CpALS4770 and CpALS4780 contribution to the virulence of Candida parapsilosis

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2019Source: Microbiological ResearchAuthor(s): Marina Zoppo, Mariagrazia Di Luca, Mauro Franco, Cosmeri Rizzato, Antonella Lupetti, Annarita Stringaro, Flavia De Bernardis, Christoph Schaudinn, M. Inmaculada Barrasa, Daria Bottai, Valmik K. Vyas, Arianna TavantiAbstractThe ability of yeast to adhere to biotic and abiotic surfaces represents an essential trait during the early stages of infection. Agglutinin-like sequence (Als) cell-wall proteins play a key role in adhesion of Candida species. Candida parapsilosis genome encompasses 5 ALS members, of which only the role of CPAR2_404800 has been elucidated. The present project was aimed at investigating the contribution of C. parapsilosis Als proteins by generating edited strains lacking functional Als proteins. CPAR2_404770 and CPAR2_404780, further indicated as CpALS4770 and CpALS4780, were selected for the generation of single and double edited strains using an episomal CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Phenotypic characterization of mutant strains revealed that editing of both genes had no impact on the in vitro growth of C. parapsilosis or on morphogenesis. Notably, CpALS4770-edited strain showed a reduction of biofilm formation and adhesive properties to human buccal cells (HBECs). Conversely, single CpALS4780-edited strain did not show any difference compared to the wild-type strain in all the assays performed, while the double CpALS4770-CpALS4780 mutant revealed an increased ability t...
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research