Linked Life Data

19744246

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/19744246

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7
pubmed:dateCreated
2009-10-16
pubmed:abstractText
White-opaque switching in Candida albicans was first discovered in 1987. Fifteen years later, and three years after the discovery of the mating system, it was demonstrated that the switch from white to opaque was an essential step in the mating process. But this latter discovery did not reveal why C. albicans had this requirement, when Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other hemiascomycetes did not. The discovery that mating-competent opaque cells signaled mating-incompetent white cells, through the release of pheromones, to become adhesive and form biofilms provided a clue to this fundamental question. Opaque cells appeared to signal white cells to form biofilms that facilitated mating by protecting the fragile gradients of the pheromone that directed chemotropism, a process necessary for fusion. Here, we explore the discoveries and observations that have led to this hypothesis, and the ancillary questions that have risen that are related to the regulation of the unique pheromone response, the evolution of this response and the relationship between pheromone-enhanced white cell biofilms and 'asexual' biofilms formed by a/alpha cells. This discussion, therefore, focuses on a unique and complex component of the basic biology of C. albicans that relates switching, mating and pathogenesis.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Oct
pubmed:issn
1567-1364
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
9
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
973-89
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2009
pubmed:articleTitle
Why does Candida albicans switch?
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. david-soll@uiowa.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural