Comparative systematic analysis of transcriptomes in the elucidation of potential antifungal targets

• Grant number: 21/10359-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Nilce Maria Martinez-Rossi
• Grantee: Monise Fazolin Petrucelli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/22596-9 - Molecular mechanisms associated with pathogenicity and resistance in fungi: strategies for treating dermatophytosis, AP.TEM

Abstract

Computational models that aim to identify potential antifungal targets have been successfully used for fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus and yeasts and show the possible use of large-scale sequencing for this purpose. The genome of several pathogenic fungi, including dermatophytes, is known and strongly contributes to comparative analyses and the identification of gene classes enriched in the genome of specific species or groups of fungi associated with adaptation to a particular niche and style of life of these fungi. In addition, to comparative genome analysis, the approaches currently employed to identify putative molecular targets assess metabolic flux, compile data on gene expression under specific conditions, and establish a "ranking" for promising targets, which also takes into account the analyses of domains, the three-dimensional structure of proteins, and comparison with orthologous proteins from humans. Additionally, the systematic study of metabolic networks may require a comparative study of strains, employing the analysis of mutant collections. In this proposal, we intend to identify in the data generated in the transcriptomes of the wild and mutant strains of N. crassa and T. rubrum crucial enzymes for the metabolism and adaptation of fungi under different cultivation conditions, revealing in a refined way molecular targets for the development of antifungals. (AU)

Scientific publications

(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)

PETRUCELLI, MONISE FAZOLIN; MARTINS-SANTANA, LEONARDO; OLIVEIRA, VANDERCI M.; SANCHES, PABLO R.; ROSSI, ANTONIO; MARTINEZ-ROSSI, NILCE M.. The Transcription Factor StuA Regulates Oxidative Stress-Responsive Genes in Trichophyton rubrum. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES, v. 25, n. 23, p. 16-pg., 2024-12-01. (21/10359-2, 19/22596-9, 21/10255-2)

MARTINS-SANTANA, LEONARDO; PETRUCELLI, MONISE FAZOLIN; SANCHES, PABLO R.; ALMEIDA, FAUSTO; MARTINEZ-ROSSI, NILCE M.; ROSSI, ANTONIO. The StuA Transcription Factor and Alternative Splicing Mechanisms Drive the Levels of MAPK Hog1 Transcripts in the Dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum. Mycopathologia, v. 189, n. 3, p. 14-pg., 2024-06-01. (19/22596-9, 21/10255-2, 21/10359-2)