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Pseudogymnoascus destructans Transcriptional Response to Chronic Copper Stress

Summary

This research examines how the fungus that causes white nose syndrome in bats responds to different levels of copper. The fungus uses special proteins to grab copper when it’s scarce and protect itself when copper is abundant. Understanding these survival strategies helps explain how the fungus thrives in bat caves and different soil environments.

Background

Copper is an essential micronutrient for fungal pathogens, but excess copper is toxic. Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white nose syndrome in bats and must manage copper availability in diverse environmental niches including soil, plants, and animal hosts.

Objective

To characterize the transcriptional response of P. destructans to chronic copper stress by identifying differentially expressed genes under copper-withholding and copper-overload conditions to understand fungal adaptation mechanisms relevant to white nose syndrome infection.

Results

The study identified 583 differentially expressed genes under copper-withholding stress and 667 under copper-overload stress. Key findings include upregulation of copper transporters CTR1a/b and BIM1-like proteins under copper limitation, identification of a novel Cu-Responsive gene Cluster (CRC), and enrichment of DNA repair genes under copper overload.

Conclusion

P. destructans employs multiple high-affinity copper acquisition pathways and responds uniquely to copper stress conditions. The identification of putative virulence factors responding to copper stress suggests that copper availability at the host-pathogen interface may be important for white nose syndrome pathogenesis.
  • Published in:Journal of Fungi,
  • Study Type:Experimental Study,
  • Source: PMID: 40422706
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