Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei

Penicillium marneffei is a thermally dimorphic fungus that is a highly significant pathogen of immune compromised persons living or having traveled in Southeast Asia. When cultured at 25. °C, the wild-type strain of P. marneffei exhibits a mycelial morphology that is marked by the development of spe...

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Main Authors: Kummasook A., Cooper C.R., Sakamoto A., Terui Y., Kashiwagi K., Vanittanakom N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2014
Online Access:http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84884592310&partnerID=40&md5=2a5e17d23f4f2c91349617d91fb8398f
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23948095
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/4131
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spelling th-cmuir.6653943832-41312014-08-30T02:35:42Z Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei Kummasook A. Cooper C.R. Sakamoto A. Terui Y. Kashiwagi K. Vanittanakom N. Penicillium marneffei is a thermally dimorphic fungus that is a highly significant pathogen of immune compromised persons living or having traveled in Southeast Asia. When cultured at 25. °C, the wild-type strain of P. marneffei exhibits a mycelial morphology that is marked by the development of specialized structures bearing conidia. Incubation of the wild type at 37. °C, however, promotes the development of a yeast form that divides by fission. Development of the yeast morphology in vivo appears to be requisite for pathogenesis. In a prior study using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation for random mutagenesis via T-DNA integration, we generated a morphological mutant (strain I6) defective in conidiation. The T-DNA insertion site in strain I6 was determined to be within the gene encoding S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (. sadA), an enzyme critical to spermidine biosynthesis. In the present study, we demonstrated that strain I6 was able to grow on rich media in either the mold or yeast forms at 25. °C and 37. °C, respectively. However, reduced growth of strain I6 was observed on minimal medium at either temperature. In addition, strain I6 produced mycelia with impaired conidiation on minimal medium at 25. °C. Supplementation of minimal medium with spermidine restored the ability of strain I6 to produce conidia at 25. °C and promoted yeast development at 37. °C. Moreover, conidia of strain I6 exhibited poor germination frequencies in the absence of this polyamine. All three of these processes (conidiogenesis, germination, and growth) were reinstated in strain I6 by complementation of the partially deleted of sadA gene by ectopic insertion of an intact wild-type copy. These results augment prior observations that spermidine biosynthesis is essential to normal growth, conidiogenesis, spore germination, and dimorphism in a variety of fungi. Given the presumption that P. marneffei infections are initiated following inhalation of conidia, and that pathogenesis is dependent upon yeast development, this study further suggests that the spermidine biosynthetic pathway may serve as a potential target for combating infections by this medically important fungus. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. 2014-08-30T02:35:42Z 2014-08-30T02:35:42Z 2013 Article 10871845 10.1016/j.fgb.2013.08.001 FGBIF http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84884592310&partnerID=40&md5=2a5e17d23f4f2c91349617d91fb8398f http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23948095 http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/4131 English
institution Chiang Mai University
building Chiang Mai University Library
country Thailand
collection CMU Intellectual Repository
language English
description Penicillium marneffei is a thermally dimorphic fungus that is a highly significant pathogen of immune compromised persons living or having traveled in Southeast Asia. When cultured at 25. °C, the wild-type strain of P. marneffei exhibits a mycelial morphology that is marked by the development of specialized structures bearing conidia. Incubation of the wild type at 37. °C, however, promotes the development of a yeast form that divides by fission. Development of the yeast morphology in vivo appears to be requisite for pathogenesis. In a prior study using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation for random mutagenesis via T-DNA integration, we generated a morphological mutant (strain I6) defective in conidiation. The T-DNA insertion site in strain I6 was determined to be within the gene encoding S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (. sadA), an enzyme critical to spermidine biosynthesis. In the present study, we demonstrated that strain I6 was able to grow on rich media in either the mold or yeast forms at 25. °C and 37. °C, respectively. However, reduced growth of strain I6 was observed on minimal medium at either temperature. In addition, strain I6 produced mycelia with impaired conidiation on minimal medium at 25. °C. Supplementation of minimal medium with spermidine restored the ability of strain I6 to produce conidia at 25. °C and promoted yeast development at 37. °C. Moreover, conidia of strain I6 exhibited poor germination frequencies in the absence of this polyamine. All three of these processes (conidiogenesis, germination, and growth) were reinstated in strain I6 by complementation of the partially deleted of sadA gene by ectopic insertion of an intact wild-type copy. These results augment prior observations that spermidine biosynthesis is essential to normal growth, conidiogenesis, spore germination, and dimorphism in a variety of fungi. Given the presumption that P. marneffei infections are initiated following inhalation of conidia, and that pathogenesis is dependent upon yeast development, this study further suggests that the spermidine biosynthetic pathway may serve as a potential target for combating infections by this medically important fungus. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.
format Article
author Kummasook A.
Cooper C.R.
Sakamoto A.
Terui Y.
Kashiwagi K.
Vanittanakom N.
spellingShingle Kummasook A.
Cooper C.R.
Sakamoto A.
Terui Y.
Kashiwagi K.
Vanittanakom N.
Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
author_facet Kummasook A.
Cooper C.R.
Sakamoto A.
Terui Y.
Kashiwagi K.
Vanittanakom N.
author_sort Kummasook A.
title Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
title_short Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
title_full Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
title_fullStr Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
title_full_unstemmed Spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, Penicillium marneffei
title_sort spermidine is required for morphogenesis in the human pathogenic fungus, penicillium marneffei
publishDate 2014
url http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84884592310&partnerID=40&md5=2a5e17d23f4f2c91349617d91fb8398f
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23948095
http://cmuir.cmu.ac.th/handle/6653943832/4131
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