Abstract
There has been extensive research on structure and function of fungal cell adhesion molecules, but the most of the work has been about adhesins in Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These yeasts are members of a single ascomycete order, and adhesion molecules from the six other fungal phyla are only sparsely described in the literature. In these other phyla, most of the research is at the cellular level, rather than at the molecular level, so there has been little characterization of the adhesion molecules themselves. A catalog of known adhesins shows some common features: high Ser/Thr content, tandem repeats, N- and O-glycosylations, GPI anchors, dibasic sequence motifs, and potential amyloid-forming sequences. However, none of these features is universal. Known ligands include proteins and glycans on homologous cells and host cells. Existing and novel tools can exploit the availability of genome sequences to identify and characterize new fungal adhesins. These include bioinformatics tools and well-established yeast surface display models, which could be coupled with an adhesion substrate array. Thus, new knowledge could be exploited to answer key questions in fungal ecology, animal and plant pathogenesis, and roles of biofilms in infection and biomass turnover.
Highlights
The Breadth of the ProblemAdhesion is a first step in biofilm formation as well as in pathogenesis, and so adhesion underlies many consequences of fungal lifestyle, commensalism, and infection
The role of fungal cell adhesion in pathogenesis of humans is well known, and there is much research in preventing fungal biofilms on epithelia, which can lead to infections
Taphrinomycotina are the third branch of the Ascomycota tree (Figure 1), and among these, adhesins have been characterized in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces and the AIDS-related opportunistic pathogen, Pneumocystis
Summary
Adhesion is a first step in biofilm formation as well as in pathogenesis, and so adhesion underlies many consequences of fungal lifestyle, commensalism, and infection. Adhesion is a first step in saprophytic interactions, critical for elemental cycling in the biosphere. The role of fungal cell adhesion in pathogenesis of humans is well known, and there is much research in preventing fungal biofilms on epithelia, which can lead to infections. Fungal adhesion in plant pathogenesis is just as critical, but less studied. The consequences of fungal adhesion are widespread, and knowledge of the adhesins themselves would allow us to rationally design interventions to inhibit harmful interactions and promote beneficial ones. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about fungal adhesins and finishes by pointing to some important needs
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