Abstract
Fludioxonil is employed as an agricultural fungicide to control plant-pathogenic fungi such as Botrytis cinerea. Cryptococcus neoformans is a basidiomycetous human fungal pathogen that causes fatal disease in immunocompromised hosts. This paper demonstrates that three different signalling cascades regulate sensitivity of C. neoformans to fludioxonil. Fludioxonil inhibited growth of the serotype A sequence reference strain H99 but not that of the sequenced serotype D strain JEC21. In the drug-sensitive wild-type strain, fludioxonil exposure activated the Hog1 osmosensing pathway, and hog1Delta mutations conferred fludioxonil resistance. Fludioxonil treatment caused cell growth inhibition following cell swelling and cytokinesis defects in the sensitive wild-type but not in a hog1Delta mutant strain, suggesting that Hog1 activation results in morphological cellular defects. Fludioxonil exerted a fungistatic effect on the wild-type strain H99, but exhibited fungicidal activity against calcineurin mutant strains, indicating that the calcineurin pathway contributes to drug resistance in this fungus. Combination of fludioxonil and the calcineurin inhibitor FK506 synergistically inhibited C. neoformans growth. mpk1Delta MAPK mutant strains exhibited fludioxonil hypersensitivity, indicating that this pathway also contributes to drug resistance. These studies provide evidence that the broad-spectrum antifungal drug fludioxonil exerts its action via activation of the Hog1 MAPK pathway and provide insight into novel targets for synergistic antifungal drug combinations.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.