Filamentation and biofilm formation are regulated by the phase-separation capacity of network transcription factors in Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: The ability of the fungus Candida albicans to filament and form biofilms contributes to its burden as a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Biofilm development involves an interconnected transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) consisting of nine transcription factors (TFs) that bind both to their own regulatory regions and to those of the other network TFs. Here, we show that seven of the nine TFs in the C. albicans biofilm network contain prion-like domains (PrLDs) that have been linked to the ability to form phase-separated condensates. Construction of PrLD mutants in four biofilm TFs reveals that these domains are essential for filamentation and biofilm formation in C. albicans. Moreover, biofilm PrLDs promote the formation of phase-separated condensates in the nuclei of liv

SUBMITTER: Ganser C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10718430 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature