scholarly journals The CDC42 Homolog of the Dimorphic FungusPenicillium marneffei Is Required for Correct Cell Polarization during Growth but Not Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (11) ◽  
pp. 3447-3457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie J. Boyce ◽  
Michael J. Hynes ◽  
Alex Andrianopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Cell Shape ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Polarized Growth ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Rho Family

ABSTRACT The opportunistic human pathogenic fungus Penicillium marneffei is dimorphic and is thereby capable of growth either as filamentous multinucleate hyphae or as uninucleate yeast cells which divide by fission. The dimorphic switch is temperature dependent and requires regulated changes in morphology and cell shape. Cdc42p is a Rho family GTPase which in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is required for changes in polarized growth during mating and pseudohyphal development. Cdc42p homologs in higher organisms are also associated with changes in cell shape and polarity. We have cloned a highly conserved CDC42 homolog from P. marneffeinamed cflA. By the generation of dominant-negative and dominant-activated cflA transformants, we have shown that CflA initiates polarized growth and extension of the germ tube and subsequently maintains polarized growth in the vegetative mycelium. CflA is also required for polarization and determination of correct cell shape during yeast-like growth, and active CflA is required for the separation of yeast cells. However, correct cflAfunction is not required for dimorphic switching and does not appear to play a role during the generation of specialized structures during asexual development. In contrast, heterologous expression ofcflA alleles in Aspergillus nidulansprevented conidiation.

scholarly journals Cdc42 Is Not Essential for Filopodium Formation, Directed Migration, Cell Polarization, and Mitosis in Fibroblastoid Cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 4473-4484 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Czuchra ◽  
Xunwei Wu ◽  
Hannelore Meyer ◽  
Jolanda van Hengel ◽  
Timm Schroeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Directed Migration ◽  
Membrane Blebbing ◽  
Directed Cell Migration ◽  
Rho Family ◽  
Filopodium Formation

Cdc42 is a small GTPase involved in the regulation of the cytoskeleton and cell polarity. To test whether Cdc42 has an essential role in the formation of filopodia or directed cell migration, we generated Cdc42-deficient fibroblastoid cells by conditional gene inactivation. We report here that loss of Cdc42 did not affect filopodium or lamellipodium formation and had no significant influence on the speed of directed migration nor on mitosis. Cdc42-deficient cells displayed a more elongated cell shape and had a reduced area. Furthermore, directionality during migration and reorientation of the Golgi apparatus into the direction of migration was decreased. However, expression of dominant negative Cdc42 in Cdc42-null cells resulted in strongly reduced directed migration, severely reduced single cell directionality, and complete loss of Golgi polarization and of directionality of protrusion formation toward the wound, as well as membrane blebbing. Thus, our data show that besides Cdc42 additional GTPases of the Rho-family, which share GEFs with Cdc42, are involved in the establishment and maintenance of cell polarity during directed migration.

scholarly journals Morphogenetic Circuitry Regulating Growth and Development in the Dimorphic Pathogen Penicillium marneffei

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kylie J. Boyce ◽  
Alex Andrianopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Hyphal Growth ◽  
Penicillium Marneffei ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Asexual Development ◽  
Infectious Agents ◽  
Temperature Dependent ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus

ABSTRACTPenicillium marneffeiis an emerging human-pathogenic fungus endemic to Southeast Asia. Like a number of other fungal pathogens,P. marneffeiexhibits temperature-dependent dimorphic growth and grows in two distinct cellular morphologies, hyphae at 25°C and yeast cells at 37°C. Hyphae can differentiate to produce the infectious agents, asexual spores (conidia), which are inhaled into the host lung, where they are phagocytosed by pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Within macrophages, conidia germinate into unicellular yeast cells, which divide by fission. This minireview focuses on the current understanding of the genes required for the morphogenetic control of conidial germination, hyphal growth, asexual development, and yeast morphogenesis inP. marneffei.

scholarly journals Comprehensive transcription analysis of human pathogenic fungus Penicillium marneffei in mycelial and yeast cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 835-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyu Lin ◽  
Yuping Ran ◽  
Lantu Gou ◽  
Fei He ◽  
Ruifeng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Penicillium Marneffei ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Transcription Analysis ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus

scholarly journals Expression of a Constitutively Active Cdc42 Homologue Promotes Development of Sclerotic Bodies but Represses Hyphal Growth in the Zoopathogenic Fungus Wangiella (Exophiala)dermatitidis

2000 ◽  
Vol 182 (17) ◽  
pp. 4941-4950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangcang Ye ◽  
Paul J. Szaniszlo
Keyword(s):  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Hyphal Growth ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Obvious Effect ◽  
Intracellular Signals ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Constitutively Active

ABSTRACT In contrast to the CDC42 homologues ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the WdCDC42 gene in the human pathogenic fungus Wangiella (Exophiala)dermatitidis was found to be nonessential for cell viability. Expression of the constitutively active allelewdcdc42 G14V at 37°C induced nonpolarized growth that led to cell enlargement and multiple nucleation. The swollen cells subsequently converted into planate divided bicellular forms or multiply septated sclerotic bodies in post-log phase, when the G14V-altered protein was diminished. Thewdcdc42 G14V mutation also strongly repressed filamentous growth both in the wild-type strain and in the temperature-sensitive hyphal-form mutant Hf1. In contrast, overexpression of the dominant negative alleleswdcdc42 T19N andwdcdc42 D120A had no obvious effect on fungal-cell polarization. These results suggested that WdCdc42p plays a unique regulatory role in cellular morphogenesis in W. dermatitidis. Activation of this protein in response to extracellular or intracellular signals seems to commit its yeast-like cells to a phenotype transition that produces sclerotic bodies while repressing hyphal development.

scholarly journals Conserved Elements of the RAM Signaling Pathway Establish Cell Polarity in the BasidiomyceteCryptococcus neoformansin a Divergent Fashion from Other Fungi

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 3768-3780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felicia J. Walton ◽  
Joseph Heitman ◽  
Alexander Idnurm
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Insertional Mutagenesis ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Targeted Deletion ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Capsule Production ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Differentiation And Proliferation

In eukaryotes the complex processes of development, differentiation, and proliferation require carefully orchestrated changes in cellular morphology. Single-celled eukaryotes provide tractable models for the elucidation of signaling pathways involved in morphogenesis. Here we describe a pathway regulating cell polarization and separation in the human pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. An insertional mutagenesis screen identified roles for the ARF1, CAP60, NDH1, KIC1, CBK1, SOG2, and TAO3 genes in establishing normal colony morphology. ARF1 and CAP60 are also required for capsule production, a virulence factor, and ARF1 confers resistance to the antifungal fluconazole. KIC1, CBK1, SOG2, and TAO3 are homologues of genes conserved in other eukaryotes; in Saccharomyces cerevisiae they constitute components of the RAM (regulation of Ace2p activity and cellular morphogenesis) signaling pathway. A targeted deletion of a fifth component of RAM (MOB2) conferred identical phenotypes to kic1, cbk1, sog2, or tao3 mutations. Characterization of these genes in C. neoformans revealed unique features of the RAM pathway in this organism. Loss of any of these genes caused constitutive hyperpolarization instead of the loss of polarity seen in S. cerevisiae. Furthermore, sensitivity to the drugs FK506 and cyclosporin A demonstrates that the RAM pathway acts in parallel with the protein phosphatase calcineurin in C. neoformans but not in S. cerevisiae. These results indicate that conserved signaling pathways serve both similar and divergent cellular roles in morphogenesis in these divergent organisms.

scholarly journals Pak1 kinase regulates ribonucleoprotein granules through Sts5 for polarized growth and the glucose starvation response

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph O. Magliozzi ◽  
James B. Moseley
Keyword(s):  
Cell Shape ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Glucose Starvation ◽  
Polarized Growth ◽  
P Bodies ◽  
Intrinsically Disordered ◽  
Rapid Dissolution ◽  
Rnp Granules

ABSTRACTFission yeast cells maintain a rod shape due to conserved signaling pathways that organize the cytoskeleton for polarized growth. We discovered a mechanism linking the conserved protein kinase Pak1 with cell shape through the RNA-binding protein Sts5. Pak1 prevents Sts5 association with P bodies by directly phosphorylating its intrinsically disordered region (IDR). Pak1 and the cell polarity kinase Orb6 both phosphorylate the Sts5 IDR but at distinct residues. Mutations preventing phosphorylation in the Sts5 IDR cause increase P body formation and defects in cell shape and polarity. Unexpectedly, when cells encounter glucose starvation, PKA signaling triggers Pak1 recruitment to P bodies with Sts5. Through retargeting experiments, we reveal that Pak1 localizes to these ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules to promote rapid dissolution of Sts5 upon glucose addition. Our work reveals a new role for Pak1 in regulating cell shape through RNPs during normal and stressed growth conditions.

scholarly journals A Filamentous Growth Response Mediated by the Yeast Mating Pathway

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 159 (3) ◽  
pp. 919-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Erdman ◽  
Michael Snyder
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Filament Formation ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Low Levels

Abstract Haploid cells of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae respond to mating pheromones by arresting their cell-division cycle in G1 and differentiating into a cell type capable of locating and fusing with mating partners. Yeast cells undergo chemotactic cell surface growth when pheromones are present above a threshold level for morphogenesis; however, the morphogenetic responses of cells to levels of pheromone below this threshold have not been systematically explored. Here we show that MATa haploid cells exposed to low levels of the α-factor mating pheromone undergo a novel cellular response: cells modulate their division patterns and cell shape, forming colonies composed of filamentous chains of cells. Time-lapse analysis of filament formation shows that its dynamics are distinct from that of pseudohyphal growth; during pheromone-induced filament formation, daughter cells are delayed relative to mother cells with respect to the timing of bud emergence. Filament formation requires the RSR1(BUD1), BUD8, SLK1/BCK1, and SPA2 genes and many elements of the STE11/STE7 MAP kinase pathway; this response is also independent of FAR1, a gene involved in orienting cell polarization during the mating response. We suggest that mating yeast cells undergo a complex response to low levels of pheromone that may enhance the ability of cells to search for mating partners through the modification of cell shape and alteration of cell-division patterns.

scholarly journals EpCAM promotes endosomal modulation of the cortical RhoA zone for epithelial organization

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cécile Gaston ◽  
Simon De Beco ◽  
Bryant Doss ◽  
Meng Pan ◽  
Estelle Gauquelin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Shape ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Cell Polarization ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Fiber Formation ◽  
Endosomal Trafficking ◽  
Transient Zone ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Fine Tune

AbstractAt the basis of cell shape and behavior, the organization of actomyosin and its ability to generate forces are widely studied. However, the precise regulation of this contractile network in space and time is unclear. Here, we study the role of the epithelial-specific protein EpCAM, a contractility modulator, in cell shape and motility. We show that EpCAM is required for stress fiber generation and front-rear polarity acquisition at the single cell level. In fact, EpCAM participates in the remodeling of a transient zone of active RhoA at the cortex of spreading epithelial cells. EpCAM and RhoA route together through the Rab35/EHD1 fast recycling pathway. This endosomal pathway spatially organizes GTP-RhoA to fine tune the activity of actomyosin resulting in polarized cell shape and development of intracellular stiffness and traction forces. Impairment of GTP-RhoA endosomal trafficking either by silencing EpCAM or by expressing Rab35/EHD1 mutants prevents proper myosin-II activity, stress fiber formation and ultimately cell polarization. Collectively, this work shows that the coupling between co-trafficking of EpCAM and RhoA, and actomyosin rearrangement is pivotal for cell spreading, and advances our understanding of how biochemical and mechanical properties promote cell plasticity.

scholarly journals Expression Patterns in Reductive Iron Assimilation and Functional Consequences during Phagocytosis of Lichtheimia corymbifera, an Emerging Cause of Mucormycosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Felicia Adelina Stanford ◽  
Nina Matthias ◽  
Zoltán Cseresnyés ◽  
Marc Thilo Figge ◽  
Mohamed I. Abdelwahab Hassan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Iron Uptake ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Iron Depletion ◽  
Iron Assimilation ◽  
Human Pathogenic Fungus ◽  
Hyphal Formation ◽  
Yeast Mutants

Iron is an essential micronutrient for most organisms and fungi are no exception. Iron uptake by fungi is facilitated by receptor-mediated internalization of siderophores, heme and reductive iron assimilation (RIA). The RIA employs three protein groups: (i) the ferric reductases (Fre5 proteins), (ii) the multicopper ferroxidases (Fet3) and (iii) the high-affinity iron permeases (Ftr1). Phenotyping under different iron concentrations revealed detrimental effects on spore swelling and hyphal formation under iron depletion, but yeast-like morphology under iron excess. Since access to iron is limited during pathogenesis, pathogens are placed under stress due to nutrient limitations. To combat this, gene duplication and differential gene expression of key iron uptake genes are utilized to acquire iron against the deleterious effects of iron depletion. In the genome of the human pathogenic fungus L. corymbifera, three, four and three copies were identified for FRE5, FTR1 and FET3 genes, respectively. As in other fungi, FET3 and FTR1 are syntenic and co-expressed in L. corymbifera. Expression of FRE5, FTR1 and FET3 genes is highly up-regulated during iron limitation (Fe-), but lower during iron excess (Fe+). Fe- dependent upregulation of gene expression takes place in LcFRE5 II and III, LcFTR1 I and II, as well as LcFET3 I and II suggesting a functional role in pathogenesis. The syntenic LcFTR1 I–LcFET3 I gene pair is co-expressed during germination, whereas LcFTR1 II- LcFET3 II is co-expressed during hyphal proliferation. LcFTR1 I, II and IV were overexpressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to represent high and moderate expression of intracellular transport of Fe3+, respectively. Challenge of macrophages with the yeast mutants revealed no obvious role for LcFTR1 I, but possible functions of LcFTR1 II and IVs in recognition by macrophages. RIA expression pattern was used for a new model of interaction between L. corymbifera and macrophages.

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