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Infection and Immunity, July 2003, p. 4045-4051, Vol. 71, No. 7
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.7.4045-4051.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Candida albicans Septin Mutants Are Defective for Invasive Growth and Virulence

Amy J. Warenda,1 Sarah Kauffman,2 Taylor P. Sherrill,2 Jeffrey M. Becker,2 and James B. Konopka1*

Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5222,1 Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-08452

Received 10 February 2003/ Returned for modification 28 March 2003/ Accepted 12 April 2003

Hyphal growth of Candida albicans is implicated as an important virulence factor for this opportunistic human pathogen. Septin proteins, a family of cytoskeletal elements that regulate membrane events and are important for proper morphogenesis of C. albicans, were examined for their role in tissue invasion and virulence in the mouse model of systemic infection. In vitro, septin mutants are only mildly defective for hyphal growth in liquid culture but display pronounced defects for invasive growth into agar. In vivo, the septin mutants were found to exhibit attenuated virulence. However, mice infected with the mutants displayed high fungal burdens in their kidneys without obvious symptoms of disease. Histological examination of infected kidneys revealed defects in organ invasion for the cdc10{Delta} and cdc11{Delta} deletion mutants, which displayed both reduced tissue penetration and noninvasive fungal masses. Thus, the septin proteins are necessary for invasive growth, which appears to be more important to the successful pathogenesis of C. albicans than hyphal growth alone.

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

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, July 2003, p. 4045-4051, Vol. 71, No. 7
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.7.4045-4051.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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