A single laccase acts as a key component of environmental sensing in a broad host range fungal pathogen.

Secreted laccases are important enzymes on a broad ecological scale for their role in mediating plant-microbe interactions, but within ascomycete fungi these enzymes have been primarily associated with melanin biosynthesis. In this study, a putatively secreted laccase, Sslac2, was characterized from the broad-host-range plant pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, which is largely unpigmented and is not dependent on melanogenesis for plant infection. Gene knockouts of Sslac2 demonstrate wide ranging developmental phenotypes and are functionally non-pathogenic.

The Hydrophobin Gene Family Confers a Fitness Trade-off between Spore Dispersal and Host Colonization in Penicillium expansum.

Hydrophobins are small amphipathic surface proteins found exclusively in fungi. In filamentous ascomycetes, one conserved role of a subset of hydrophobins is their requirement for spore dispersal. Other contributions of these proteins to fungal biology are less clear and vary across genera.

A Label-Free Cellular Proteomics Approach to Decipher the Antifungal Action of DiMIQ, a Potent Indolo[2,3-]Quinoline Agent, against Biofilms.

forms extremely drug-resistant biofilms, which present a serious threat to public health globally. Biofilm-based infections are difficult to treat due to the lack of efficient antifungal therapeutics, resulting in an urgent demand for the development of novel antibiofilm strategies. In this study, the antibiofilm activity of DiMIQ (5,11-dimethyl-5-indolo[2,3-]quinoline) was evaluated against biofilms.

The RNA-binding protein ATX-2 regulates cytokinesis through PAR-5 and ZEN-4.

The spindle midzone harbors both microtubules and proteins necessary for furrow formation and the completion of cytokinesis. However, the mechanisms that mediate the temporal and spatial recruitment of cell division factors to the spindle midzone and midbody remain unclear. Here we describe a mechanism governed by the conserved RNA-binding protein ATX-2/Ataxin-2, which targets and maintains ZEN-4 at the spindle midzone.

The synthesis of indolo[2,3-b]quinoline derivatives with a guanidine group: highly selective cytotoxic agents.

The synthesis of indolo[2,3-b]quinoline derivatives containing guanidine, amino acid or guanylamino acid substituents as well as their in vitro evaluation for the cytotoxic and antifungal activity are reported. The influence of the guanidine group on the selective cytotoxic and hemolytic properties of indolo[2,3-b]quinoline was investigated. Most of the compounds displayed a high cytotoxic activity in vitro and two of the most promising compounds (3 and 12) exhibited a high selectivity between normal and cancer cell-lines.