Unexpected link between metal ion deficiency and autophagy in Aspergillus fumigatus.

ABSTRACT: Autophagy is the major cellular pathway for bulk degradation of cytosolic material and is required to maintain viability under starvation conditions. To determine the contribution of autophagy to starvation stress responses in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, we disrupted the A. fumigatus atg1 gene, encoding a serine/threonine kinase required for autophagy. The DeltaAfatg1 mutant showed abnormal conidiophore development and reduced conidiation, but the defect could be bypassed by increasing the nitrogen content of the medium. When transferred to starvation medium, wild-type hyphae were able to undergo a limited amount of growth, resulting in radial expansion of the colony. In contrast, the DeltaAfatg1 mutant was unable to grow under these conditions. However, supplementation o

SUBMITTER: Richie DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2168250 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature