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Roles of Zinc-responsive Transcription Factor Csr1 in Filamentous Growth of the Pathogenic Yeast Candida albicans  

Kim, Min-Jeong (Department of Microbiology, School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University)
Kil, Min-Kwang (Department of Microbiology, School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University)
Jung, Jong-Hwan (Department of Microbiology, School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University)
Kim, Jin-Mi (Department of Microbiology, School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University)
Publication Information
Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology / v.18, no.2, 2008 , pp. 242-247 More about this Journal
Abstract
In the fungal pathogen Candida albicans, the yeast-to-hyphal transition occurs in response to a broad range of environmental stimuli and is considered to be a major virulence factor. To address whether the zinc homeostasis affects the growth or pathogenicity of C. albicans, we functionally characterized the zinc-finger protein Csr1 during filamentation. The deduced amino acid sequence of Csr1 showed a 49% similarity to the zinc-specific transcription factor, Zap1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sequential disruptions of CSR1 were carried out in diploid C. albicans. The csr1/csr1 mutant strain showed severe growth defects under zinc-limited growth conditions and the filamentation defect under hypha-inducing media. The colony morphology and the germ-tube formation were significantly affected by the csr1 mutation. The expression of the hyphae-specific gene HWP1 was also impaired in csr1/csr1 cells. The C. albicans homologs of ZRTl and ZRT2, which are zinc-transporter genes in S. cerevisiae, were isolated. High-copy number plasmids of these genes suppressed the filamentation defect of the csr1/csr1 mutant strain. We propose that the filamentation phenotype of C. albicans is closely associated with the zinc homeostasis in the cells and that Csr1 plays a critical role in this regulation.
Keywords
Fungal pathogen; Candida albicans; pathogenicity; zinc-finger domain; Zap1; Csr1; zinc transporter; filamentation;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 4  (Citation Analysis)
Times Cited By Web Of Science : 7  (Related Records In Web of Science)
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