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32 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 32
Draft Genome Sequence and Gene Annotation of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Verticillium hemipterigenum

Abstract (Expand)

Verticillium hemipterigenum (anamorph Torrubiella hemipterigena) is an entomopathogenic fungus and produces a broad range of secondary metabolites. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the … fungus, including gene structure and functional annotation. Genes were predicted incorporating RNA-Seq data and functionally annotated to provide the basis for further genome studies.

Authors: F. Horn, A. Habel, D. H. Scharf, J. Dworschak, , , C. Hertweck,

Date Published: 24th Jan 2015

Publication Type: Not specified

Defining the transcriptomic landscape of Candida glabrata by RNA-Seq

Abstract (Expand)

Candida glabrata is the second most common pathogenic Candida species and has emerged as a leading cause of nosocomial fungal infections. Its reduced susceptibility to antifungal drugs and its close … relationship to Saccharomyces cerevisiae make it an interesting research focus. Although its genome sequence was published in 2004, little is known about its transcriptional dynamics. Here, we provide a detailed RNA-Seq-based analysis of the transcriptomic landscape of C. glabrata in nutrient-rich media, as well as under nitrosative stress and during pH shift. Using RNA-Seq data together with state-of-the-art gene prediction tools, we refined the annotation of the C. glabrata genome and predicted 49 novel protein-coding genes. Of these novel genes, 14 have homologs in S. cerevisiae and six are shared with other Candida species. We experimentally validated four novel protein-coding genes of which two are differentially regulated during pH shift and interaction with human neutrophils, indicating a potential role in host-pathogen interaction. Furthermore, we identified 58 novel non-protein-coding genes, 38 new introns and condition-specific alternative splicing. Finally, our data suggest different patterns of adaptation to pH shift and nitrosative stress in C. glabrata, Candida albicans and S. cerevisiae and thus further underline a distinct evolution of virulence in yeast.

Authors: , S. Duggan, M. Weber, F. Horn, , D. Hellwig, , , R. Martin, ,

Date Published: 13th Jan 2015

Publication Type: Not specified

Microevolution of Candida albicans in macrophages restores filamentation in a nonfilamentous mutant

Abstract (Expand)

Following antifungal treatment, Candida albicans, and other human pathogenic fungi can undergo microevolution, which leads to the emergence of drug resistance. However, the capacity for microevolutionary … adaptation of fungi goes beyond the development of resistance against antifungals. Here we used an experimental microevolution approach to show that one of the central pathogenicity mechanisms of C. albicans, the yeast-to-hyphae transition, can be subject to experimental evolution. The C. albicans cph1Delta/efg1Delta mutant is nonfilamentous, as central signaling pathways linking environmental cues to hyphal formation are disrupted. We subjected this mutant to constant selection pressure in the hostile environment of the macrophage phagosome. In a comparatively short time-frame, the mutant evolved the ability to escape macrophages by filamentation. In addition, the evolved mutant exhibited hyper-virulence in a murine infection model and an altered cell wall composition compared to the cph1Delta/efg1Delta strain. Moreover, the transcriptional regulation of hyphae-associated, and other pathogenicity-related genes became re-responsive to environmental cues in the evolved strain. We went on to identify the causative missense mutation via whole genome- and transcriptome-sequencing: a single nucleotide exchange took place within SSN3 that encodes a component of the Cdk8 module of the Mediator complex, which links transcription factors with the general transcription machinery. This mutation was responsible for the reconnection of the hyphal growth program with environmental signals in the evolved strain and was sufficient to bypass Efg1/Cph1-dependent filamentation. These data demonstrate that even central transcriptional networks can be remodeled very quickly under appropriate selection pressure.

Authors: A. Wartenberg, , R. Martin, M. Schreiner, F. Horn, , S. Jenull, , K. Kuchler, , , A. Forche, C. d'Enfert, S. Brunke,

Date Published: 4th Dec 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces iranensis

Abstract (Expand)

Streptomyces iranensis HM 35 has been shown to exhibit 72.7% DNA-DNA similarity to the important drug rapamycin (sirolimus)-producing Streptomyces rapamycinicus NRRL5491. Here, we report the genome … sequence of HM 35, which represents a partially overlapping repertoire of secondary metabolite gene clusters with S. rapamycinicus, including the gene cluster for rapamycin biosynthesis.

Authors: F. Horn, V. Schroeckh, T. Netzker, , ,

Date Published: 19th Jul 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

The novel globin protein fungoglobin is involved in low oxygen adaptation of Aspergillus fumigatus

Abstract (Expand)

The human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus normally lives as a soil saprophyte. Its environment includes poorly oxygenated substrates that also occur during tissue invasive growth of the fungus … in the human host. Up to now, few cellular factors have been identified that allow the fungus to efficiently adapt its energy metabolism to hypoxia. Here, we cultivated A. fumigatus in an O2 -controlled fermenter and analysed its responses to O2 limitation on a minute timescale. Transcriptome sequencing revealed several genes displaying a rapid and highly dynamic regulation. One of these genes was analysed in detail and found to encode fungoglobin, a previously uncharacterized member of the sensor globin protein family widely conserved in filamentous fungi. Besides low O2 , iron limitation also induced transcription, but regulation was not entirely dependent on the two major transcription factors involved in adaptation to iron starvation and hypoxia, HapX and SrbA respectively. The protein was identified as a functional haemoglobin, as binding of this cofactor was detected for the recombinant protein. Gene deletion in A. fumigatus confirmed that haem-binding fungoglobins are important for growth in microaerobic environments with O2 levels far lower than in hypoxic human tissue.

Authors: F. Hillmann, , N. Beckmann, M. Cyrulies, M. Strassburger, T. Heinekamp, H. Haas, , ,

Date Published: 7th Jul 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

Regulatory networks controlling nitrogen sensing and uptake in Candida albicans

Abstract (Expand)

Nitrogen is one of the key nutrients for microbial growth. During infection, pathogenic fungi like C. albicans need to acquire nitrogen from a broad range of different and changing sources inside the … host. Detecting the available nitrogen sources and adjusting the expression of genes for their uptake and degradation is therefore crucial for survival and growth as well as for establishing an infection. Here, we analyzed the transcriptional response of C. albicans to nitrogen starvation and feeding with the infection-relevant nitrogen sources arginine and bovine serum albumin (BSA), representing amino acids and proteins, respectively. The response to nitrogen starvation was marked by an immediate repression of protein synthesis and an up-regulation of general amino acid permeases, as well as an up-regulation of autophagal processes in its later stages. Feeding with arginine led to a fast reduction in expression of general permeases for amino acids and to resumption of protein synthesis. The response to BSA feeding was generally slower, and was additionally characterized by an up-regulation of oligopeptide transporter genes. From time-series data, we inferred network interaction models for genes relevant in nitrogen detection and uptake. Each individual network was found to be largely specific for the experimental condition (starvation or feeding with arginine or BSA). In addition, we detected several novel connections between regulator and effector genes, with putative roles in nitrogen uptake. We conclude that C. albicans adopts a particular nitrogen response network, defined by sets of specific gene-gene connections for each environmental condition. All together, they form a grid of possible gene regulatory networks, increasing the transcriptional flexibility of C. albicans.

Authors: S. Ramachandra, , , , , S. Brunke

Date Published: 20th Mar 2014

Publication Type: Not specified

Regulation of fungal secondary metabolism

Abstract (Expand)

Fungi produce a multitude of low-molecular-mass compounds known as secondary metabolites, which have roles in a range of cellular processes such as transcription, development and intercellular … communication. In addition, many of these compounds now have important applications, for instance, as antibiotics or immunosuppressants. Genome mining efforts indicate that the capability of fungi to produce secondary metabolites has been substantially underestimated because many of the fungal secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters are silent under standard cultivation conditions. In this Review, I describe our current understanding of the regulatory elements that modulate the transcription of genes involved in secondary metabolism. I also discuss how an improved knowledge of these regulatory elements will ultimately lead to a better understanding of the physiological and ecological functions of these important compounds and will pave the way for a novel avenue to drug discovery through targeted activation of silent gene clusters.

Author: Axel A Brakhage

Date Published: 26th Nov 2012

Publication Type: Not specified

Comparison of transcriptome technologies in the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus reveals novel insights into the genome and MpkA dependent gene expression

Abstract

ABSTRACT:

Authors: Sebastian Müller, Clara Baldin, Marco Groth, Reinhard Guthke, Olaf Kniemeyer, Axel A Brakhage, Vito Valiante

Date Published: 2nd Oct 2012

Publication Type: Not specified

An Interspecies Regulatory Network Inferred from Simultaneous RNA-seq of Candida albicans Invading Innate Immune Cells

Abstract (Expand)

The ability to adapt to diverse micro-environmental challenges encountered within a host is of pivotal importance to the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans. We have quantified C. albicans … and M. musculus gene expression dynamics during phagocytosis by dendritic cells in a genome-wide, time-resolved analysis using simultaneous RNA-seq. A robust network inference map was generated from this dataset using NetGenerator, predicting novel interactions between the host and the pathogen. We experimentally verified predicted interdependent sub-networks comprising Hap3 in C. albicans, and Ptx3 and Mta2 in M. musculus. Remarkably, binding of recombinant Ptx3 to the C. albicans cell wall was found to regulate the expression of fungal Hap3 target genes as predicted by the network inference model. Pre-incubation of C. albicans with recombinant Ptx3 significantly altered the expression of Mta2 target cytokines such as IL-2 and IL-4 in a Hap3-dependent manner, further suggesting a role for Mta2 in host-pathogen interplay as predicted in the network inference model. We propose an integrated model for the functionality of these sub-networks during fungal invasion of immune cells, according to which binding of Ptx3 to the C. albicans cell wall induces remodeling via fungal Hap3 target genes, thereby altering the immune response to the pathogen. We show the applicability of network inference to predict interactions between host-pathogen pairs, demonstrating the usefulness of this systems biology approach to decipher mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis.

Authors: L. Tierney, , S. Muller, S. Brunke, J. C. Molina, , U. Schock, , K. Kuchler

Date Published: 12th Mar 2012

Publication Type: Not specified

Regulatory interactions for iron homeostasis in Aspergillus fumigatus inferred by a Systems Biology approach

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND: In System Biology, iterations of wet-lab experiments followed by modelling approaches and model-inspired experiments describe a cyclic workflow. This approach is especially useful for the … inference of gene regulatory networks based on high-throughput gene expression data. Experiments can verify or falsify the predicted interactions allowing further refinement of the network model. Aspergillus fumigatus is a major human fungal pathogen. One important virulence trait is its ability to gain sufficient amounts of iron during infection process. Even though some regulatory interactions are known, we are still far from a complete understanding of the way iron homeostasis is regulated. RESULTS: In this study, we make use of a reverse engineering strategy to infer a regulatory network controlling iron homeostasis in A. fumigatus. The inference approach utilizes the temporal change in expression data after a change from iron depleted to iron replete conditions. The modelling strategy is based on a set of linear differential equations and offers the possibility to integrate known regulatory interactions as prior knowledge. Moreover, it makes use of important selection criteria, such as sparseness and robustness. By compiling a list of known regulatory interactions for iron homeostasis in A. fumigatus and softly integrating them during network inference, we are able to predict new interactions between transcription factors and target genes. The proposed activation of the gene expression of hapX by the transcriptional regulator SrbA constitutes a so far unknown way of regulating iron homeostasis based on the amount of metabolically available iron. This interaction has been verified by Northern blots in a recent experimental study. In order to improve the reliability of the predicted network, the results of this experimental study have been added to the set of prior knowledge. The final network includes three SrbA target genes. Based on motif searching within the regulatory regions of these genes, we identify potential DNA-binding sites for SrbA. Our wet-lab experiments demonstrate high-affinity binding capacity of SrbA to the promoters of hapX, hemA and srbA. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents an application of the typical Systems Biology circle and is based on cooperation between wet-lab experimentalists and in silico modellers. The results underline that using prior knowledge during network inference helps to predict biologically important interactions. Together with the experimental results, we indicate a novel iron homeostasis regulating system sensing the amount of metabolically available iron and identify the binding site of iron-related SrbA target genes. It will be of high interest to study whether these regulatory interactions are also important for close relatives of A. fumigatus and other pathogenic fungi, such as Candida albicans.

Authors: , P. Hortschansky, E. Fazius, , , H. Haas

Date Published: 19th Jan 2012

Publication Type: Not specified

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