Dataset Information

Light restores sporulation in cured Rhizopus microsporus of its endosymbionts unveilling their role in virulence

ABSTRACT: Rhizopus microsporus is one of the most common agents of mucormycosis, a severe and emerging infection caused by Mucorales fungi that poses a significant clinical challenge, particularly due to the growing population of immunocompromised individuals. An substantial proportion of clinical isolates harbor bacterial endosymbionts, which regulate key fungal functions, such asexual sporulation. The strict dependence on endosymbionts for spore formation has limited a comprehensive understanding of endosymbiosis in R. microsporus biology. Here, we demonstrate that sporulation in endosymbiont-cured strains of this fungus, which previously harbored Mycetohabitans bacteria, can be induced by light. Interestingly, both light and endosymbionts regulate sporulation through the same regulatory pathway, and a high proportion of the genes upregulated by these signals are known to be involved in asexual sporulation in other fungi, including Mucorales. Light-induced sporulation enabled comparative assays to assess the impact of symbiosis on fungal traits. In addition to previously known effects on fungal fitness, this study reveals that germination is independent of endosymbionts, although their presence accelerates the process. Furthermore, it shows that asexual spores lacking endosymbionts exhibit a reduced virulence in a mouse model of mucormycosis. The discovery of light-induced sporulation in endosymbiont-free strains of R. microsporus paves the way for future comparative studies using genetically identical backgrounds, advancing our understanding of fungal-bacterial symbiosis and its role in fungal biology and human pathogenesis.

ORGANISM(S): Rhizopus microsporus

PROVIDER: GSE289616 | GEO | 2026/02/28

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Dataset's files

Source:

			Action	DRS
		Other

Items per page:

1 - 1 of 1

Similar Datasets

Project description:Mucormycosis is an increasingly common, life-threatening fungal infection caused by fungi belonging to the subphylum Mucormycotina, order Mucorales. The major risk factors for mucormycosis include uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, treatment with corticosteroids, organ or bone marrow transplantation, neutropenia, trauma and burns, malignant hematological disorders, and deferoxamine-therapy in patients receiving hemodialysis. Amphotericin B (AmB) remains the only antifungal agent approved for the treatment of invasive mucormycosis. Because fungi belonging to the mucorales order are relatively resistant to AmB, high doses are required, which frequently causes nephrotoxicity and other adverse effects. In the absence of surgical removal of the infected focus (such as excision of the eye in patients with rhinocerebral mucormycosis), antifungal therapy alone is rarely curative. Even when surgical debridement is combined with high-dose AmB, the mortality associated with mucor¬mycosis is >50%. In patients with prolonged neutropenia or disseminated disease, mortality is 90-100%. Rhizopus oryzae is by far the most common organism isolated from patients with mucormycosis, and is responsible for approximately 70% of all cases of mucormycosis. Recent epidemiological data collected from transplant centers have demonstrated a striking increase in the number of reported cases of mucormycosis. Furthermore, mucormycosis outbreaks are also known to follow natural disasters as was the case following the tsunami that devastated Indonesia in 2004 and the tornadoes that destroyed Joplin, Missouri in June 2011. Hence, there exists a large impetus to identify particular virulence factors and biomarkers associated with mucormycosis, which would lead to a rational approach to develop new antifungals and vaccines to prevent deaths specifically due to mucormycosis. In order to better understand the complex nature of the host pathogen interaction during mucormycosis, we performed dual species RNA-seq on 5 different Mucorales strains during in vitro infection of endothelial or epithelial cells.

Dataset Information

Light restores sporulation in cured Rhizopus microsporus of its endosymbionts unveilling their role in virulence

Dataset's files

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets