Expression and regulation of genes related to the cell wall from dimorphic pathogenic fungi under stress conditions

• Grant number: 13/25950-1
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2014 - March 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Rosana Puccia
• Grantee: Rosana Puccia
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Paracoccidioides species and Histoplasma capsulatum are medically important thermodimorphic fungi and will be used as model systems in this project. The cell wall, which is the main fungal interface with the host, is constituted mainly of structural polysaccharides, specifically glucans, chitin, and galactomannan. This project aims to study, under different stress conditions, the global expression regulation of transcription factors such as Adr1, Hsf e Rlm1, and of genes related to synthesis /remodelling of those polysaccharides. Composition of the cell wall polysaccharides and pos-transcriptional regulation of these genes by regulatory RNA will also be analyzed in parallel. We intend to distinguish a co-regulatory pattern of genes (encoding, for e.g., chitin synthases, chitinases, alpha and beta glucan synthases, glucanases, beta mannosidases, alpha galactosidases, glucosamine-fructose-6-phosphate-aminotransferase, phosphoacetylglucosamine mutase, rho2, and beta-1,3-glucanosyltransferase) and identify transcription factors involved in global regulation under each stress condition. The importance of selected transcription factors and mapping of transcription elements in biology and virulence of mutants will be verified. Genetic manipulation of fungal isolates, besides their in vitro and in vivo evaluation will be performed at Dr. Chad A. Rappleye's laboratory at The Ohio State University. We hope to improve the limited knowledge about gene regulation to stress in dimorphs, thus helping to select new potential therapeutic targets. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GUILHEN LONGO, LARISSA VALLE; BREYER, CARLOS ALEXANDRE; NOVAES, GABRIELA MACHADO; GEGEMBAUER, GREGORY; LEITAO JR, NATANAEL PINHEIRO; OCTAVIANO, CARLA ELIZABETE; TOYAMA, MARCOS HIKARI; DE OLIVEIRA, MARCOS ANTONIO; PUCCIA, ROSANA. The Human PathogenParacoccidioides brasiliensisHas a Unique 1-Cys Peroxiredoxin That Localizes Both Intracellularly and at the Cell Surface. FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY, v. 10, AUG 4 2020. (13/07937-8, 17/19942-7, 06/05095-6, 13/25950-1, 17/20291-0, 11/13500-6)

LONGO, LARISSA V. G.; NAKAYASU, ERNESTO S.; PIRES, JHON H. S.; GAZOS-LOPES, FELIPE; VALLEJO, MILENE C.; SOBREIRA, TIAGO J. P.; ALMEIDA, IGOR C.; PUCCIA, ROSANA. Characterization of Lipids and Proteins Associated to the Cell Wall of the Acapsular Mutant Cryptococcus neoformans Cap 67. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, v. 62, n. 5, p. 591-604, SEP-OCT 2015. (13/25950-1)

ALVES, LYSANGELA R.; DA SILVA, ROBERTA PERES; SANCHEZ, DAVID A.; ZAMITH-MIRANDA, DANIEL; RODRIGUES, MARCIO L.; GOLDENBERG, SAMUEL; PUCCIA, ROSANA; NOSANCHUK, JOSHUA D.. Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated RNA Release in Histoplasma capsulatum. MSPHERE, v. 4, n. 2, MAR-APR 2019. (13/25950-1)

DA SILVA, ROBERTA PERES; LONGO, V, LARISSA G.; DA CUNHA, JULIA P. C.; SOBREIRA, TIAGO J. P.; RODRIGUES, MARCIO L.; FAORO, HELISSON; GOLDENBERG, SAMUEL; ALVES, LYSANGELA R.; PUCCIA, ROSANA. Comparison of the RNA Content of Extracellular Vesicles Derived from Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii. CELLS, v. 8, n. 7, JUL 2019. (13/25950-1)