Zinc limitation induces a hyper-adherent Goliath phenotype in Candida albicans

Malavia, Dhara, Lehtovirta-Morley, Laura E., Alamir, Omran, Weiss, Elisabeth, Gow, Neil A. R., Hube, Bernhard and Wilson, Duncan (2017) Zinc limitation induces a hyper-adherent Goliath phenotype in Candida albicans. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8. ISSN 1664-302X

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Abstract

Pathogenic microorganisms often face acute micronutrient limitation during infection due to the action of host-mediated nutritional immunity. The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans is polymorphic and its morphological plasticity is one of its most widely recognized pathogenicity attributes. Here we investigated the effect of zinc, iron, manganese, and copper limitation on C. albicans morphology. Restriction of zinc specifically resulted in the formation of enlarged, spherical yeasts, a phenotype which we term Goliath cells. This cellular response to zinc restriction was conserved in C. albicans, C. dubliniensis and C. tropicalis, but not in C. parapsilosis, C. lusitaniae or Debaryomyces hansenii, suggesting that it may have emerged in the last common ancestor of these related pathogenic species. Cell wall analysis revealed proportionally more chitin exposure on the Goliath cell surface. Importantly, these cells were hyper-adherent, suggesting a possible role in pathogenicity. Interestingly, the zincophore-encoding gene PRA1 was expressed by Goliath cells in zinc limited media and lack of Pra1 inhibited both cellular enlargement and adhesion. Goliath cells represent a further layer of Candida phenotypic plasticity.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	candida albicans,fungal pathogen,morphology,morphogenesis,nutritional immunity,micronutrients,zinc,adhesion
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Biological Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Molecular Microbiology
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Nov 2017 06:07
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 03:19
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/65388
DOI:	10.3389/fmicb.2017.02238

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