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D’Spain S, Andrade PI, Brockman NE, Fu J, Wickes BL. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Candida glabrata. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:596. [PMID: 35736079 PMCID: PMC9225417 DOI: 10.3390/jof8060596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of broad-spectrum antimycotic therapy, immunosuppressive therapy, and indwelling medical devices has contributed to the increased frequency of mucosal and systemic infections caused by Candida glabrata. A major concern for C. glabrata and other Candida spp. infections is the increase in drug resistance. To address these issues, additional molecular tools for the study of C. glabrata are needed. In this investigation, we developed an Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation system for C. glabrata. A number of parameters were investigated to determine their effect on transformation frequency, and then an optimized protocol was developed. The optimal conditions for the transformation of C. glabrata were found to be an infection incubation temperature of 26 °C, 0.2 mM acetosyringone in both induction media and co-culture media, 0.7% agar concentration, and a multiplicity of infection of 50:1 A. tumefaciens to C. glabrata. Importantly, the frequency of multiple integrations was low (5%), demonstrating that A. tumefaciens generally integrates at single sites in C. glabrata, which is consistent with other fungal A. tumefaciens transformation systems. The development of this system in C. glabrata adds another tool for the molecular manipulation of this increasingly important fungal pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Brian L. Wickes
- The Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA; (S.D.); (P.I.A.); (N.E.B.); (J.F.)
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2
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Marsic T, Ali Z, Tehseen M, Mahas A, Hamdan S, Mahfouz M. Vigilant: An Engineered VirD2-Cas9 Complex for Lateral Flow Assay-Based Detection of SARS-CoV2. NANO LETTERS 2021; 21:3596-3603. [PMID: 33844549 PMCID: PMC8056947 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Revised: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Rapid, sensitive, and specific point-of-care testing for pathogens is crucial for disease control. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) have been employed for nucleic acid detection, but they have limited sensitivity and specificity. Here, we used a fusion of catalytically inactive SpCas9 endonuclease and VirD2 relaxase for sensitive, specific nucleic acid detection by LFA. In this assay, the target nucleic acid is amplified with biotinylated oligos. VirD2-dCas9 specifically binds the target sequence via dCas9 and covalently binds to a FAM-tagged oligonucleotide via VirD2. The biotin label and FAM tag are detected by a commercially available LFA. We coupled this system, named Vigilant (VirD2-dCas9 guided and LFA-coupled nucleic acid test), to reverse transcription-recombinase polymerase amplification to detect SARS-CoV2 in clinical samples. Vigilant exhibited a limit of detection of 2.5 copies/μL, comparable to CRISPR-based systems, and showed no cross-reactivity with SARS-CoV1 or MERS. Vigilant offers an easy-to-use, rapid, cost-effective, and robust detection platform for SARS-CoV2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tin Marsic
- Laboratory
for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological
Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zahir Ali
- Laboratory
for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological
Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Tehseen
- Laboratory
of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental
Sciences and Engineering Division, King
Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed Mahas
- Laboratory
for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological
Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Samir Hamdan
- Laboratory
of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental
Sciences and Engineering Division, King
Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Magdy Mahfouz
- Laboratory
for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological
Sciences, King Abdullah University of Science
and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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3
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Development of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system in Talaromyces marneffei. Microb Pathog 2021; 154:104822. [PMID: 33727171 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.104822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Talaromyces marneffei is an important pathogenic thermally dimorphic fungus causing systemic talaromycosis mainly prevalent in Southeast Asia. The dimorphic transition between mycelium and yeast is considered crucial for the pathogenicity of T. marneffei. However, the lack of genetic toolbox has been a major impediment for understanding its pathogenicity. Here a CRISPR-Cas9 system was developed to facilitate genetic manipulations in this organism. In this study, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system uses a native U6 snRNA promoter from T. marneffei to drive the expression of sgRNA. Employing this system and PEG-mediated protoplast transformation, the sakA gene was mutated. Sanger sequencing confirmed nearly 40% site-directed mutation rate. The phenotype analysis confirmed the sakA gene function in T. marneffei dimorphic transition. Our study provided a powerful genome-manipulating tool, which could accelerate studies on T. marneffei for further revealing the mechanisms of its pathogenicity.
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Xiao X, Li Y, Lan Y, Zhang J, He Y, Cai W, Chen Z, Xi L, Zhang J. Deletion of pksA attenuates the melanogenesis, growth and sporulation ability and causes increased sensitivity to stress response and antifungal drugs in the human pathogenic fungus Fonsecaea monophora. Microbiol Res 2020; 244:126668. [PMID: 33359842 DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2020.126668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2020] [Revised: 11/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Fonsecaea monophora, which is very similar to Fonsecaea pedrosoi in morphological features, has been commonly misdiagnosed as F. pedrosoi. Like F. pedrosoi, F. monophora has been also identified as a predominant pathogen of Chromoblastomycosis (CBM). Melanin has been recognized as a virulence factor in several fungi, however, it is still largely unknown about the biological role of melanin and how melanin is synthesized in F. monophora. In this study, we identified two putative polyketide synthase genes (pks), AYO21_03016 (pksA) and AYO21_10638, by searching against the genome of F. monophora. AYO21_03016 and AYO21_10638 were further targeted disrupted by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT). We discovered that pksA gene was the major polyketide synthase required for melanin synthesis in F. monophora, rather than AYO21_10638. Phenotypic analysis showed that, knocking out of the pksA gene attenuated melanogenesis, growth rate, sporulation ability and virulence of F. monophora, as compared with wild-type and complementation strain (pksA-C). Furthermore, the ΔpksA mutant was confirmed to be more sensitive to the oxidative stress, extreme pH environment, and antifungal drugs including itraconazole (ITC), terbinafine (TER), and amphotericin B (AMB). Taken together, these findings enabled us to comprehend the role of pksA in regulating DHN-melanin pathway and its effect on the biological function of F. monophora.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Xiao
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Department of Dermatology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yu Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yu Lan
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Ya He
- Department of Dermatology, Shenzhen Children's Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Wenying Cai
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhiwen Chen
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, The Liwan Hospital of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Liyan Xi
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Junmin Zhang
- Department of Dermatology and Venerology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
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5
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Feng J, He L, Xiao X, Chen Z, Chen C, Chu J, Lu S, Li X, Mylonakis E, Xi L. Methylcitrate cycle gene MCD is essential for the virulence of Talaromyces marneffei. Med Mycol 2020; 58:351-361. [PMID: 31290549 DOI: 10.1093/mmy/myz063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Talaromyces marneffei (T. marneffei), which used to be known as Penicillium marneffei, is the causative agent of the fatal systemic mycosis known as talaromycosis. For the purpose of understanding the role of methylcitrate cycle in the virulence of T. marneffei, we generated MCD deletion (ΔMCD) and complementation (ΔMCD+) mutants of T. marneffei. Growth in different carbon sources showed that ΔMCD cannot grow on propionate media and grew slowly on the valerate, valine, methionine, isoleucine, cholesterol, and YNB (carbon free) media. The macrophage killing assay showed that ΔMCD was attenuated in macrophages of mice in vitro, especially at the presence of propionate. Finally, virulence studies in a murine infection experiment revealed attenuated virulence of the ΔMCD, which indicates MCD is essential for T. marneffei virulence in the host. This experiment laid the foundation for the further study of the specific mechanisms underlying the methylcitrate cycle of T. marneffei and may provide suitable targets for new antifungals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Feng
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liya He
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xing Xiao
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiwen Chen
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunmei Chen
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jieming Chu
- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sha Lu
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiqing Li
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Eleftherios Mylonakis
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Liyan Xi
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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6
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An optimized Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation system for random insertional mutagenesis in Fonsecaea monophora. J Microbiol Methods 2020; 170:105838. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2020.105838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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7
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Ali Z, Shami A, Sedeek K, Kamel R, Alhabsi A, Tehseen M, Hassan N, Butt H, Kababji A, Hamdan SM, Mahfouz MM. Fusion of the Cas9 endonuclease and the VirD2 relaxase facilitates homology-directed repair for precise genome engineering in rice. Commun Biol 2020. [PMID: 31974493 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Precise genome editing by systems such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) requires high-efficiency homology-directed repair (HDR). Different technologies have been developed to improve HDR but with limited success. Here, we generated a fusion between the Cas9 endonuclease and the Agrobacterium VirD2 relaxase (Cas9-VirD2). This chimeric protein combines the functions of Cas9, which produces targeted and specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and the VirD2 relaxase, which brings the repair template in close proximity to the DSBs, to facilitate HDR. We successfully employed our Cas9-VirD2 system for precise ACETOLACTATE SYNTHASE (OsALS) allele modification to generate herbicide-resistant rice (Oryza sativa) plants, CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE-7 (OsCCD7) to engineer plant architecture, and generate in-frame fusions with the HA epitope at HISTONE DEACETYLASE (OsHDT) locus. The Cas9-VirD2 system expands our ability to improve agriculturally important traits in crops and opens new possibilities for precision genome engineering across diverse eukaryotic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahir Ali
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ashwag Shami
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
- College of Science, Biology Department, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Khalid Sedeek
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Radwa Kamel
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulrahman Alhabsi
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Tehseen
- Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Norhan Hassan
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Haroon Butt
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahad Kababji
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Samir M Hamdan
- Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Magdy M Mahfouz
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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8
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Ali Z, Shami A, Sedeek K, Kamel R, Alhabsi A, Tehseen M, Hassan N, Butt H, Kababji A, Hamdan SM, Mahfouz MM. Fusion of the Cas9 endonuclease and the VirD2 relaxase facilitates homology-directed repair for precise genome engineering in rice. Commun Biol 2020; 3:44. [PMID: 31974493 PMCID: PMC6978410 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-0768-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Precise genome editing by systems such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) requires high-efficiency homology-directed repair (HDR). Different technologies have been developed to improve HDR but with limited success. Here, we generated a fusion between the Cas9 endonuclease and the Agrobacterium VirD2 relaxase (Cas9-VirD2). This chimeric protein combines the functions of Cas9, which produces targeted and specific DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and the VirD2 relaxase, which brings the repair template in close proximity to the DSBs, to facilitate HDR. We successfully employed our Cas9-VirD2 system for precise ACETOLACTATE SYNTHASE (OsALS) allele modification to generate herbicide-resistant rice (Oryza sativa) plants, CAROTENOID CLEAVAGE DIOXYGENASE-7 (OsCCD7) to engineer plant architecture, and generate in-frame fusions with the HA epitope at HISTONE DEACETYLASE (OsHDT) locus. The Cas9-VirD2 system expands our ability to improve agriculturally important traits in crops and opens new possibilities for precision genome engineering across diverse eukaryotic species. Ali, Shami, Sedeek et al. generate a fusion between Cas9 and the VirD2 relaxase (Cas9-VirD2), which combines the functions of both proteins in producing targeted and specific double strand breaks and promoting homology-directed repair. They show the utility of their method by producing herbicide resistant rice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahir Ali
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ashwag Shami
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.,College of Science, Biology Department, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Khalid Sedeek
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Radwa Kamel
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Abdulrahman Alhabsi
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Tehseen
- Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Norhan Hassan
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Haroon Butt
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahad Kababji
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Samir M Hamdan
- Laboratory of DNA Replication and Recombination, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Magdy M Mahfouz
- Laboratory for Genome Engineering and Synthetic Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, 4700 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia.
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9
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Feng J, Chen Z, He L, Xiao X, Chen C, Chu J, Mylonakis E, Xi L. AcuD Gene Knockout Attenuates the Virulence of Talaromyces marneffei in a Zebrafish Model. MYCOBIOLOGY 2019; 47:207-216. [PMID: 31448141 PMCID: PMC6691920 DOI: 10.1080/12298093.2019.1620975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2018] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Talaromyces marneffei is the only dimorphic species in its genus and causes a fatal systemic mycosis named talaromycosis. Our previous study indicated that knockdown of AcuD gene (encodes isocitrate lyase of glyoxylate bypass) of T. marneffei by RNA interference approach attenuated the virulence of T. marneffei, while the virulence of the AcuD knockout strains was not studied. In this study, T. marneffei-zebrafish infection model was successfully established through hindbrain microinjection with different amounts of T. marneffei yeast cells. After co-incubated at 28°C, the increasing T. marneffei inoculum doses result in greater larval mortality; and hyphae generation might be one virulence factor involved in T. marneffei-zebrafish infection. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the virulence of the ΔAcuD was significantly attenuated in this Zebrafish infection model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiao Feng
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiwen Chen
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liya He
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xing Xiao
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chunmei Chen
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jieming Chu
- Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Eleftherios Mylonakis
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Rhode Island Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Liyan Xi
- Department of Dermatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Dermatology Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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