Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6
pubmed:dateCreated
2001-3-15
pubmed:databankReference
pubmed:abstractText
Cryptococcus neoformans STE12alpha, a homologue of Saccharomyces cerevisiae STE12, exists only in MATalpha strains. We identified another STE12 homologue, STE12a, which is MATa specific. As in the case with Deltaste12alpha, the mating efficiency for Deltaste12a was reduced significantly. The Deltaste12a strains surprisingly still mated with Deltaste12alpha strains. In MATalpha strains, STE12a functionally complemented STE12alpha for mating efficacy, haploid fruiting, and regulation of capsule size in the mouse brain. Furthermore, when STE12a was replaced with two copies of STE12alpha, the resulting MATa strain produced hyphae on filament agar. STE12a regulates mRNA levels of several genes that are important for virulence including CNLAC1 and CAP genes. STE12a also modulates enzyme activities of phospholipase and superoxide dismutase. Importantly, deletion of STE12a markedly reduced the virulence in mice, as is the case with STE12alpha. Brain smears of mice infected with the Deltaste12a strain showed yeast cells with a considerable reduction in capsule size compared with those infected with STE12a strains. When the disrupted locus of ste12a was replaced with a wild-type STE12a gene, both in vivo and in vitro mutant phenotypes were reversed. These results suggest that STE12a and STE12alpha have similar functions, and that the mating type of the cells influences the alleles to exert their biological effects. C. neoformans, thus, is the first fungal species that contains a mating-type-specific STE12 homologue in each mating type. Our results demonstrate that mating-type-specific genes are not only important for saprobic reproduction but also play an important role for survival of the organism in host tissue.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
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pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0027-8424
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
13
pubmed:volume
98
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3258-63
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2001
pubmed:articleTitle
The second STE12 homologue of Cryptococcus neoformans is MATa-specific and plays an important role in virulence.
pubmed:affiliation
Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article