Cryptococcus neoformans ADS lyase is an enzyme essential for virulence whose crystal structure reveals features exploitable in antifungal drug design.

ABSTRACT: There is significant clinical need for new antifungal agents to manage infections with pathogenic species such as Cryptococcus neoformans Because the purine biosynthesis pathway is essential for many metabolic processes, such as synthesis of DNA and RNA and energy generation, it may represent a potential target for developing new antifungals. Within this pathway, the bifunctional enzyme adenylosuccinate (ADS) lyase plays a role in the formation of the key intermediates inosine monophosphate and AMP involved in the synthesis of ATP and GTP, prompting us to investigate ADS lyase in C. neoformans. Here, we report that ADE13 encodes ADS lyase in C. neoformans. We found that an ade13Δ mutant is an adenine auxotroph and is unable to successfully cause infection

SUBMITTER: Chitty JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5512076 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature