C. albicans switches spontaneously, reversibly and at high frequency between a number of general phenotypes distinguishable by colony morphology. Switching has a pleiotropic effect on cellular phenotype and occurs in commensal and pathogenic populations. The combinatorial changes of phenotype traits provide C. albicans an adaptive advantage for responding to changes in the host. Using the white-opaque phase transition in strain WO-1 as an experimental model, it was recently demonstrated that switching involves precise activation and deactivation of phase-specific genes, that in the case of the white phase-specific gene WH11, white-specific transcription is regulated by two transcription activation domains in its promoter, and these domains form phase-specific complexes with white, but not opaque cell protein extract. These results have led to the working hypothesis that white phase-specific genes are regulated by white phase-specific activators, and recent gel retardation studies suggest that opaque phase-specific genes may be regulated by white phase-specific repressors. The specific objectives of this proposal are: 1) to develop an accurate model for the circuitry involved in the regulation of phase-specific genes; 2) to identify the genetic locus and describe the general mechanism of the basic switch event; 3) to assess the roles played by individual phase-specific genes in the genesis of switch phenotypes and 4) to asses the role of individual phase-specific genes in virulence. To obtain a complete picture of the regulatory circuitry and hierarchy of regulatory events involved in the program of phase-specific gene regulation, we have developed several strategies for cloning additional phase-specific genes. The promoters of select white and opaque phase genes will be functionally characterized, using a newly developed Renilla reniformans luciferase bioluminescence reporter system, to identify cis-acting sequences and the mode of regulation (positive and negative), and gel retardation assays carried out with the cis-acting sequences and white or opaque cell extract to identify phase-specific complexes. To elucidate the basic switch event, a phase-specific trans-acting factor will be identified which controls expression of a phase-specific gene and itself is transcriptionally regulated. The cis-acting sequence will be used as a probe to screen an expression library for the trans-acting factor gene. If the regulated factor confers binding specificity but does not directly bind to the cis-acting regulatory sequence, the strategy for isolation will involve affinity purification of the factor, determination of protein primary sequence and the design of probes based on sequence to protein sequence to screen for the gene in question. The role of individual phase-specific genes in switching will be assessed by the generation of mis-expression mutants which express individual phase-specific in the wrong phase and disruptants of the phase-specific genes, and characterize the phenotypic consequences. Finally, to assess the role of switching and the expression of phase specific genes in pathogenesis, the same mis-expression and null mutants will be studied in two animal models, one model in which white cells are more virulent than opaque cells, and a mouse using model in which opaque cells are more virulent than white cells.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AI039735-04
Application #
2887194
Study Section
Bacteriology and Mycology Subcommittee 2 (BM)
Program Officer
Dixon (Dmid), Dennis M
Project Start
1996-06-01
Project End
2001-05-31
Budget Start
1999-06-01
Budget End
2000-05-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Iowa
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
041294109
City
Iowa City
State
IA
Country
United States
Zip Code
52242
Wrobel, Lauren; Whittington, Julia K; Pujol, Claude et al. (2008) Molecular phylogenetic analysis of a geographically and temporally matched set of Candida albicans isolates from humans and nonmigratory wildlife in central Illinois. Eukaryot Cell 7:1475-86
Bougnoux, Marie-Elisabeth; Pujol, Claude; Diogo, Dorothee et al. (2008) Mating is rare within as well as between clades of the human pathogen Candida albicans. Fungal Genet Biol 45:221-31
Pujol, Claude; Pfaller, Michael A; Soll, David R (2004) Flucytosine resistance is restricted to a single genetic clade of Candida albicans. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 48:262-6
Dodgson, Andrew R; Dodgson, Kirsty J; Pujol, Claude et al. (2004) Clade-specific flucytosine resistance is due to a single nucleotide change in the FUR1 gene of Candida albicans. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 48:2223-7
Zhao, Xiaomin; Pujol, Claude; Soll, David R et al. (2003) Allelic variation in the contiguous loci encoding Candida albicans ALS5, ALS1 and ALS9. Microbiology 149:2947-60
Joly, Sophie; Pujol, Claude; Soll, David R (2002) Microevolutionary changes and chromosomal translocations are more frequent at RPS loci in Candida dubliniensis than in Candida albicans. Infect Genet Evol 2:19-37
Soll, David R (2002) Candida commensalism and virulence: the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Acta Trop 81:101-10
Enger, L; Joly, S; Pujol, C et al. (2001) Cloning and characterization of a complex DNA fingerprinting probe for Candida parapsilosis. J Clin Microbiol 39:658-69
Lachke, S A; Srikantha, T; Tsai, L K et al. (2000) Phenotypic switching in Candida glabrata involves phase-specific regulation of the metallothionein gene MT-II and the newly discovered hemolysin gene HLP. Infect Immun 68:884-95
Soll, D R (2000) The ins and outs of DNA fingerprinting the infectious fungi. Clin Microbiol Rev 13:332-70

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