Candida albicans forms biofilms on implanted surfaces in the human host, which are resistant to standard antifungal therapy. It is necessary to gain a better understanding of how biofilms form to find more efficient ways to treat patients. This project is designed to understand the genetic influences on biofilm-specific processes, such as extracellular matrix formation, differentiation, adherence, and quorum-sensing, by screening overexpressed transcription factors for roles in biofilm formation. The project will involve creation of transcription factor overexpression cassettes and strains, screening these mutant strains in several biofilm assays, and finally experiments designed to define the role of transcription factors identified in the screens in biofilm formation. ? ? ?
| Blankenship, Jill R; Cheng, Shaoji; Woolford, Carol A et al. (2014) Mutational analysis of essential septins reveals a role for septin-mediated signaling in filamentation. Eukaryot Cell 13:1403-10 |
| Argimon, Silvia; Fanning, Saranna; Blankenship, Jill R et al. (2011) Interaction between the Candida albicans high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) pathway and the response to human beta-defensins 2 and 3. Eukaryot Cell 10:272-5 |
| Blankenship, Jill R; Fanning, Saranna; Hamaker, Jessica J et al. (2010) An extensive circuitry for cell wall regulation in Candida albicans. PLoS Pathog 6:e1000752 |
| Rauceo, Jason M; Blankenship, Jill R; Fanning, Saranna et al. (2008) Regulation of the Candida albicans cell wall damage response by transcription factor Sko1 and PAS kinase Psk1. Mol Biol Cell 19:2741-51 |
| Blankenship, Jill R; Mitchell, Aaron P (2007) The fungal frontier. Genome Biol 8:305 |
| Blankenship, Jill R; Mitchell, Aaron P (2006) How to build a biofilm: a fungal perspective. Curr Opin Microbiol 9:588-94 |
