Cryptococcus neoformans Cda1 and Its Chitin Deacetylase Activity Are Required for Fungal Pathogenesis.

ABSTRACT: Chitin is an essential component of the cell wall of Cryptococcus neoformans conferring structural rigidity and integrity under diverse environmental conditions. Chitin deacetylase genes encode the enyzmes (chitin deacetylases [Cdas]) that deacetylate chitin, converting it to chitosan. The functional role of chitosan in the fungal cell wall is not well defined, but it is an important virulence determinant of C. neoformans Mutant strains deficient in chitosan are completely avirulent in a mouse pulmonary infection model. C. neoformans carries genes that encode three Cdas (Cda1, Cda2, and Cda3) that appear to be functionally redundant in cells grown under vegetative conditions. Here we report that C. neoformans Cda1 is the principal Cda responsible for fungal path

SUBMITTER: Upadhya R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6247093 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature