A Heterogeneously Expressed Gene Family Modulates the Biofilm Architecture and Hypoxic Growth of Aspergillus fumigatus

Author: mycolabadmin
2021-02-16
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Summary

This research discovered a new family of genes that control how disease-causing fungi form complex structures called biofilms and grow in low-oxygen environments. This discovery is significant because it helps us understand how fungi cause infections and could lead to better treatments. Impacts on everyday life: • Could lead to new treatments for serious fungal infections, particularly in immunocompromised patients • May help improve industrial processes that use fungi to produce important chemicals and foods • Provides tools to control unwanted fungal growth in industrial settings • Could help develop methods to prevent fungal contamination in buildings and materials • May lead to better understanding of how fungi adapt to different environments

Background

Biofilms are surface-adhered populations of microorganisms embedded in an extracellular matrix that have unique transcriptional programs and are typically tolerant to exogenous stress. While bacterial biofilms have been extensively studied, filamentous fungal biofilm research is still in its infancy. For fungi like Aspergillus fumigatus, biofilms form within airways and lung tissue during infections, but the molecular components influencing fungal biofilm development, structure and function remain poorly understood.

Objective

To identify and characterize molecular components that influence filamentous fungal biofilm formation, structure and function, with a focus on a newly discovered gene family in A. fumigatus that modulates biofilm architecture and hypoxic growth.

Results

The study identified a previously uncharacterized family of genes (bafA, bafB, bafC) that modulate biofilm architecture and hypoxic growth in A. fumigatus. These genes were found to be heterogeneously expressed across different strains. Expression of bafA was sufficient to generate the hypoxia-locked morphotype (H-MORPH) and alter biofilm architecture in both A. fumigatus and A. niger. The proteins localized to hyphal tips and impacted cell wall development. The gene family influenced colony morphology, oxygen diffusion, hyphal arrangement, and surface adherence.

Conclusion

This research identifies a novel gene family that plays a crucial role in modulating fungal biofilm architecture and hypoxic growth across Aspergillus species. The findings have important implications for both clinical treatment of fungal infections and industrial applications of Aspergillus biofilms. The baf genes represent potential therapeutic targets and tools for synthetic manipulation of fungal biofilms.

Published in:mBio,
Study Type:Laboratory Research,
Source: 10.1128/mBio.03579-20