Abstract
Candida albicans is the most prevalent human fungal pathogen. Here, we take advantage of haploinsufficiency and transposon mutagenesis to perform large-scale loss-of-function genetic screen in this organism. We identified mutations in 146 genes that affect the switch between its single-cell (yeast) form and filamentous forms of growth; this switch appears central to the virulence of C.albicans The encoded proteins include those involved in nutrient sensing, signal transduction, transcriptional control, cytoskeletal organization and cell wall construction. Approximately one-third of the genes identified in the screen lack homologs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other model organisms and thus constitute candidate antifungal drug targets. These results illustrate the value of performing forward genetic studies in bona fide pathogens.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2668-2678 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | EMBO Journal |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2 2003 |
Keywords
- Candida albicans
- Filamentous growth
- Haploinsufficiency
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
- General Immunology and Microbiology