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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

Calcium transport and the growth and morphogenesis of Candida albicans

Shanks, Scott G. January 2002 (has links)
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Ca<sup>2+</sup> signalling pathways in the growth, morphogenesis and hyphal reorientation responses of <i>C. albicans</i>. The genes <i>CCH1</i> and <i>MID1</i> were identified in <i>S. cerevisiae</i> as encoding putative Ca<sup>2+</sup> channels. These genes have since been shown to compose a Ca<sup>2+</sup> channel complex. Homologues of these genes were identified and cloned from <i>C. albicans</i>. <i>CaMID1</i> was disrupted by the Ura-blaster method, and the resulting mutant characterised. The <i>C. albicans</i> <i>mid1</i> mutant strain was sensitive to the depletion of Ca<sup>2+</sup> the presence of cell wall perturbing compounds such as SDS and Calcofluor. It formed hyphae more rapidly in the presence of serum, and had a propensity to grow as elongated cells or pseudohyphae in Ca<sup>2+</sup>-depleted medium, on SD, or on medium containing cell wall perturbing compounds. This suggests that depletion of Ca<sup>2+</sup>-uptake perturbs yeast-hypha morphogenesis, perhaps by inducing a nutrient starvation stress response. The <i>mid1</i> mutant and a number of other <i>C. albicans</i> Ca<sup>2+</sup> signalling mutants were defective in chlamydospore formation, suggesting a role for Ca<sup>2+</sup> in two morphogenetic genesises: the hyphae and of chlamydospores. The role of Mid1p in the thigmotropic reorientation responses of <i>C. albicans</i> hyphae was investigated. The <i>mid1</i> mutant strain displayed reduced ability to reorientate growth upon contact with ridges on an etched quartz slide. Suggesting that Mid1p may function as stretch-activated Ca<sup>2+</sup> channel in <i>C. albicans</i>. The ability of <i>C. albicans</i> <i>mid1</i> mutants to respond to an electric field was also attenuated, suggesting that Mid1p may form part of a voltage-sensitive Ca<sup>2+</sup> channel in <i>C. albicans</i> that plays a central role in the steering mechanism of <i>C. albicans</i> hyphae. The <i>C. albicans </i>kinase Cst20p may function downstream of Mid1p in growth reorientation responses.

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