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Boucher MJ, Banerjee S, Joshi MB, Wei AL, Huang MY, Lei S, Ciranni M, Condon A, Langen A, Goddard TD, Caradonna I, Goranov AI, Homer CM, Mortensen Y, Petnic S, Reilly MC, Xiong Y, Susa KJ, Pastore VP, Zaro BW, Madhani HD. Phenotypic landscape of a fungal meningitis pathogen reveals its unique biology. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.10.22.619677. [PMID: 39484549 PMCID: PMC11526942 DOI: 10.1101/2024.10.22.619677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2024]
Abstract
Cryptococcus neoformans is the most common cause of fungal meningitis and the top-ranked W.H.O. priority fungal pathogen. Only distantly related to model fungi, C. neoformans is also a powerful experimental system for exploring conserved eukaryotic mechanisms lost from specialist model yeast lineages. To decipher its biology globally, we constructed 4328 gene deletions and measured-with exceptional precision--the fitness of each mutant under 141 diverse growth-limiting in vitro conditions and during murine infection. We defined functional modules by clustering genes based on their phenotypic signatures. In-depth studies leveraged these data in two ways. First, we defined and investigated new components of key signaling pathways, which revealed animal-like pathways/components not predicted from studies of model yeasts. Second, we identified environmental adaptation mechanisms repurposed to promote mammalian virulence by C. neoformans, which lacks a known animal reservoir. Our work provides an unprecedented resource for deciphering a deadly human pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Boucher
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sanjita Banerjee
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Meenakshi B Joshi
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Angela L Wei
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Manning Y Huang
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Susan Lei
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Massimiliano Ciranni
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genoa, via alla Opera Pia 13, 16145 Genoa, Italy
| | - Andrew Condon
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Andreas Langen
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Thomas D Goddard
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Ippolito Caradonna
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Alexi I Goranov
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Christina M Homer
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Yassaman Mortensen
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sarah Petnic
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Morgann C Reilly
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Ying Xiong
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Katherine J Susa
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Vito Paolo Pastore
- Department of Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering, University of Genoa, via alla Opera Pia 13, 16145 Genoa, Italy
| | - Balyn W Zaro
- Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Hiten D Madhani
- Dept. of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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Coelho C, Farrer RA. Pathogen and host genetics underpinning cryptococcal disease. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2020; 105:1-66. [PMID: 32560785 DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Cryptococcosis is a severe fungal disease causing 220,000 cases of cryptococcal meningitis yearly. The etiological agents of cryptococcosis are taxonomically grouped into at least two species complexes belonging to the genus Cryptococcus. All of these yeasts are environmentally ubiquitous fungi (often found in soil, leaves and decaying wood, tree hollows, and associated with bird feces especially pigeon guano). Infection in a range of animals including humans begins following inhalation of spores or aerosolized yeasts. Recent advances provide fundamental insights into the factors from both the pathogen and its hosts which influence pathogenesis and disease. The complex interactions leading to disease in mammalian hosts have also updated from the availability of better genomic tools and datasets. In this review, we discuss recent genetic research on Cryptococcus, covering the epidemiology, ecology, and evolution of Cryptococcus pathogenic species. We also discuss the insights into the host immune response obtained from the latest genetic modified host models as well as insights from monogenic disorders in humans. Finally we highlight outstanding questions that can be answered in the near future using bioinformatics and genomic tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Coelho
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Rhys A Farrer
- Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
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