Fungal infections cause >1 million deaths annually and the emergence of antifungal resistance has prompted the exploration for novel antifungal targets. Quadruplexes are four-stranded nucleic acid secondary structures, which can regulate processes such as transcription, translation, replication and recombination. They are also found in genes linked to virulence in microbes, and ligands that bind to quadruplexes can eliminate drug-resistant pathogens. Using a computational approach, we quantified putative quadruplex-forming sequences (PQS) in 1359 genomes across the fungal kingdom and explored their presence in genes related to virulence, drug resistance and biological processes associated with pathogenicity in Aspergillus fumigatus. Here we present the largest analysis of PQS in fungi and identify significant heterogeneity of these sequences throughout phyla, genera and species. PQS were genetically conserved in Aspergillus spp. and frequently pathogenic species appeared to contain fewer PQS than their lesser/non-pathogenic counterparts. GO-term analysis identified that PQS-containing genes were involved in processes linked with virulence such as zinc ion binding, the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites and regulation of transcription in A. fumigatus. Although the genome frequency of PQS was lower in A. fumigatus, PQS could be found enriched in genes involved in virulence, and genes upregulated during germination and hypoxia. Moreover, PQS were found in genes involved in drug resistance. Quadruplexes could have important roles within fungal biology and virulence, but their roles require further elucidation.
- MeSH
- algoritmy MeSH
- antifungální látky farmakologie MeSH
- Ascomycota MeSH
- Aspergillus fumigatus genetika MeSH
- Aspergillus MeSH
- fungální léková rezistence účinky léků MeSH
- genom fungální účinky léků MeSH
- genom virový MeSH
- transkriptom MeSH
- virulence MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. MeSH
- MeSH
- Aspergillus fumigatus enzymologie genetika MeSH
- chromatografie na tenké vrstvě metody MeSH
- elektroforéza v polyakrylamidovém gelu metody MeSH
- genom fungální MeSH
- mannosidasy genetika izolace a purifikace metabolismus MeSH
- regulace genové exprese u hub MeSH
- sekvence aminokyselin MeSH
- techniky in vitro MeSH
The sensibility of the strain As-F2 Aspergillus fumigatus to EMS was determined by using the scale of doses. Seventeen thermo-sensitive or thermotolerant morphological mutants with decreased sporulation and growth rate as compared with a wild strain was isolated. Their more detailed characteristic will be a contents of our further paper.
By using the scanning electron microscope the morphological deviations of 17 colour mutants of Aspergillus fumigatus were characterized. These mutants originated by genetic blocks in various stages of conidiophores and conidia differentiation. The complementation test was carried out with the light-pigmented mutants. The group of allelic strains was found and 4 diploid strains were isolated.
