Project description:As a major fungal pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus can induce chronic, allergic or severe invasive infections, meanwhile its escalating resistance to azole antifungals has emerged as a global public health menace. Squalene, an essential molecule in the sterol biosynthesis pathway, can be cyclized by squalene hopene cyclase (SHC) to produce hopanoids and affect probably sterol biosynthesis modifying azole resistance; however, the physiological function of SHC in A. fumigatus pathogenesis is poorly understood.
Project description:Genome sequence data results are reported from experimental and bioinfomatic work using the technique 'Bulk Segregant Analysis' to determine the genetic basis of observed resistance to the azole antifungal compound itraconazole in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus.
Project description:Genomic DNA from five strains, Aspergillus fumigatus Af71, Aspergillus fumigatus Af294, Aspergillus clavatus, Neosartorya fenneliae, and Neosartorya fischeri, were co-hybridized with that of Aspergillus fumigatus Af293 and compared.
Project description:Aspergillus fumigatus is an important human pathogen and a leading fungal killer. This study aimed to determine the small RNA repertoire of A. fumigatus in conidia and mycelium grown for 24 or 48 hours in liquid culture.
Project description:Aspergillus fumigatus is an important human pathogen and a leading fungal killer. This study aimed to determine the tRNA fragment and tRNA half repertoire of A. fumigatus in wild-type conidia and mycelium grown for 24 or 48 hours in liquid culture.
Project description:<p>Aspergillus fumigatus is a notorious opportunistic pathogen that causes Invasive Aspergillosis (IA) infections with high mortality in immunosuppressed individuals. Long-term antifungal drug azole abuse in clinical treatment and agriculture renders it ineffectual or drug resistant. Drug resistance can relate to the cellular metabolites and corresponding gene transcription. In this study, through untargeted metabolomics and transcriptomics following itraconazole (ITC) treatment we identified two plasma membrane-localized polyamine transporters Aftpo3 and Afdur3, which were important for polyamine homeostasis and ITC susceptibility in A. fumigatus. In the absence of Aftpo3 or Afdur3, the levels of cytoplasm polyamines had a moderate increase, accompanied by resistance to ITC. In comparison, overexpression of Aftpo3 or Afdur3 induced drastic increase of polyamines, which were linked with the sensitivity to ITC. Accordingly, our study demonstrated that concentration-dependence of polyamines affected susceptibility of A. fumigatus to ITC, by scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS) at a moderate concentration or generating ROS at a high concentration rather than drug transport.</p>
Project description:Amphotericin B (AMB) is the most widely used polyene antifungal drug for the treatment of systemic fungal infections including invasive aspergillosis. We aimed to understand molecular targets of AMB in Aspergillus fumigatus (Afu) by genomic approaches. Keywords: Aspergillus fumigatus treated with amphotericin B for 24 hours