Abstract
Biofilm formation of Candida species is considered to be a pathogenic factor of host infection. Since biofilm formation of Candida glabrata has not been as well studied as that of Candida albicans, we performed genetic screening of C. glabrata, and three candidate genes associated with biofilm formation were identified. Candida glabrata SYN8 (CAGL0H06325g) was selected as the most induced gene in biofilm cells for further research. Our results indicated that the syn8Δ mutant was defective not only in biofilm metabolic activity but also in biofilm morphological structure and biomass. Deletion of SYN8 seemed to have no effect on extracellular matrix production, but it led to a notable decrease in adhesion ability during biofilm formation, which may be linked to the repression of two adhesin genes, EPA10 and EPA22. Furthermore, hypersensitivity to hygromycin B and various ions in addition to the abnormal vacuolar morphology in the syn8Δ mutant suggested that active vacuolar function is required for biofilm formation of C. glabrata. These findings enhance our understanding of biofilm formation in this fungus and provide information for the development of future clinical treatments.
Highlights
Candida glabrata, identified as a non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, is one of the common causes of systemic candidiasis and shows resistance to most azole drugs (Rodrigues et al, 2014; Pristov and Ghannoum, 2019)
In comparison with the wild type, three gene mutants of C. glabrata showed significant reductions in biofilm formation, and the metabolic activities of these mutant biofilms were less than 70% of that of the wild type strain
From a search of the Candida genome database, we found that one gene is a homolog of the SNARE protein family of S. cerevisiae
Summary
Candida glabrata, identified as a non-albicans Candida (NAC) species, is one of the common causes of systemic candidiasis and shows resistance to most azole drugs (Rodrigues et al, 2014; Pristov and Ghannoum, 2019). Studies on the mechanisms of virulence in C. glabrata are far fewer than those in C. albicans. The biofilm of Candida species is known to be a pathogenic factor in human infections and difficult to eradicate in healthcare settings (Douglas, 2003; Eix and Nett, 2020). In C. glabrata, the biofilm is composed of only yeast-shaped cell clusters packed in a multilayer, which is quite different from biofilms of C. albicans with their elongated filamentous forms (Brunke and Hube, 2013). Because C. glabrata lacks filamentous growth, it is important to investigate its own distinctive biofilm pathogenicity. The first step is Candida cell adhesion to the surfaces of host cells and biomaterials such as silicone. Many previous studies have investigated the roles of adhesins at the cell surface in biofilm formation.
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