This thesis examines the role of surface mannosylation in adhesion to host surfaces and the manner in which the fungus compensates for loss of such glycosylation. This project firstly analysed the importance of <i>C. albicans</i> of surface carbohydrate in adhesion to human epithelia by disrupting the carbohydrate ring structure with sodium periodate. This disruption led to reduced yeast adherence to the epithelial cells, implicating a role for surface mannosylation in this process. An attempt to elucidate the relative role of <i>O</i>-linked glycans in this process proved that they do not play a major part in adhesion to buccal epithelia. Global transcript profiling was employed to study how gene expression is affected in mutants defective in glycosylation in order to identify genes which may be compensating for loss of mannan. Of the genes implicated in this analysis, three were chosen for further study –<i>IFP7109, ECM22 </i>and <i>ECM331. </i>A null mutant of <i>ECM22</i> mutant was constructed and subjected to phenotypic analysis but no cell wall or growth defective phenotype was found. Reporter gene analysis was used to examine the transcriptional response of the three genes to various environmental conditions and found that the genes responded to many agents that trigger the cell wall salvage pathway further suggesting a role in compensation to changes in cell wall composition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:446608 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Hamilton, Suzanne |
| Publisher | University of Aberdeen |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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