This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Cassola, A.
Right arrow Articles by Cantore, M. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Cassola, A.
Right arrow Articles by Cantore, M. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Eukaryotic Cell, February 2004, p. 190-199, Vol. 3, No. 1
1535-9778/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/EC.3.1.190-199.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Candida albicans Lacking the Gene Encoding the Regulatory Subunit of Protein Kinase A Displays a Defect in Hyphal Formation and an Altered Localization of the Catalytic Subunit

Alejandro Cassola,1 Marc Parrot,2 Susana Silberstein,1 Beatrice B. Magee,3 Susana Passeron,1 Luc Giasson,2 and María L. Cantore1*

Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, IBYF-CONICET, C1417DSE Buenos Aires, Argentina,1 School of Dentistry, GREB Laval University, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4,2 Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 551083

Received 13 June 2003/ Accepted 1 December 2003

The fungal pathogen Candida albicans switches from a yeast-like to a filamentous mode of growth in response to a variety of environmental conditions. We examined the morphogenetic behavior of C. albicans yeast cells lacking the BCY1 gene, which encodes the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A. We cloned the BCY1 gene and generated a bcy1 tpk2 double mutant strain because a homozygous bcy1 mutant in a wild-type genetic background could not be obtained. In the bcy1 tpk2 mutant, protein kinase A activity (due to the presence of the TPK1 gene) was cyclic AMP independent, indicating that the cells harbored an unregulated phosphotransferase activity. This mutant has constitutive protein kinase A activity and displayed a defective germinative phenotype in N-acetylglucosamine and in serum-containing medium. The subcellular localization of a Tpk1-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein was examined in wild-type, tpk2 null, and bcy1 tpk2 double mutant strains. The fusion protein was observed to be predominantly nuclear in wild-type and tpk2 strains. This was not the case in the bcy1 tpk2 double mutant, where it appeared dispersed throughout the cell. Coimmunoprecipitation of Bcy1p with the Tpk1-GFP fusion protein demonstrated the interaction of these proteins inside the cell. These results suggest that one of the roles of Bcy1p is to tether the protein kinase A catalytic subunit to the nucleus.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Cátedra de Microbiología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Avda. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: cantore{at}agro.uba.ar.

Eukaryotic Cell, February 2004, p. 190-199, Vol. 3, No. 1
1535-9778/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/EC.3.1.190-199.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Sabina, J., Brown, V. (2009). Glucose Sensing Network in Candida albicans: a Sweet Spot for Fungal Morphogenesis. Eukaryot Cell 8: 1314-1320 [Full Text]  
  • Xu, D., Sillaots, S., Davison, J., Hu, W., Jiang, B., Kauffman, S., Martel, N., Ocampo, P., Oh, C., Trosok, S., Veillette, K., Wang, H., Yang, M., Zhang, L., Becker, J., Martin, C. E., Roemer, T. (2009). Chemical Genetic Profiling and Characterization of Small-molecule Compounds That Affect the Biosynthesis of Unsaturated Fatty Acids in Candida albicans. J. Biol. Chem. 284: 19754-19764 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ocampo, J., Fernandez Nunez, L., Silva, F., Pereyra, E., Moreno, S., Garre, V., Rossi, S. (2009). A Subunit of Protein Kinase A Regulates Growth and Differentiation in the Fungus Mucor circinelloides. Eukaryot Cell 8: 933-944 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Matsuo, Y., McInnis, B., Marcus, S. (2008). Regulation of the Subcellular Localization of Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase in Response to Physiological Stresses and Sexual Differentiation in the Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Eukaryot Cell 7: 1450-1459 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Biswas, S., Van Dijck, P., Datta, A. (2007). Environmental Sensing and Signal Transduction Pathways Regulating Morphopathogenic Determinants of Candida albicans. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 71: 348-376 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Zhao, W., Panepinto, J. C., Fortwendel, J. R., Fox, L., Oliver, B. G., Askew, D. S., Rhodes, J. C. (2006). Deletion of the Regulatory Subunit of Protein Kinase A in Aspergillus fumigatus Alters Morphology, Sensitivity to Oxidative Damage, and Virulence.. Infect. Immun. 74: 4865-4874 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cao, F., Lane, S., Raniga, P. P., Lu, Y., Zhou, Z., Ramon, K., Chen, J., Liu, H. (2006). The Flo8 Transcription Factor Is Essential for Hyphal Development and Virulence in Candida albicans. Mol. Biol. Cell 17: 295-307 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Maidan, M. M., De Rop, L., Serneels, J., Exler, S., Rupp, S., Tournu, H., Thevelein, J. M., Van Dijck, P. (2005). The G Protein-coupled Receptor Gpr1 and the G{alpha} Protein Gpa2 Act through the cAMP-Protein Kinase A Pathway to Induce Morphogenesis in Candida albicans. Mol. Biol. Cell 16: 1971-1986 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rowbottom, L., Munro, C. A., Gow, N. A. R. (2004). Candida albicans mutants in the BNI4 gene have reduced cell-wall chitin and alterations in morphogenesis. Microbiology 150: 3243-3252 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»