Project description:Although many studies have focused on dimorphic switching, noncoding RNAs in Talaromyces marneffei have been neglected until now. rRNA depletion RNA-seq with or without RNase R treatment were performed in mycelium and yeast conditions of Talaromyces marneffei by to unveil the functions of circRNAs in dimorphic switching.
Project description:Coccidioides immitis (C. immitis) is a dimorphic fungus that causes disease in mammals including human beings. It grows as a mycelium in the soil but differentiates into a pathogenic structure called a spherule in the host. We compared the transcriptome of C. immitis mycelia and day 2 and day 8 spherules grown in vitro using a custom custom oligonucleotide microarray from Nimblegen.
Project description:Talaromyces (Penicillium) marneffei is an emerging opportunistic pathogen associated with HIV infection, particularly in Southeast Asia and southern China. The rapid uptake and killing of T. marneffei conidia by phagocytic cells along with the effective induction of an inflammatory response by the host is essential for disease control. T. marneffei produces a number of different laccases linked to fungal virulence. To understand the role of the various laccases in T. marneffei, laccase-encoding genes were investigated. Targeted single, double and triple gene deletions of laccases encoding lacA, lacB, and lacC showed no significant phenotypic effects suggesting redundancy of function. When a fourth laccase-encoding gene, pbrB, was deleted in the ?lacA ?lacB ?lacC background, the quadruple mutant displayed delayed conidiation and the conidia were more sensitive to H2O2, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and antifungal agents than wild-type and other transformants. Conidia of the quadruple mutant showed marked differences in their interaction with the human monocyte cell line, THP-1 such that phagocytosis was significantly higher when compared with the wild-type at one and 2 hours of incubation while the phagocytic index was significantly different from 15 to 120 minutes. In addition, killing of the quadruple mutant by THP-1 cells was more efficient at 2 and 4 hours of incubation. The levels of the proinflammatory cytokines TNF-?, IL-1? and IL-6 from THP-1 cells infected with the quadruple mutant were also significantly increased in comparison with wild-type. The results demonstrate that production of laccases by T. marneffei actually promotes the pathogen's resistance to innate host defenses.