Function and subcellular localization of Gcn5, a histone acetyltransferase in Candida albicans

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Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen commonly found in humans. It has the ability to switch reversibly between three growth forms: budding yeast, pseudohypha, and hypha. The transition between yeast and hyphal growth forms is critical for the pathogenesis of C. albicans. During the yeast-to-hypha morphologic transition, gene expression is regulated by transcriptional regulators including histone modifying complexes and chromatin remodeling complexes. We previously reported that Esa1, a catalytic subunit in the histone acetyltransferase complex NuA4, is essential for the hyphal development of C. albicans. In this study, we analyzed the functional roles of Gcn5, a catalytic subunit in the histone acetyltransferase complex SAGA, in C. albicans. Gcn5 is required for the invasive and filamentous growth of C. albicans. Deletion of GCN5 impaired hyphal elongation in sensing serum and attenuated the virulence of C. albicans in a mouse systemic infection model. The C. albicans gcn5/gcn5 mutant cells also exhibited sensitivity to cell wall stress. Functional analysis showed that the HAT domain and Bromodomain in Gcn5 play distinct roles in morphogenesis and cell wall stress response of C. albicans. Our results show that the conserved residue Glu188 is crucial for the Gcn5 HAT activity and for Gcn5 function during filamentous growth. In addition, the subcellular distribution of ectopically expressed GFP-Gcn5 correlates with the different growth states of C. albicans. In stationary phase, Gcn5 accumulated in the nucleus, while during vegetative growth it localized in the cytoplasm in a morpha-independent manner. Our results suggest that the nuclear localization of Gcn5 depends on the existence of its N-terminal NLS and HAT domains.