization. rvWF from all cells was also shown to bind to purified FVIII and in this case binding appeared to be independent of the degree of multimerization. We conclude that whereas vWF is naturally synthesized only by endothelial cells and megakaryocytes, it can be expressed in a biologically active form from various other cell types.


Acta Naturae ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. V. Elizar’ev ◽  
D. V. Lomaev ◽  
D. A. Chetverina ◽  
P. G. Georgiev ◽  
M. M. Erokhin

Maintenance of the individual patterns of gene expression in different cell types is required for the differentiation and development of multicellular organisms. Expression of many genes is controlled by Polycomb (PcG) and Trithorax (TrxG) group proteins that act through association with chromatin. PcG/TrxG are assembled on the DNA sequences termed PREs (Polycomb Response Elements), the activity of which can be modulated and switched from repression to activation. In this study, we analyzed the influence of transcriptional read-through on PRE activity switch mediated by the yeast activator GAL4. We show that a transcription terminator inserted between the promoter and PRE doesnt prevent switching of PRE activity from repression to activation. We demonstrate that, independently of PRE orientation, high levels of transcription fail to dislodge PcG/TrxG proteins from PRE in the absence of a terminator. Thus, transcription is not the main factor required for PRE activity switch.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 248-256
Author(s):  
Yangmin Zheng ◽  
Ziping Han ◽  
Haiping Zhao ◽  
Yumin Luo

Conclusion: Stroke is a complex disease caused by genetic and environmental factors, and its etiological mechanism has not been fully clarified yet, which brings great challenges to its effective prevention and treatment. MAPK signaling pathway regulates gene expression of eukaryotic cells and basic cellular processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, metabolism and apoptosis, which are considered as therapeutic targets for many diseases. Up to now, mounting evidence has shown that MAPK signaling pathway is involved in the pathogenesis and development of ischemic stroke. However, the upstream kinase and downstream kinase of MAPK signaling pathway are complex and the influencing factors are numerous, the exact role of MAPK signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke has not been fully elucidated. MAPK signaling molecules in different cell types in the brain respond variously after stroke injury, therefore, the present review article is committed to summarizing the pathological process of different cell types participating in stroke, discussed the mechanism of MAPK participating in stroke. We further elucidated that MAPK signaling pathway molecules can be used as therapeutic targets for stroke, thus promoting the prevention and treatment of stroke.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
Zuzanna Drulis-Kawa ◽  
Barbara Maciejewska

Biofilms are a community of surface-associated microorganisms characterized by the presence of different cell types in terms of physiology and phenotype [...]


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dvir Gur ◽  
Emily J. Bain ◽  
Kory R. Johnson ◽  
Andy J. Aman ◽  
H. Amalia Pasoili ◽  
...  

AbstractSkin color patterns are ubiquitous in nature, impact social behavior, predator avoidance, and protection from ultraviolet irradiation. A leading model system for vertebrate skin patterning is the zebrafish; its alternating blue stripes and yellow interstripes depend on light-reflecting cells called iridophores. It was suggested that the zebrafish’s color pattern arises from a single type of iridophore migrating differentially to stripes and interstripes. However, here we find that iridophores do not migrate between stripes and interstripes but instead differentiate and proliferate in-place, based on their micro-environment. RNA-sequencing analysis further reveals that stripe and interstripe iridophores have different transcriptomic states, while cryogenic-scanning-electron-microscopy and micro-X-ray diffraction identify different crystal-arrays architectures, indicating that stripe and interstripe iridophores are different cell types. Based on these results, we present an alternative model of skin patterning in zebrafish in which distinct iridophore crystallotypes containing specialized, physiologically responsive, organelles arise in stripe and interstripe by in-situ differentiation.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 284
Author(s):  
Yu-Hao Liu ◽  
Chien-Chang Chen ◽  
Yi-Jen Hsueh ◽  
Li-Man Hung ◽  
David Hui-Kang Ma ◽  
...  

Although several modes of reprogramming have been reported in different cell types during iPSC induction, the molecular mechanism regarding the selection of different modes of action is still mostly unknown. The present study examined the molecular events that participate in the selection of such processes at the onset of somatic reprogramming. The activity of STAT3 versus that of Erk1/2 reversibly determines the reprogramming mode entered; a lower activity ratio favors the deterministic process and vice versa. Additionally, extraneous E-cadherin facilitates the early events of somatic reprogramming, potentially by stabilizing the LIF/gp130 and EGFR/ErbB2 complexes to promote entry into the deterministic process. Our current findings demonstrated that manipulating the pSTAT3/pErk1/2 activity ratio in the surrounding milieu can drive different modes of action toward either the deterministic or the stochastic process in the context of OSKM-mediated somatic reprogramming.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document