Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a ubiquitous soil decomposer and an opportunistic pathogen that is characterized by its large metabolic machinery for acquiring nutrients from media. Lately, an ever-increasing number of genes involved in fungal nutrition has been associated with its virulence. Of these, nitrogen, iron, and zinc metabolism-related genes are particularly noteworthy, since 78% of them have a direct implication in virulence. In this review, we describe the sensing, uptake and regulation process of the acquisition of these nutrients, the connections between pathways and the virulence-implicated genes. Nevertheless, only 40% of the genes mentioned in this review have been assayed for roles in virulence, leaving a wide field of knowledge that remains uncertain and might offer new therapeutic and diagnostic targets.
Highlights
Fungi 2021, 7, 518. https://doi.org/Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus implicated in nitrogen and carbon recycling
A. fumigatus has two high-affinity mechanisms, reductive iron assimilation (RIA) and siderophore-mediated uptake [58], and one low-affinity system conducted by general metal permeases [69]
This metal is found in the environment in the form of zinc ion (Zn2+ ), and A. fumigatus has several advanced mechanisms for uptaking it since zinc availability is dependent on the acidity of the media, such as iron [99]
Summary
Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus implicated in nitrogen and carbon recycling. The mechanisms of nutrient uptake are of paramount importance in developing an infection since the host is able actively to reduce the availability of nutrients for pathogens [15] This is the case, for example, with the protein ovotransferrin, which prevents microbial growth in eggs through the chelation of iron [15]. We seek to compile and integrate the metabolic role of nitrogen, iron, and zinc in the growth of A. fumigatus and their involvement in fungal virulence To this end, we summarize the processes of sensing, uptake, and regulation of acquisition of those nutrients and focus on the genes and proteins that affect pathogenicity, which could be potential therapeutic targets
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