Candida albicans' inorganic phosphate transport and evolutionary adaptation to phosphate scarcity.

ABSTRACT: Phosphorus is essential in all cells' structural, metabolic and regulatory functions. For fungal cells that import inorganic phosphate (Pi) up a steep concentration gradient, surface Pi transporters are critical capacitators of growth. Fungi must deploy Pi transporters that enable optimal Pi uptake in pH and Pi concentration ranges prevalent in their environments. Single, triple and quadruple mutants were used to characterize the four Pi transporters we identified for the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, which must adapt to alkaline conditions during invasion of the host bloodstream and deep organs. A high-affinity Pi transporter, Pho84, was most efficient across the widest pH range while another, Pho89, showed high-affinity characteristics only within one pH unit of neutral.

SUBMITTER: Acosta-Zaldivar M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10862840 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature