Publications by authors named "Mariana V Tomazett"

Article Synopsis
  • The formamidase (FMD) enzyme is crucial for the survival of Paracoccidioides lutzii by providing a secondary nitrogen source, especially under stressful conditions.
  • Research using Galleria mellonella larvae showed that silencing the fmd gene led to reduced fungal burden, disorganized nodules, and impaired immune response.
  • The study concludes that formamidase is a significant virulence factor for P. lutzii since its absence increased the larvae's survival rate, highlighting its role in immune stimulation.
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Nitrogen is a crucial nutrient for microorganisms that compose essential biomolecules. However, hosts limit this nutrient as a strategy to counter infections, therefore, pathogens use adaptive mechanisms to uptake nitrogen from alternative sources. In fungi, nitrogen catabolite repression (NCR) activates transcription factors to acquire nitrogen from alternative sources when preferential sources are absent.

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The genus Paracoccidioides comprises the species complex causing paracoccidioidomycoses (PCM). These fungi are a serious public health problem due to the long-term drug therapy, follow-up treatment, and frequent sequelae generated by the infection, such as pulmonary fibrosis. In this sense, the objective of this work was to generate bioluminescent reporter strains of Paracoccidioides spp.

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Cannabidiol (CBD) is a natural cannabinoid present in the Cannabis sativa plant, widely prescribed as an anticonvulsant drug, especially for pediatric use. However, its effects on male reproduction are still little investigated. Therefore, the present study assessed the effects of CBD on the spermatogenesis and sperm quality.

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Filamentous fungi are the organisms of choice for most industrial biotechnology. Some species can produce a variety of secondary metabolites and enzymes of commercial interest, and the production of valuable molecules has been enhanced through different molecular tools. Methods for genetic manipulation and transformation have been essential for the optimization of these organisms.

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spp. are thermally dimorphic fungi that cause paracoccidioidomycosis and can affect both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. The infection can lead to moderate or severe illness and death.

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Iron is an essential nutrient for all organisms. For pathogenic fungi, iron is essential for the success of infection. Thus, these organisms have developed high affinity iron uptake mechanisms to deal with metal deprivation imposed by the host.

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Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), caused by thermodimorphic fungi of the Paracoccidioides genus, is a systemic disorder that involves the lungs and other organs. The adherence of pathogenic microorganisms to host tissues is an essential event in the onset of colonization and spread. The host-pathogen interaction is a complex interplay between the defense mechanisms of the host and the efforts of pathogenic microorganisms to colonize it.

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Members of the Paracoccidioides complex are human pathogens that infect different anatomic sites in the host. The ability of Paracoccidioides spp. to infect host niches is putatively supported by a wide range of virulence factors, as well as fitness attributes that may comprise the transition from mycelia/conidia to yeast cells, response to deprivation of micronutrients in the host, expression of adhesins on the cell surface, response to oxidative and nitrosative stresses, as well as the secretion of hydrolytic enzymes in the host tissue.

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Carbonic anhydrases (CA) belong to the family of zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide to bicarbonate. In the present work, we characterized the cDNAs of four Paracoccidioides CAs (CA1, CA2, CA3, and CA4). In the presence of CO2, there was not a significant increase in fungal ca1, ca2 and ca4 gene expression.

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