Project description:Map ORC binding sites to identify replication origins in C. albicans by using polyclonal ORC antibodies (gift from Stephen Bell Lab). Due to the unsynchronized nature of Candida cells, log-phase cultures were taken to perfoem ChIP-chip experiments to find the genome-wide ORC binding sites.
Project description:To elucidate the impact of IFU5 in Candida albicans, genome wide transcription profiling was performed in ifu5?/? mutant strain. Wild type and mutant cells were grown for 5 hours and RNA extracted from these cultures, followed by microarray profiling. Expression of six genes (EFG1, ALS3, SOD3, BMT4, COX2, NAD1) was validated by qPCR.
Project description:Candida albicans is part of the human gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota. To better understand how C. albicans efficiently establishes GI colonisation, we competitively challenged growth of 572 signature-tagged strains (~10% genome coverage), each conditionally overexpressing a single gene, in the murine gut. We identified CRZ2, a transcription factor whose overexpression and deletion respectively increased and decreased early GI colonisation. Using clues from genome-wide expression and gene-set enrichment analyses, we found that the optimal activity of Crz2p occurs under hypoxia at 37°C, as evidenced by both phenotypic and transcriptomic analyses following CRZ2 genetic perturbation. Consistent with early colonisation of the GI tract, we show that CRZ2 overexpression confers resistance to acidic pH and bile salts, suggesting an adaptation to the upper sections of the gut. Genome-wide location analyses revealed that Crz2p directly modulates the expression of many mannosyltransferase- and cell-wall protein-encoding genes, suggesting a link with cell-wall function. We show that CRZ2 overexpression alters cell-wall phosphomannan abundance and increases sensitivity to tunicamycin, suggesting a role in protein glycosylation. Our study reflects the powerful use of gene overexpression as a complementary approach to gene deletion to identify relevant biological pathways involved in C. albicans interaction with the host environment.
Project description:This data was generated to compare genome-wide expression differences between a major fungal pathogen of humans, Candida albicans and its less pathogenic relative, Candida dubliniensis, using interspecies hybrids to systematically identify cis-regulatory adaptations.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Candida albicans SC5314 comparing C. albicans grown in RPMI1640 or in RPMI1640 with 100ug/ml AAT. Goal was to determine the effects of AAT on global C. albicans gene expression.
Project description:Biofilm formation is an important virulence trait of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. We have combined gene overexpression, strain barcoding and microarray profiling to screen a library of 531 C. albicans conditional overexpression strains (~10% of the genome) for genes affecting biofilm development in mixed-population experiments. The overexpression of 16 genes increased strain occupancy within a multi-strain biofilm, whereas overexpression of 4 genes decreased it. The set of 16 genes was significantly enriched for those encoding predicted glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-modified proteins, namely Ihd1/Pga36, Phr2, Pga15, Pga19, Pga22, Pga32, Pga37, Pga42 and Pga59; eight of which have been classified as pathogen-specific. Validation experiments using either individually- or competitively-grown overexpression strains revealed that the contribution of these genes to biofilm formation was variable and stage-specific. Deeper functional analysis of PGA59 and PGA22 at a single-cell resolution using atomic force microscopy showed that overexpression of either gene increased C. albicans ability to adhere to an abiotic substrate. However, unlike PGA59, PGA22 overexpression led to cell cluster formation that resulted in increased sensitivity to shear forces and decreased ability to form a single-strain biofilm. Within the multi-strain environment provided by the PGA22-non overexpressing cells, PGA22-overexpressing cells were protected from shear forces and fitter for biofilm development. Ultrastructural analysis, genome-wide transcript profiling and phenotypic analyses in a heterologous context suggested that PGA22 affects cell adherence through alteration of cell wall structure and/or function. Taken together, our findings reveal that several novel predicted GPI-modified proteins contribute to the cooperative behaviour between biofilm cells and are important participants during C. albicans biofilm formation. Moreover, they illustrate the power of using signature tagging in conjunction with gene overexpression for the identification of novel genes involved in processes pertaining to C. albicans virulence.
Project description:Rme1, a conserved transcription factor among members of the ascomycete lineage, regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in baker’s yeast. The genome of the meiosis-defective fungal pathogen Candida albicans encodes a Rme1 homolog, which we previously mapped within a transcriptional circuitry that controls hyphal growth. To delineate a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis, we combined genome-wide expression and location analyses of Rme1. Strikingly, Rme1 bound upstream and activated the expression of markers of chlamydosporulation, a process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolished chlamydosporulation in three chlamydospore-forming Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypassed the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators, indicating that Rme1 is central to chlamydospore development. Moreover, RME1 expression levels correlated with chlamydosporulation efficiency among clinical isolates, further highlighting Rme1 importance in this process. Interestingly, RME1 displayed a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase depending upon Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. We suggest that Rme1 function spans from the regulation of meiosis in sexual yeasts to the control of an epigenetic switch necessary for asexual spore formation in meiosis-defective Candida species.