The heterotrimeric G-protein beta subunit Gpb1 controls hyphal growth under low oxygen conditions through the protein kinase A pathway and is essential for virulence in the fungus Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides, a dimorphic opportunistic pathogen, expresses three heterotrimeric G-protein beta subunits (Gpb1, Gpb2 and Gpb3). The Gpb1-encoding gene is up-regulated during mycelial growth compared with that in the spore or yeast stage. gpb1 deletion mutation analysis revealed its relevance for an adequate development during the dimorphic transition and for hyphal growth under low oxygen concentrations.

Heterotrimeric G-alpha subunits Gpa11 and Gpa12 define a transduction pathway that control spore size and virulence in Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is one of the causal agents of mucormycosis, an emerging and high mortality rate fungal infection produced by asexual spores (sporangiospores) of fungi that belong to the order Mucorales. M. circinelloides has served as a model genetic system to understand the virulence mechanism of this infection.

Alteration of Fermentative Metabolism Enhances Mucor circinelloides Virulence.

The fungus undergoes yeast-mold dimorphism, a developmental process associated with its capability as a human opportunistic pathogen. Dimorphism is strongly influenced by carbon metabolism, and hence the type of metabolism likely affects fungus virulence. We investigated the role of ethanol metabolism in virulence.

Sporulation on blood serum increases the virulence of Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is an opportunistic human pathogen that is used to study mucormycosis, a rare but lethal infection in susceptible immunosuppressed patients. However, the virulence characteristics of this pathogen have not been fully elucidated. In this study, sporangiospores (spores) produced on YPG medium supplemented with native blood serum increased the virulence of M.

Role of Arf-like proteins (Arl1 and Arl2) of Mucor circinelloides in virulence and antifungal susceptibility.

Mucor circinelloides is an etiologic agent of mucormycosis, a fungal infection produced by Mucorales often associated with mortality due to unavailability of antifungal drugs. Arl proteins belong to the Arf family and are involved in vesicle trafficking and tubulin assembly. This study identified two Arl (Arf-like)-encoding genes, arl1 and arl2, in M.

Control of morphology and virulence by ADP-ribosylation factors (Arf) in Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is a dimorphic fungus used to study cell differentiation that has emerged as a model to characterize mucormycosis. In this work, we identified four ADP-ribosylation factor (Arf)-encoding genes (arf1-arf4) and study their role in the morphogenesis and virulence. Arfs are key regulators of the vesicular trafficking process and are associated with both growth and virulence in fungi.

Phylogenetic analysis of fungal heterotrimeric G protein-encoding genes and their expression during dimorphism in Mucor circinelloides.

In fungi, heterotrimeric G proteins are key regulators of biological processes such as mating, virulence, morphology, among others. Mucor circinelloides is a model organism for many biological processes, and its genome contains the largest known repertoire of genes that encode putative heterotrimeric G protein subunits in the fungal kingdom: twelve Gα (McGpa1-12), three Gβ (McGpb1-3), and three Gγ (McGpg1-3). Phylogenetic analysis of fungal Gα showed that they are divided into four distinct groups as reported previously.

Selection of reference genes for quantitative real time RT-PCR during dimorphism in the zygomycete Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is a dimorphic fungal model for studying several biological processes including cell differentiation (yeast-mold transitions) as well as biodiesel and carotene production. The recent release of the first draft sequence of the M. circinelloides genome, combined with the availability of analytical methods to determine patterns of gene expression, such as quantitative Reverse transcription-Polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and the development of molecular genetic tools for the manipulation of the fungus, may help identify M.

Expression of the six chromate ion transporter homologues of Burkholderia xenovorans LB400.

The chromate ion transporter (CHR) superfamily comprises transporters that confer chromate resistance by extruding toxic chromate ions from cytoplasm. Burkholderia xenovorans strain LB400 has been reported to encode six CHR homologues in its multireplicon genome. We found that strain LB400 displays chromate-inducible resistance to chromate.