Identifying Conserved Generic Aspergillus spp. Co-Expressed Gene Modules Associated with Germination Using Cross-Platform and Cross-Species Transcriptomics

spp. is an opportunistic human pathogen that may cause a spectrum of pulmonary diseases. In order to establish infection, inhaled conidia must germinate, whereby they break dormancy, start to swell, and initiate a highly polarized growth process. To identify critical biological processes during germination, we performed a cross-platform, cross-species comparative analysis of germinating and conidia using transcriptional data from published RNA-Seq and Affymetrix studies. A consensus co-expression network analysis identified four gene modules associated with stages of germination. These modules showed numerous shared biological processes between and during conidial germination. Specifically, the module was enriched with secondary metabolism, the module was highly enriched with protein synthesis, the module was enriched with protein fate, and the module was highly enriched with polarized growth. More specifically, enriched functional categories identified in the module were vesicle formation, vesicular transport, tubulin dependent transport, actin-dependent transport, exocytosis, and endocytosis. Genes important for these biological processes showed similar expression patterns in and , therefore, they could be potential antifungal targets. Through cross-platform, cross-species comparative analysis, we were able to identify biologically meaningful modules shared by and , which underscores the potential of this approach.