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Volume 153, Issue 1

The iron- and cAMP-regulated gene influences ferrioxamine B utilization, melanization and cell wall structure in Free

Abstract

The mechanisms by which pathogens sense and transport iron are important during infection, because of the low availability of free iron in the mammalian host. Iron is a key nutritional cue for the pathogen , because it influences expression of the polysaccharide capsule that is the major virulence factor of the fungus. In this study, mutants were constructed with a defect in the iron-regulated gene that encodes a putative siderophore iron transporter. Analysis of mutants in serotype A and D strains demonstrated that is required for the use of siderophore-bound iron, and for growth in a low-iron environment. The mutants also showed changes in melanin formation and cell wall density, and it was found that mutants defective in protein kinase A, which is known to influence melanization and capsule formation, showed elevated transcripts in both the serotype A and the serotype D backgrounds. Finally, the mutants were tested for virulence in a murine model of cryptococcosis, and it was found that was not required for virulence. Overall, these studies establish links between iron acquisition, melanin formation and cAMP signalling in .

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Revised:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): FOB, ferrioxamine B , LIM, low-iron medium , NAT, nourseothricin , PKA, protein kinase A , SAGE, serial analysis of gene expression , TEM, transmission electron microscopy and wt, wild-type
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2007-01-01
2025-01-17
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The iron- and cAMP-regulated gene SIT1 influences ferrioxamine B utilization, melanization and cell wall structure in Cryptococcus neoformans
Microbiology 153, 29 (2007); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2006/000927-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2006/000927-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2006/000927-0
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