Abstract
Candida tropicalis is considered as the leading pathogen in nosocomial fungemia and hepatosplenic fungal infections in patients with cancer, particularly in leukemia. The yeast-filament transition is required for virulent infection by Candida. Several studies have explored the genome-wide transcription profile of Candida, however, no report on the transcriptional profile of C. tropicalis under yeast-filament transition has been published.In this study, the transcriptomes of three C. tropicalis isolates with different adhesion and biofilm formation abilities, identified in our previous studies, were analyzed in both the yeast and filament states using RNA-Seq. Differentially expressed genes were found for each isolate during the transition. A total of 115 genes were up- or down- regulated in the two hyphal-producing isolates (ZRCT 4 and ZRCT 45). Among these differentially expressed genes, only two were down-regulated during the yeast-filament transition. Furthermore, six filament-associated genes were up-regulated in the hyphae-producing isolates. According to Candida Hypha Growth Database established in this study, 331 hyphae- related genes were discovered in C. tropicalis. ALS1 and ALS3 were down-regulated and up-regulated, respectively, during filamentous growth of C. tropicalis. These findings proved a better understanding of gene expression dynamics during the yeast-filament transition in C. tropicalis.
Highlights
The incidence of fungal nosocomial infections (FNIs) has increased significantly over recent decades and will likely continue to grow in importance because of the constantly increasing number of patients at risk in medical care units [1]
The yeast-hyphal transition plays an important role in the invasive infection of dimorphic Candida species
Many studies have focused on the genes and regulatory pathways involved in filamentation of C. albicans [32]
Summary
The incidence of fungal nosocomial infections (FNIs) has increased significantly over recent decades and will likely continue to grow in importance because of the constantly increasing number of patients at risk in medical care units [1]. Candida species account for approximately 80% of FNIs, are considered the fourth leading cause of blood stream infections and are responsible for the overwhelming majority of urinary tract infections [2]. C. tropicalis is thought to be the first or the second most frequently found NCAC species in the bloodstream (candidemia) and urinary tract (candiduria) infections [4]. Consistent with C. albicans, C. tropicalis is diploid and belongs to the CUG clade, in which the CUG codon is translated as serine rather than leucine [7]. Both C. albicans and C. tropicalis can switch between a budding yeast form and an elongated, filamentous form. In contrast to the parasexual behavior of C. albicans, no mating was observed in C. tropicalis [8]
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