A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Arturo Hernández-Cervantes; Sadri Znaidi; Lasse van Wijlick; Iryna Denega; Virginia Basso; Jeanne Ropars; Natacha Sertour; Derek Sullivan; Gary Moran; Louise Basmaciyan; Fabienne Bon; Frédéric Dalle; Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux; Teun Boekhout; Ying Yang; Zongwei Li; Sophie Bachellier-Bassi; Christophe d'Enfert

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Arturo Hernández-Cervantes, Sadri Znaidi, Lasse van Wijlick, Iryna Denega, Virginia Basso, Jeanne Ropars, Natacha Sertour, Derek Sullivan, Gary Moran, Louise Basmaciyan, Fabienne Bon, Frédéric Dalle, Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux, Teun Boekhout, Ying Yang, Zongwei Li, Sophie Bachellier-Bassi, Christophe d'Enfert

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Transcription factor Rme1 is conserved among ascomycetes and regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genome of the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans encodes an Rme1 homolog that is part of a transcriptional circuitry controlling hyphal growth. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide expression analyses to study a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis. We find that Rme1 binds upstream and activates the expression of genes that are upregulated during chlamydosporulation, an asexual process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolishes chlamydosporulation in three Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypasses the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators. RME1 expression levels correlate with chlamydosporulation efficiency across clinical isolates. Interestingly, RME1 displays a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase dependent on Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. Our results indicate that Rme1 plays a central role in chlamydospore development in Candida species.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	6224
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	11
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9
Publication status	Published - 04 Dec 2020

Keywords

Animals
Candida albicans/classification
Candidemia/microbiology
Female
Fungal Proteins/genetics
Gene Expression Profiling/methods
Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Spores, Fungal/genetics

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10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

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Hernández-Cervantes, A., Znaidi, S., van Wijlick, L., Denega, I., Basso, V., Ropars, J., Sertour, N., Sullivan, D., Moran, G., Basmaciyan, L., Bon, F., Dalle, F., Bougnoux, M.-E., Boekhout, T., Yang, Y., Li, Z., Bachellier-Bassi, S., & d'Enfert, C. (2020). A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Nature Communications, 11(1), 6224. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

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title = "A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans",

abstract = "Transcription factor Rme1 is conserved among ascomycetes and regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genome of the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans encodes an Rme1 homolog that is part of a transcriptional circuitry controlling hyphal growth. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide expression analyses to study a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis. We find that Rme1 binds upstream and activates the expression of genes that are upregulated during chlamydosporulation, an asexual process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolishes chlamydosporulation in three Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypasses the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators. RME1 expression levels correlate with chlamydosporulation efficiency across clinical isolates. Interestingly, RME1 displays a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase dependent on Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. Our results indicate that Rme1 plays a central role in chlamydospore development in Candida species.",

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author = "Arturo Hern{\'a}ndez-Cervantes and Sadri Znaidi and {van Wijlick}, Lasse and Iryna Denega and Virginia Basso and Jeanne Ropars and Natacha Sertour and Derek Sullivan and Gary Moran and Louise Basmaciyan and Fabienne Bon and Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric Dalle and Marie-Elisabeth Bougnoux and Teun Boekhout and Ying Yang and Zongwei Li and Sophie Bachellier-Bassi and Christophe d'Enfert",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

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doi = "10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9",

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Hernández-Cervantes, A, Znaidi, S, van Wijlick, L, Denega, I, Basso, V, Ropars, J, Sertour, N, Sullivan, D, Moran, G, Basmaciyan, L, Bon, F, Dalle, F, Bougnoux, M-E, Boekhout, T, Yang, Y, Li, Z, Bachellier-Bassi, S & d'Enfert, C 2020, 'A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans', Nature Communications, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 6224. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

TY - JOUR

T1 - A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans

AU - Hernández-Cervantes, Arturo

AU - Znaidi, Sadri

AU - van Wijlick, Lasse

AU - Denega, Iryna

AU - Basso, Virginia

AU - Ropars, Jeanne

AU - Sertour, Natacha

AU - Sullivan, Derek

AU - Moran, Gary

AU - Basmaciyan, Louise

AU - Bon, Fabienne

AU - Dalle, Frédéric

AU - Bougnoux, Marie-Elisabeth

AU - Boekhout, Teun

AU - Yang, Ying

AU - Li, Zongwei

AU - Bachellier-Bassi, Sophie

AU - d'Enfert, Christophe

PY - 2020/12/4

Y1 - 2020/12/4

N2 - Transcription factor Rme1 is conserved among ascomycetes and regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genome of the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans encodes an Rme1 homolog that is part of a transcriptional circuitry controlling hyphal growth. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide expression analyses to study a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis. We find that Rme1 binds upstream and activates the expression of genes that are upregulated during chlamydosporulation, an asexual process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolishes chlamydosporulation in three Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypasses the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators. RME1 expression levels correlate with chlamydosporulation efficiency across clinical isolates. Interestingly, RME1 displays a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase dependent on Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. Our results indicate that Rme1 plays a central role in chlamydospore development in Candida species.

AB - Transcription factor Rme1 is conserved among ascomycetes and regulates meiosis and pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The genome of the meiosis-defective pathogen Candida albicans encodes an Rme1 homolog that is part of a transcriptional circuitry controlling hyphal growth. Here, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation and genome-wide expression analyses to study a possible role of Rme1 in C. albicans morphogenesis. We find that Rme1 binds upstream and activates the expression of genes that are upregulated during chlamydosporulation, an asexual process leading to formation of large, spherical, thick-walled cells during nutrient starvation. RME1 deletion abolishes chlamydosporulation in three Candida species, whereas its overexpression bypasses the requirement for chlamydosporulation cues and regulators. RME1 expression levels correlate with chlamydosporulation efficiency across clinical isolates. Interestingly, RME1 displays a biphasic pattern of expression, with a first phase independent of Rme1 function and dependent on chlamydospore-inducing cues, and a second phase dependent on Rme1 function and independent of chlamydospore-inducing cues. Our results indicate that Rme1 plays a central role in chlamydospore development in Candida species.

KW - Animals

KW - Candida albicans/classification

KW - Candidemia/microbiology

KW - Female

KW - Fungal Proteins/genetics

KW - Gene Expression Profiling/methods

KW - Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal

KW - Mice, Inbred BALB C

KW - Spores, Fungal/genetics

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-20010-9

M3 - Article

C2 - 33277479

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 11

SP - 6224

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

ER -

A conserved regulator controls asexual sporulation in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans

Abstract

Keywords

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