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Infection and Immunity, September 2009, p. 4150-4160, Vol. 77, No. 9
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00683-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

BAR Domain Proteins Rvs161 and Rvs167 Contribute to Candida albicans Endocytosis, Morphogenesis, and Virulence{triangledown}

Lois M. Douglas, Stephen W. Martin,{dagger} and James B. Konopka*

Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5222

Received 15 June 2009/ Returned for modification 29 June 2009/ Accepted 7 July 2009

The Candida albicans plasma membrane plays critical roles in growth and virulence and as a target for antifungal drugs. Three C. albicans genes that encode Bin-Amphiphysin-Rvs homology domain proteins were mutated to define their roles in plasma membrane function. The deletion of RVS161 and RVS167, but not RVS162, caused strong defects. The rvs161{Delta} mutant was more defective in endocytosis and morphogenesis than rvs167{Delta}, but both were strongly defective in polarizing actin patches. Other plasma membrane constituents were still properly localized, including a filipin-stained domain at the hyphal tips. An analysis of growth under different in vitro conditions showed that the rvs161{Delta} and rvs167{Delta} mutants grew less invasively in agar and also suggested that they have defects in cell wall synthesis and Rim101 pathway signaling. These mutants were also more resistant to the antimicrobial peptide histatin 5 but showed essentially normal responses to the drugs caspofungin and amphotericin. Surprisingly, the rvs161{Delta} mutant was more sensitive to fluconazole, whereas the rvs167{Delta} mutant was more resistant, indicating that these mutations cause overlapping but distinct effects on cells. The rvs161{Delta} and rvs167{Delta} mutants both showed greatly reduced virulence in mice. However, the mutants were capable of growing to high levels in kidneys. Histological analyses of infected kidneys revealed that these rvs{Delta} mutants grew in a large fungal mass that was walled off by leukocytes, rather than forming disseminated microabscesses as seen for the wild type. The diminished virulence is likely due to a combination of the morphogenesis defects that reduce invasive growth and altered cell wall construction that exposes proinflammatory components to the host immune system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5222. Phone: (631) 632-8715. Fax: (631) 632-9797. E-mail: jkonopka{at}ms.cc.sunysb.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 13 July 2009.

Editor: A. Casadevall

{dagger} Present address: Cell Surface Signaling Lab, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.

Infection and Immunity, September 2009, p. 4150-4160, Vol. 77, No. 9
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00683-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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