A Pathogenesis Assay Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and C aenorhabditis elegans Reveals Novel Roles for Yeast AP-1, Yap1, and Host Dual Oxidase BLI-3 in Fungal Pathogenesis
Treatment of systemic fungal infections is difficult because of the limited number of antimycotic drugs available. Thus, there is an immediate need for simple and innovative systems to assay the contribution of individual genes to fungal pathogenesis. We have developed a pathogenesis assay using Cae...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Eukaryotic cell 2009-08, Vol.8 (8), p.1218-1227 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Treatment of systemic fungal infections is difficult because of the limited number of antimycotic drugs available. Thus, there is an immediate need for simple and innovative systems to assay the contribution of individual genes to fungal pathogenesis. We have developed a pathogenesis assay using
Caenorhabditis elegans
, an established model host, with
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
as the invading fungus. We have found that yeast infects nematodes, causing disease and death. Our data indicate that the host produces reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to fungal infection. Yeast mutants
sod1
Δ and
yap1
Δ, which cannot withstand ROS, fail to cause disease, except in
bli-3
worms, which carry a mutation in a dual oxidase gene. Chemical inhibition of the NADPH oxidase activity abolishes ROS production in worms exposed to yeast. This pathogenesis assay is useful for conducting systematic, whole-genome screens to identify fungal virulence factors as alternative targets for drug development and exploration of host responses to fungal infections. |
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ISSN: | 1535-9778 1535-9786 |
DOI: | 10.1128/EC.00367-08 |