Abstract
The fungal Zds proteins are regulators of the serine/threonine phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and the protein kinase A. Here, we characterize a Zds-like gene ZDS3 that plays a broad range of roles in the basidiomycetous pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. ZDS3 harbors the conserved activation domain ZDS-C of Zds proteins. By gene disruption, ZDS3 is shown to play roles in capsule production, cell wall integrity, growth at a high temperature, resistance to H 2O 2 stress, osmotic pressures and glucose-dependent invasive growth on the agar. As a consequence, the disruption of ZDS3 resulted in complete loss of virulence in a mouse cryptococcosis model. The data suggest that ZDS3 is a novel mediator of the virulence of C. neoformans. Zds3 may serve as an antifungal drug target as no homologs are found in mammals. FEMS Yeast Research
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 529-539 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | FEMS yeast research |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2011 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Capsule
- Cryptococcus neoformans
- Virulence factor
- Zds