The chromatin remodeling factor Arp9 modulates the drug-resistance of Aspergillus flavus
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Aspergillus flavus
PROVIDER: GSE279121 | GEO | 2026/02/12
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Ergosterol, a pivotal constituent of the fungal cell membrane, plays a crucial role in diverse cellular activities. Fungi inherently regulate ergosterol homeostasis, a process traditionally associated with the control of a major transcription factor, like SREBP, activated in response to ergosterol depletion, regardless of which ergosterol biosynthesis step is affected. Contrary to the established paradigm, our investigation demonstrates that the inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis at specific steps triggers distinct transcriptional responses in erg genes across fungi, including Neurospora crassa, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Fusarium verticillioides. In N. crassa, the targeted responses are orchestrated by several transcription factors that have undergone functional rewiring. Specifically, ERG24 inhibition by amorolfine activates transcription factors SAH-2 and AtrR, resulting in the upregulation of erg24, erg2, erg25 and erg3. Additionally, ERG11 inhibition by azoles activates transcription factor NcSR, leading to the upregulation of erg11 and erg6. Our findings unveil a novel sophisticated regulation model of sterol biosynthesis in fungi which potentially enhances fungal survival in complex environments, thus providing new insights into sterol homeostasis maintenance and a deeper understanding of drug resistance mechanisms in fungi.
2024-03-24 | GSE261900 | GEO
Project description:mRNA profiles of Candida albicans SC5314 treated with compound H55 and untreated Candida albicans SC5314 were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq X Ten. The sequence reads that passed quality filters were analyzed at the transcript isoform level. qRT–PCR validation was performed using SYBR Green assay. We find that some genes in ergosterol biosynthesis pathaway such as ERG3, ERG6 and ERG9 were upregulated, but HMG1, ERG2 and ERG12 were downregulated. Genes invovled in hyphal growth and adhesion were also accordingly regulated in H55 treated group.
2023-05-18 | GSE209608 | GEO
Project description:Fungal infections are a major health concern because of limited antifungal drugs and development of drug resistance. Candida can develop azole drug resistance by overexpression of drug efflux pumps or mutating ERG11, the target of azoles. However, the role of epigenetic histone modifications in azole-induced gene expression and drug resistance is poorly understood in Candida glabrata. In this study, we show that Set1 mediates histone H3K4 methylation in C. glabrata. In addition, loss of SET1 and histone H3K4 methylation increases azole susceptibility in both C. glabrata and S. cerevisiae. This increase in azole susceptibility in S. cerevisiae and C. glabrata strains lacking SET1 is due to distinct mechanisms. For S. cerevisiae, loss of SET1 decreased the expression and function of the efflux pump Pdr5, but not ERG11 expression under azole treatment. In contrast, loss of SET1 in C. glabrata does not alter expression or function of efflux pumps. However, RNA sequencing revealed that C. glabrata Set1 is necessary for azole-induced expression of all 12 genes in the late ergosterol biosynthesis pathway, including ERG11 and ERG3. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis shows histone H3K4 trimethylation increases upon azole-induced ERG gene expression. In addition, high performance liquid chromatography analysis indicated Set1 is necessary for maintaining proper ergosterol levels under azole treatment. Clinical isolates lacking SET1 were also hypersusceptible to azoles which is attributed to reduced ERG11 expression but not defects in drug efflux. Overall, Set1 contributes to azole susceptibility in a species-specific manner by altering the expression and consequently disrupting pathways known for mediating drug resistance.
2022-07-28 | GSE209637 | GEO
Project description:Candida auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant human fungal pathogen often refractory to treatment by all classes of antifungal drugs. Amphotericin B (AmB) is a fungicidal drug that, despite its toxic side effects, remains a drug of choice for the treatment of drug-resistant fungal infections, including those caused by C. auris. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying AmB resistance are poorly understood. In this study, we present data that suggests membrane lipid alterations and chromatin modifications are critical processes that contribute to or cause adaptive AmB resistance in clinical C. auris isolates. To determine the plausible cause of increased AmB resistance, we performed RNA-seq of AmB-resistant and sensitive C. auris isolates. Remarkably, AmB-resistant strains show a pronounced enrichment of genes involved in lipid and ergosterol biosynthesis, adhesion, drug transport as well as chromatin remodeling. The transcriptomics data confirm increased adhesion and reduced lipid membrane permeability of AmB-resistant strains compared to the sensitive isolates. The AmB-resistant strains also display hyper-resistance to cell wall perturbing agents, including congo red, calcofluor white and caffeine. Additionally, we noticed an increased phosphorylation of Mkc1 cell integrity MAP kinase upon AmB treatment. Collectively, these data identify differences in the transcriptional landscapes of AmB-resistant vs AmB-senstive isolates, and provide a framework for the mechanistic understanding of AmB resistance in C. auris.
2022-05-02 | GSE190920 | GEO
Project description:The molecular mechanisms underlying aflatoxin production have been well-studied in strains of the fungus Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus) under artificial conditions. However, aflatoxin biosynthesis has rarely been studied in natural isolates of A. flavus strains. In the present study, tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with tandem-mass spectrometry analysiswere used for proteomic quantification in natural isolates of high- and low-aflatoxin-yield A. flavus strains.
2022-02-17 | PXD027517 | Pride
Project description:Two of the major classes of antifungal drugs in clinical use target ergosterol biosynthesis. Despite its importance, our understanding of the transcriptional regulation of ergosterol biosynthesis genes in pathogenic fungi is essentially limited to the role of hypoxia and sterol-stress induced transcription factors such as Upc2 and Upc2A as well as homologs of Sterol Response Element Binding (SREB) factors. To identify additional regulators of ergosterol biosynthesis in Candida glabrata, an important human fungal pathogen with reduced susceptibility to ergosterol biosynthesis inhibitors relative to other Candida spp., we used a serial passaging strategy to isolate suppressors of the fluconazole hypersusceptibility of a upc2A∆ deletion mutant. This led to the identification of loss of function mutants in two genes: ROX1, the homolog of a hypoxia gene transcriptional suppressor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and CST6, a transcription factor that is involved in the regulation of carbon dioxide response in C. glabrata. Here, we describe a detailed analysis of the genetic interaction of ROX1 and UPC2A. In the presence of fluconazole, loss of Rox1 function restores ERG11 expression to the upc2A∆ mutant and inhibits the expression of ERG3 and ERG6, leading to increased levels or ergosterol and decreased levels of the toxic sterol, 14α methyl-ergosta-8,24(28)-dien-3β, 6α-diol, relative to upc2A∆. Our observations establish that Rox1 is a negative regulator of ERG gene biosynthesis and indicate that a least one additional positive transcriptional regulator of ERG gene biosynthesis must be present in C. glabrata.
2021-12-20 | GSE191145 | GEO
Project description:The present study describes a novel mechanism of antifungal resistance affecting the susceptibility of both the azole and echinocandin antifungals in an azole-resistant isolate from a matched pair of C. parapsilosis isolates obtained from a patient with prosthetic valve endocarditis. Transcriptome analysis indicated differential expression of several genes in the resistant isolate including upregulation of ERG1, ERG2, ERG5, ERG6, ERG11, ERG24, ERG25, ERG27, DAP1 and UPC2, of the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway. Whole genome sequencing revealed a mutation in the ERG3 gene leading to a G111R amino acid substitution in the resistant isolate. Subsequent introduction of this allele in the native ERG3 locus in the susceptible isolate resulted in a fluconazole MIC of >64 mg/ml and a caspofungin MIC of 8 mg/ml. Corresponding allelic replacement of the wildtype allele for the mutant allele in the resistant isolate resulted in a drop in MIC to 1 mg/ml for both fluconazole and caspofungin. Sterol profiles indicated a loss of sterol demethylase activity as a result of this mutation. This work demonstrate that this G111R mutation is wholly responsible for the resistant phenotype in the C. parapsilosis resistant isolate and is the first report of this multidrug resistance mechanism.
2017-05-25 | GSE98986 | GEO
Project description:Aflatoxin contamination caused by the opportunistic pathogen A. flavus is a major concern in maize production prior to harvest and during storage. Previous studies indicate that both constitutive and induced resistance are involved in maize kernel defense against A. flavus infection, little is known about molecular mechanisms of mature kernels in response to fungal infection. The purpose of this study is to determine gene expression differences in maize kernels between resistant and susceptible lines in response to A. flavus challenge. To avoid the environmental effects in the field inoculation, a laboratory based inoculation technique Kernel Screening Assay (KSA) was used to challenge kernels with A. flavus. After 72 hours incubation of inoculated and noninculated mature kernels, gene expression profiles of two Near Isogenic Lines (NIL) of Eyl25 (A. flavus resistant) and Eyl31 (A. flavus susceptible) were compared using oligonucleotide array.
2010-10-01 | GSE19883 | GEO
Project description:Aflatoxin contamination caused by the opportunistic pathogen A. flavus is a major concern in maize production prior to harvest and during storage. Previous studies indicate that both constitutive and induced resistance are involved in maize kernel defense against A. flavus infection, little is known about molecular mechanisms of mature kernels in response to fungal infection. The purpose of this study is to determine gene expression differences in maize kernels between resistant and susceptible lines in response to A. flavus challenge. To avoid the environmental effects in the field inoculation, a laboratory based inoculation technique Kernel Screening Assay (KSA) was used to challenge kernels with A. flavus. After 72 hours incubation of inoculated and noninculated mature kernels, gene expression profiles of two Near Isogenic Lines (NIL) of Eyl25 (A. flavus resistant) and Eyl31 (A. flavus susceptible) were compared using oligonucleotide array. Direct comparisons were designed. The comparisons of NIL Eyl25 and Eyl31 include: Treated/Control, Control/Control and Treated/Treated. After 72 hours incubation under KSA conditions, forty seeds used in each A. flavus inoculated and noninculated group were bulked to extract total RNA. Four technical replications were performed in each comparison including two dye-swaps, total 16 hybridization reactions.
2010-10-01 | E-GEOD-19883 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Objective: Aspergillus flavus aflR, a gene encoding a Zn(II)2Cys6 DNA-binding domain, is an important transcriptional regulator of the aflatoxin biosynthesis gene cluster. Our previous results of GO analysis for the binding sites of AflR in A. flavus suggest that AflR may play an integrative regulatory role. This study aimed to investigate the integrative function of the aflR gene in A. flavus. Design: In this study, we used Aspergillus flavus NRRL3357 as a wild-type strain (WT) and constructed a knockout strain of A. flavus ΔaflR by homologous recombination. Based on the transcriptomics technology, we investigated the metabolic effects of aflR gene on growth, development and toxin synthesis of A. flavus, and discussed the overall regulation mechanism of aflR gene on A. flavus at the transcriptional level. Results: The disruption of aflR severely affected the aflatoxin biosynthetic pathway, resulting in a significant decrease in aflatoxin production. In addition, disrupted strains of the aflR gene produced relatively sparse conidia and a very small number of sclerotia. However, the biosynthesis of cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) was not affected by aflR gene disruption. Transcriptomic analysis of the ΔaflR strain grown on potato dextrose agar (PDA) plates at 0 h, 24 h, and 72 h showed that expression of clustering genes involved in the biosynthesis of aflatoxin was significantly down-regulated. Meanwhile, the ΔaflR strain showed significant expression differences in genes involved in spore germination, sclerotial development, and carbohydrate metabolism compared to the WT strain. Conclusions: The results showed that the A. flavus aflR gene also played a positive role in the growth and development of fungi.
2021-07-16 | GSE179978 | GEO