UDP-glucose 4, 6-dehydratase activity plays an important role in maintaining cell wall integrity and virulence of Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: Candida albicans, a human fungal pathogen, undergoes morphogenetic changes that are associated with virulence. We report here that GAL102 in C. albicans encodes a homolog of dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase, an enzyme that affects cell wall properties as well as virulence of many pathogenic bacteria. We found that GAL102 deletion leads to greater sensitivity to antifungal drugs and cell wall destabilizing agents like Calcofluor white and Congo red. The mutant also formed biofilms consisting mainly of hyphal cells that show less turgor. The NMR analysis of cell wall mannans of gal102 deletion strain revealed that a major constituent of mannan is missing and the phosphomannan component known to affect virulence is greatly reduced. We also observed that there was a substantial reduction in the ex

SUBMITTER: Sen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3219719 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature