Identification and Investigation of Dfi1p signaling intermediates and transcriptional targets in Candida albicans
Weeks, Anne.
2017
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Abstract: The common human commensal, Candida albicans, is a polymorphic
fungus and a medically significant opportunistic pathogen. C albicans can undergo a
morphological shift between a yeast form and a hyphal form in response to many
environmental stimuli, including growth in contact with an agar matrix. Wildtype levels of
filamentation in response to growth in contact with an agar matrix re... read morequire the integral
membrane protein, Dfi1p, which transmits a signal to the mitogen activated protein kinase
(MAPK) Cek1p. The first goal of this work was to identify proteins that participate in
signaling to Cek1p during growth in contact with an agar matrix. Activation of Cek1p
required proteins predicted to participate in the classical Cek1p MAPK cascade, as well as
the GTPase Rac1p and its accessory proteins Dck1p and Lmo1p. Constitutive activation of
Rac1p bypassed the Cek1p activation defect of a dfi1 null strain, demonstrating that Rac1p
is epistatic to Dfi1p. The second goal of this work was to identify transcriptional targets
of Dfi1p-dependent Cek1p activation. For this portion we relied upon ionophore activation
of Cek1p in a Dfi1p-dependent manner during liquid growth. Transcriptional targets of
Dfi1p-dependent Cek1p activation include some members of the Sef1p regulon, which responds
to iron starvation. Three genes of interest were chosen for further study: BMT9, SOD4, and
OPT1. Dfi1p is not required for the transcriptional response to low iron, but is important
for the response to ionophore. BMT9 and OPT1 require Dfi1p for a full transcriptional
response during plated growth. SOD4, however, required Sef1p and not Dfi1p during the same
conditions. OPT1 and SOD4 both responded to activation of another transcription factor,
Czf1p, which is known for promoting embedded filamentation. We propose that the
Dfi1p-dependent transcriptional changes we observed rely on both Sef1p and Czf1p working
simultaneously. The connection between iron starvation and embedded growth is a novel and
intriguing finding.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2017.
Submitted to the Dept. of Molecular Microbiology.
Advisor: Carol Kumamoto.
Committee: Michael Malamy, Joan Mecsas, and Andrew Camilli.
Keyword: Microbiology.read less - ID:
- v979vf90m
- Component ID:
- tufts:26088
- To Cite:
- DCA Citation Guide EndNote
