Stress Responses inCandida

Abstract

This chapter summarizes the current understanding of stress responses in Candida albicans. Of all the pathogenic Candida species, the stress responses of C. albicans have been investigated in the greatest depth. Cellular responses to stresses in C. albicans include heat shock response, osmotic stress response and oxidative stress response. Stress-signaling pathways include mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, Hog1 pathway and Mkc1 pathway. The chapter describes one's understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate stress responses in C. albicans and, where information is available, C. glabrata, contrasting these mechanisms mainly with those in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S. pombe. Redox-sensitive antioxidant proteins, with roles in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species, can also act as sensors and regulators of reactive oxygen species-induced signal transduction pathways. Transcription factors that drive stress responses includes Cap1, Skn7 and Msn4. The structures of Hog1 signaling networks differ between C. glabrata and C. albicans. As these differences must contribute to the behavior of these pathogens in their hosts, it is important that these differences are addressed at a molecular level. Quantitative mathematical modeling of these responses will provide an invaluable foil to our more classical molecular and genomic approaches.