SREB, a GATA transcription factor that directs disparate fates in Blastomyces dermatitidis including morphogenesis and siderophore biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Blastomyces dermatitidis belongs to a group of human pathogenic fungi that exhibit thermal dimorphism. At 22 degrees C, these fungi grow as mold that produce conidia or infectious particles, whereas at 37 degrees C they convert to budding yeast. The ability to switch between these forms is essential for virulence in mammals and may enable these organisms to survive in the soil. To identify genes that regulate this phase transition, we used Agrobacterium tumefaciens to mutagenize B. dermatitidis conidia and screened transformants for defects in morphogenesis. We found that the GATA transcription factor SREB governs multiple fates in B. dermatitidis: phase transition from yeast to mold, cell growth at 22 degrees C, and biosynthesis of siderophores under iron-replete conditions. Insertional a

SUBMITTER: Gauthier GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2848559 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature