Roles of < i > Candida albicans < /i > Mig1 and Mig2 in glucose repression, pathogenicity traits, and < i > SNF1 < /i > essentiality

by Katherine Lagree, Carol A. Woolford, Manning Y. Huang, Gemma May, C. Joel McManus, Norma V. Solis, Scott G. Filler, Aaron P. Mitchell

Metabolic adaptation is linked to the ability of the opportunistic pathogenCandida albicans to colonize and cause infection in diverse host tissues. One way thatC.albicans controls its metabolism is through the glucose repression pathway, where expression of alternative carbon source utilization genes is repressed in the presence of its preferred carbon source, glucose. Here we carry out genetic and gene expression studies that identify transcription factors Mig1 and Mig2 as mediators of glucose repression inC.albicans. The well-studied Mig1/2 orthologs ScMig1/2 mediate glucose repression in the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae; our data argue thatC.albicans Mig1/2 function similarly as repressors of alternative carbon source utilization genes. However, Mig1/2 functions have several distinctive features inC.albicans. First, Mig1 and Mig2 have more co-equal roles in gene regulation than theirS.cerevisiae orthologs. Second, Mig1 is regulated at the level of protein accumulation, more akin to ScMig2 than ScMig1. Third, Mig1 and Mig2 are together required for a unique aspect ofC.albicans biology, the expression of several pathogenicity traits. Such Mig1/2-dependent traits include the abilities to form hyphae and biofilm, tolerance of cell wall inhibitors, and ability to damage macrophage-like cells and human endothelial cells. Finally, Mig1 is req...

Source: PLoS Genetics - January 20, 2020 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Katherine Lagree Source Type: research