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Lipase 8 Affects the Pathogenesis of Candida albicans

Attila Gácser,^1,* Frank Stehr,^2, Cathrin Kröger,² László Kredics,³ Wilhelm Schäfer,² and Joshua D. Nosanchuk¹

Departments of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases) and Microbiology/Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461,¹ Center of Applied Molecular Biology, University of Hamburg, Ohnhorststrasse 18, D-22609 Hamburg, Germany,² Department of Microbiology, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary³

Received 9 March 2007/ Returned for modification 29 April 2007/ Accepted 14 July 2007

The production of lipases can affect microbial fitness and virulence. We examined the role of the lipase 8 (LIP8) gene in the virulence of Candida albicans by constructing lip8 strains by the URA-blaster disruption method. Reverse transcription-PCR experiments demonstrated the absence of LIP8 expression in the homozygous knockout mutants. Reconstituted strains and overexpression mutants were generated by introducing a LIP8 open reading frame under control of a constitutive actin promoter. Knockout mutants produced more mycelium, particularly at higher temperatures and pH 7. Diminished LIP8 expression resulted in reduced growth in lipid-containing media. Mutants deficient in the LIP8 gene were significantly less virulent in a murine intravenous infection model. The results clearly indicate that Lip8p is an important virulence factor of C. albicans.

Published ahead of print on 23 July 2007.

Editor: A. Camilli

A.G. and F.S. contributed equally to this work.