Signal Transduction Cascades Regulating Fungal Development and Virulence

Overview

Journal Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

Publisher American Society for Microbiology

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2000 Dec 6

PMID 11104818

Citations 345

Authors

K B Lengeler

R C Davidson

C DSouza

T Harashima

W C Shen

P Wang

X Pan

M Waugh

J Heitman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Cellular differentiation, mating, and filamentous growth are regulated in many fungi by environmental and nutritional signals. For example, in response to nitrogen limitation, diploid cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae undergo a dimorphic transition to filamentous growth referred to as pseudohyphal differentiation. Yeast filamentous growth is regulated, in part, by two conserved signal transduction cascades: a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade and a G-protein regulated cyclic AMP signaling pathway. Related signaling cascades play an analogous role in regulating mating and virulence in the plant fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis and the human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. We review here studies on the signaling cascades that regulate development of these and other fungi. This analysis illustrates both how the model yeast S. cerevisiae can serve as a paradigm for signaling in other organisms and also how studies in other fungi provide insights into conserved signaling pathways that operate in many divergent organisms.

Citing Articles

Virulence perspective genomic research unlocks the secrets of associated with banded sheath blight in Barnyard Millet ().

Patro T, Palanna K, Jeevan B, Tatineni P, Poonacha T, Khan F Front Plant Sci. 2024; 15:1457912.

PMID: 39529934 PMC: 11551851. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1457912.

Integration of fungal transcriptomics and metabolomics provides insights into the early interaction between the ORM fungus Tulasnella sp. and the orchid Serapias vomeracea seeds.

De Rose S, Sillo F, Ghirardo A, Perotto S, Schnitzler J, Balestrini R IMA Fungus. 2024; 15(1):31.

PMID: 39456087 PMC: 11503967. DOI: 10.1186/s43008-024-00165-6.

Exploration on cold adaptation of Antarctic lichen via detection of positive selection genes.

Wang Y, Zhang Y, Li R, Qian B, Du X, Qiu X IMA Fungus. 2024; 15(1):29.

PMID: 39252145 PMC: 11386357. DOI: 10.1186/s43008-024-00160-x.

Fungal biofilm formation and its regulatory mechanism.

Wang D, Zeng N, Li C, Li Z, Zhang N, Li B Heliyon. 2024; 10(12):e32766.

PMID: 38988529 PMC: 11233959. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32766.

Measuring Stress Phenotypes in Cryptococcus neoformans.

Upadhya R, Probst C, Alspaugh J, Lodge J Methods Mol Biol. 2024; 2775:277-303.

PMID: 38758325 PMC: 11521573. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3722-7_19.

References

Wang P, Heitman J . Signal transduction cascades regulating mating, filamentation, and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans. Curr Opin Microbiol. 1999; 2(4):358-62. DOI: 10.1016/S1369-5274(99)80063-0. View

Bencina M, Panneman H, Ruijter G, Legisa M, Visser J . Characterization and overexpression of the Aspergillus niger gene encoding the cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit. Microbiology (Reading). 1997; 143 ( Pt 4):1211-1220. DOI: 10.1099/00221287-143-4-1211. View

Castilla R, PASSERON S, Cantore M . N-acetyl-D-glucosamine induces germination in Candida albicans through a mechanism sensitive to inhibitors of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Cell Signal. 1999; 10(10):713-9. DOI: 10.1016/s0898-6568(98)00015-1. View

Davidson R, Cruz M, Sia R, Allen B, Alspaugh J, Heitman J . Gene disruption by biolistic transformation in serotype D strains of Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal Genet Biol. 2000; 29(1):38-48. DOI: 10.1006/fgbi.1999.1180. View

Kwon-Chung K . Morphogenesis of Filobasidiella neoformans, the sexual state of Cryptococcus neoformans. Mycologia. 1976; 68(4):821-33. View

Arpaia G, Loros J, Dunlap J, Morelli G, Macino G . Light induction of the clock-controlled gene ccg-1 is not transduced through the circadian clock in Neurospora crassa. Mol Gen Genet. 1995; 247(2):157-63. DOI: 10.1007/BF00705645. View

Som T, Kolaparthi V . Developmental decisions in Aspergillus nidulans are modulated by Ras activity. Mol Cell Biol. 1994; 14(8):5333-48. PMC: 359053. DOI: 10.1128/mcb.14.8.5333-5348.1994. View

Lo W, Dranginis A . The cell surface flocculin Flo11 is required for pseudohyphae formation and invasion by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Biol Cell. 1998; 9(1):161-71. PMC: 25236. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.9.1.161. View

Mitchell T, Dean R . The cAMP-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit is required for appressorium formation and pathogenesis by the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe grisea. Plant Cell. 1995; 7(11):1869-78. PMC: 161045. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.7.11.1869. View

10.

Urban M, Kahmann R, Bolker M . Identification of the pheromone response element in Ustilago maydis. Mol Gen Genet. 1996; 251(1):31-7. DOI: 10.1007/BF02174341. View

11.

Casselton L, Olesnicky N . Molecular genetics of mating recognition in basidiomycete fungi. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 1998; 62(1):55-70. PMC: 98906. DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.62.1.55-70.1998. View

12.

Mochizuki N, Yamamoto M . Reduction in the intracellular cAMP level triggers initiation of sexual development in fission yeast. Mol Gen Genet. 1992; 233(1-2):17-24. DOI: 10.1007/BF00587556. View

13.

Heitman J, Allen B, Alspaugh J, Kwon-Chung K . On the origins of congenic MATalpha and MATa strains of the pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal Genet Biol. 1999; 28(1):1-5. DOI: 10.1006/fgbi.1999.1155. View

14.

Wickes B, Edman U, Edman J . The Cryptococcus neoformans STE12alpha gene: a putative Saccharomyces cerevisiae STE12 homologue that is mating type specific. Mol Microbiol. 1998; 26(5):951-60. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1997.6322001.x. View

15.

Odom A, Del Poeta M, Perfect J, Heitman J . The immunosuppressant FK506 and its nonimmunosuppressive analog L-685,818 are toxic to Cryptococcus neoformans by inhibition of a common target protein. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1997; 41(1):156-61. PMC: 163677. DOI: 10.1128/AAC.41.1.156. View

16.

Xue Y, Batlle M, Hirsch J . GPR1 encodes a putative G protein-coupled receptor that associates with the Gpa2p Galpha subunit and functions in a Ras-independent pathway. EMBO J. 1998; 17(7):1996-2007. PMC: 1170545. DOI: 10.1093/emboj/17.7.1996. View

17.

Nocero M, Isshiki T, Yamamoto M, Hoffman C . Glucose repression of fbp1 transcription of Schizosaccharomyces pombe is partially regulated by adenylate cyclase activation by a G protein alpha subunit encoded by gpa2 (git8). Genetics. 1994; 138(1):39-45. PMC: 1206136. DOI: 10.1093/genetics/138.1.39. View

18.

Odom A, Muir S, Lim E, Toffaletti D, Perfect J, Heitman J . Calcineurin is required for virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans. EMBO J. 1997; 16(10):2576-89. PMC: 1169869. DOI: 10.1093/emboj/16.10.2576. View

19.

Chandarlapaty S, Errede B . Ash1, a daughter cell-specific protein, is required for pseudohyphal growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 1998; 18(5):2884-91. PMC: 110667. DOI: 10.1128/MCB.18.5.2884. View

20.

Hemenway C, Heitman J . Calcineurin. Structure, function, and inhibition. Cell Biochem Biophys. 1999; 30(1):115-51. DOI: 10.1007/BF02737887. View