Cell Wall Stress Response

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungal Cell Biology, Metabolism and Physiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 7483

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection (IPSP)-CNR, Torino, Italy
Interests: genomics and transcriptomics; fungal ecology and evolution; plant pathogens; mycorrhizal fungi; plant-microbe interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi live in different environments and can be subjected to several extreme conditions. Among the plethora of stresses faced by fungi are pH, osmotic and thermal changes, oxide radicals, nutrient deprivation, and exposure to chemicals. The fungal cell wall is the primary barrier against the external environment, playing a central role in the maintenance of cellular integrity, but it is also the first point of contact between the environment and the fungus. To maintain cell integrity in the face of environmental stresses, the cell wall must adapt to external challenges that could compromise cell wall structure. The cell wall responds to every stress source by triggering response pathways involved in cell wall integrity signaling and cell wall remodeling. Additionally, fungal cell wall metabolism is also affected during symbiotic interactions with plants such as in mycorrhizal symbioses. In recent years, the so called -omics tools, including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, have contributed to elucidating the role of various pathways and individual proteins in the response of the fungal cell wall to both biotic and abiotic environmental factors.

Given the recent developments in this field, the purpose of this Special Issue is to provide new insights into how fungi deal with the environment by modifying their cell walls. All types of manuscripts (original research and reviews) providing new insights from research on the impact of environmental factors, including interactions with other organisms, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Raffaella Maria Balestrini
Dr. Fabiano Sillo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • fungal cell wall
  • environmental stress
  • cell wall remodeling
  • symbiosis
  • cell wall polysaccharide

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 6206 KiB  
Article
Conidium Specific Polysaccharides in Aspergillus fumigatus
by Zhonghua Liu, Isabel Valsecchi, Rémy A. Le Meur, Catherine Simenel, J. Iñaki Guijarro, Catherine Comte, Laetitia Muszkieta, Isabelle Mouyna, Bernard Henrissat, Vishukumar Aimanianda, Jean-Paul Latgé and Thierry Fontaine
J. Fungi 2023, 9(2), 155; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof9020155 - 24 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2355
Abstract
Earlier studies have shown that the outer layers of the conidial and mycelial cell walls of Aspergillus fumigatus are different. In this work, we analyzed the polysaccharidome of the resting conidial cell wall and observed major differences within the mycelium cell wall. Mainly, [...] Read more.
Earlier studies have shown that the outer layers of the conidial and mycelial cell walls of Aspergillus fumigatus are different. In this work, we analyzed the polysaccharidome of the resting conidial cell wall and observed major differences within the mycelium cell wall. Mainly, the conidia cell wall was characterized by (i) a smaller amount of α-(1,3)-glucan and chitin; (ii) a larger amount of β-(1,3)-glucan, which was divided into alkali-insoluble and water-soluble fractions, and (iii) the existence of a specific mannan with side chains containing galactopyranose, glucose, and N-acetylglucosamine residues. An analysis of A. fumigatus cell wall gene mutants suggested that members of the fungal GH-72 transglycosylase family play a crucial role in the conidia cell wall β-(1,3)-glucan organization and that α-(1,6)-mannosyltransferases of GT-32 and GT-62 families are essential to the polymerization of the conidium-associated cell wall mannan. This specific mannan and the well-known galactomannan follow two independent biosynthetic pathways. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Wall Stress Response)
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18 pages, 6412 KiB  
Article
Characterization of a Candida albicans Mutant Defective in All MAPKs Highlights the Major Role of Hog1 in the MAPK Signaling Network
by Inês Correia, Duncan Wilson, Bernhard Hube and Jesús Pla
J. Fungi 2020, 6(4), 230; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof6040230 - 17 Oct 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3868
Abstract
The success of Candida albicans as a pathogen relies on its ability to adapt and proliferate in different environmental niches. Pathways regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in sensing environmental conditions and developing an accurate adaptive response. Given the frequent cooperative [...] Read more.
The success of Candida albicans as a pathogen relies on its ability to adapt and proliferate in different environmental niches. Pathways regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are involved in sensing environmental conditions and developing an accurate adaptive response. Given the frequent cooperative roles of these routes in cellular functions, we have generated mutants defective in all combinations of the four described MAPKs in C. albicans and characterized its phenotype regarding sensitiveness to specific drugs, morphogenesis and interaction with host immune cells. We demonstrate that all MAPKs are dispensable in this yeast as a mutant defective in Cek1, Cek2, Mkc1 and Hog1 is viable although highly sensitive to oxidative and osmotic stress, displaying a specific pattern of sensitivity to antifungals. By comparing its phenotype with single, double and triple combinations of MAPK-deletion mutants we were able to unveil a Cek1-independent mechanism for Hog1 resistance to Congo red, and confirm the predominant effect of Hog1 on oxidative and osmotic adaptation. The quadruple mutant produces filaments under non-inducing conditions, but is unable to develop chlamydospores. Furthermore, cek1 cek2 mkc1 hog1 cells switch to the opaque state at high frequency, which is blocked by the ectopic expression of HOG1 suggesting a role of this kinase for phenotypic switching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cell Wall Stress Response)
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