Integration of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle with cAMP signaling and Sfl2 pathways in the regulation of CO2 sensing, filamentation, and virulence in Candida albicans
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Candida albicans is the most common opportunistic fungal pathogen of humans and is also a benign member of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract microbiota. Morphological transitions and metabolic regulation are critical for C. albicans to adapt to the changing host environment. We generated a library of central metabolic pathway mutants in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and investigated the functional consequences of these gene deletions on C. albicans biology. Inactivation of the TCA cycle impairs the ability of C. ablicans to utilize non-fermentable carbon sources and dramatically attenuates cell growth rates under several culture conditions. Through integrations with the Ras1-cAMP signaling pathway and the heat shock factor-type transcription regulator Sfl2, we found that the TCA cycle plays fundamental roles in the regulation of CO2 sensing and filamentation. The TCA cycle and cAMP signaling pathways form a regulatory feedback loop, in which ATP and CO2 may function as molecular linkers. We further demonstrate that inactivation of the TCA cycle leads to lowered intracellular ATP and cAMP levels and thus affects the activation of the Ras1-regulated cAMP signaling pathway. In turn, the Ras1-cAMP signaling pathway controls the TCA cycle through both Efg1- and Sfl2-mediated transcriptional regulation in response to elevated CO2 levels. The protein kinase A (PKA) catalytic subunit Tpk1, but not Tpk2, may play a major role in this regulation. Sfl2 specifically binds to several TCA cycle and filamentation-associated genes under high CO2 conditions. Global transcriptional profiling experiments indicate that Sfl2 is indeed required for the gene expression changes occurring in response to these elevated CO2 levels. Finally, we also demonstrate that several key genes of the TCA cycle are essential for virulence and successful colonization of the GI tract in two mouse infection models.
ORGANISM(S): Candida albicans
PROVIDER: GSE102039 | GEO | 2017/10/04
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA396454
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA