Deacetylation of Fungal Exopolysaccharide Mediates Adhesion and Biofilm Formation.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

The mold Aspergillus fumigatus causes invasive infection in immunocompromised patients. Recently, galactosaminogalactan (GAG), an exopolysaccharide composed of galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), was identified as a virulence factor required for biofilm formation. The molecular mechanisms underlying GAG biosynthesis and GAG-mediated biofilm formation were unknown. We identified a cluster of five coregulated genes that were dysregulated in GAG-deficient mutants and whose gene products share functional similarity with proteins that mediate the synthesis of the bacterial biofilm exopolysaccharide poly-(β1-6)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (PNAG). Bioinformatic analyses suggested that the GAG cluster gene agd3 encodes a protein containing a deacetylase domain. Because deac

SUBMITTER: Lee MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4817252 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature