This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ye, X.
Right arrow Articles by Szaniszlo, P. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ye, X.
Right arrow Articles by Szaniszlo, P. J.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2000, p. 4941-4950, Vol. 182, No. 17
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Expression of a Constitutively Active Cdc42 Homologue Promotes Development of Sclerotic Bodies but Represses Hyphal Growth in the Zoopathogenic Fungus Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis

Xiangcang Yedagger and Paul J. Szaniszlo*

Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712

Received 21 March 2000/Accepted 30 May 2000

In contrast to the CDC42 homologues of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the WdCDC42 gene in the human pathogenic fungus Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis was found to be nonessential for cell viability. Expression of the constitutively active allele wdcdc42G14V at 37°C induced nonpolarized growth that led to cell enlargement and multiple nucleation. The swollen cells subsequently converted into planate divided bicellular forms or multiply septated sclerotic bodies in post-log phase, when the G14V-altered protein was diminished. The wdcdc42G14V mutation also strongly repressed filamentous growth both in the wild-type strain and in the temperature-sensitive hyphal-form mutant Hf1. In contrast, overexpression of the dominant negative alleles wdcdc42T19N and wdcdc42D120A had no obvious effect on fungal-cell polarization. These results suggested that WdCdc42p plays a unique regulatory role in cellular morphogenesis in W. dermatitidis. Activation of this protein in response to extracellular or intracellular signals seems to commit its yeast-like cells to a phenotype transition that produces sclerotic bodies while repressing hyphal development.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Section of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712. Phone: (512) 471-3384. Fax: (512) 471-7088. E-mail: pjszaniszlo{at}mail.utexas.edu.

dagger Present address: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2000, p. 4941-4950, Vol. 182, No. 17
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Deng, S., van den Ende, A.H.G. G., Ram, A.F.J., Arentshorst, M., Graser, Y., Hu, H., de Hoog, G.S. (2008). Evolution of CDC42, a putative virulence factor triggering meristematic growth in black yeasts.. SIM 61: 121-129 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Zheng, W., Chen, J., Liu, W., Zheng, S., Zhou, J., Lu, G., Wang, Z. (2007). A Rho3 Homolog Is Essential for Appressorium Development and Pathogenicity of Magnaporthe grisea. Eukaryot Cell 6: 2240-2250 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, Q., Szaniszlo, P. J. (2007). WdStuAp, an APSES Transcription Factor, Is a Regulator of Yeast-Hyphal Transitions in Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis. Eukaryot Cell 6: 1595-1605 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chen, C., Ha, Y.-s., Min, J.-y., Memmott, S. D., Dickman, M. B. (2006). Cdc42 Is Required for Proper Growth and Development in the Fungal Pathogen Colletotrichum trifolii. Eukaryot Cell 5: 155-166 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Scheffer, J., Chen, C., Heidrich, P., Dickman, M. B., Tudzynski, P. (2005). A CDC42 Homologue in Claviceps purpurea Is Involved in Vegetative Differentiation and Is Essential for Pathogenicity. Eukaryot Cell 4: 1228-1238 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Liu, H., Kauffman, S., Becker, J. M., Szaniszlo, P. J. (2004). Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis WdChs5p, a Class V Chitin Synthase, Is Essential for Sustained Cell Growth at Temperature of Infection. Eukaryot Cell 3: 40-51 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bassilana, M., Blyth, J., Arkowitz, R. A. (2003). Cdc24, the GDP-GTP Exchange Factor for Cdc42, Is Required for Invasive Hyphal Growth of Candida albicans. Eukaryot Cell 2: 9-18 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, Q., Liu, H., Szaniszlo, P. J. (2002). Compensatory expression of five chitin synthase genes, a response to stress stimuli, in Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis, a melanized fungal pathogen of humans. Microbiology 148: 2811-2817 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ushinsky, S. C., Harcus, D., Ash, J., Dignard, D., Marcil, A., Morchhauser, J., Thomas, D. Y., Whiteway, M., Leberer, E. (2002). CDC42 Is Required for Polarized Growth in Human Pathogen Candida albicans. Eukaryot Cell 1: 95-104 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wang, Z., Zheng, L., Liu, H., Wang, Q., Hauser, M., Kauffman, S., Becker, J. M., Szaniszlo, P. J. (2001). WdChs2p, a Class I Chitin Synthase, Together with WdChs3p (Class III) Contributes to Virulence in Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis. Infect. Immun. 69: 7517-7526 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Boyce, K. J., Hynes, M. J., Andrianopoulos, A. (2001). The CDC42 Homolog of the Dimorphic Fungus Penicillium marneffei Is Required for Correct Cell Polarization during Growth but Not Development. J. Bacteriol. 183: 3447-3457 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»