Abstract
The fungal cell wall is a structure in constant contact with the external environment. It confers shape to the cell and protects it from external threats. During host adaptation, the cell wall structure of fungal pathogens is continuously reshaped by the orchestrated action of numerous genes. These genes respond to environmental stresses and challenging growth conditions, influencing the infective potential of the fungus. Here, we aimed to identify cell wall biosynthesis-related genes that putatively encode virulence factors in Trichophyton rubrum. We used RNA-seq to examine the impact of two drugs, namely undecanoic acid, and acriflavine as well as the effects of the carbon source switching from glucose to keratin on T. rubrum cell wall metabolism. By using functional annotation based on Gene Ontology terms, we identified significantly differentially expressed cell wall-related genes in all stress conditions. We also exposed T. rubrum to osmotic and other cell wall stressors and evaluated the susceptibility and gene modulation in response to stress. The changes in the ambient environment caused continuous cell wall remodeling, forcing the fungus to undergo modulatory restructuring. The influence of the external challenges indicated a highly complex response pattern. The genes that were modulated simultaneously in the three stress conditions highlight potential targets for antifungal development.
Highlights
The fungal cell wall directly interacts with the external environment and is vital to the survival of the organism
For comprehensive analysis of the T. rubrum genes expressed in response to keratin, we performed high-throughput sequencing (RNA-seq) using glucose as the control
We evaluated the relative sensitivities of T. rubrum grown on Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB) medium with or without KCl, NaCl, SDS, sorbitol, Congo Red (CR), and Calcofluor White (CFW)
Summary
The fungal cell wall directly interacts with the external environment and is vital to the survival of the organism. The cell wall supports fungal growth and development and enables the organism to endure hostile ambient conditions (Perlin, 2015; Valiante et al, 2015). Pathogenic fungi use their cell walls to sense the host milieu and detect nutrients there. By modulating their cell wall components, fungal pathogens escape host immunity and invade the organism (Muszewska et al, 2017; Beauvais and Latge, 2018).
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