Alternative splicing is a driving force that tunes metabolic adaptations to virulence traits in the dermatophyte <i>Trichophyton rubrum</i>.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Alternative splicing (AS), a common process in pathogenic fungal species, is not fully understood. We hypothesized that AS is a critical regulatory mechanism that enables species to undergo continuous adaptations during interactions with challenging host environments.

Methods

We utilized the model species Trichophyton rubrum to contextualize the role of AS in fungal physiology and virulence. We performed transcriptome-wide splicing analysis to search for AS events in RNA-sequencing data of T. rubrum grown in keratin. This scenario mimicked infection in vitro and allowed us to map biologically relevant splicing events.

Results and discussion

Overall, the results showed that AS is recruited to regulate approximately 12.6% of the T. r

SUBMITTER: Lopes MER 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12457390 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature