%0 Journal Article
%A Hidalgo Vico, Susana
%A Prieto Prieto, Antonio Daniel
%A Alonso Monge, Rebeca María Del Mar
%A Román González, Elvira
%A Pla Alonso, Jesús
%T The Glyoxylate Cycle Is Involved in White-Opaque Switching in Candida albicans
%D 2021
%@ 2309-608X
%U https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/7092
%X Candida albicans is a commensal yeast that inhabits the gastrointestinal tract of humans. The master regulator of the white-opaque transition WOR1 has been implicated in the adaptation to this commensal status. A proteomic analysis of cells overexpressing this transcription factor (WOR1OE) suggested an altered metabolism of carbon sources and a phenotypic analysis confirmed this alteration. The WOR1OE cells are deficient in using trehalose and xylose and are unable to use 2C sources, which is consistent with a reduction in the amount of Icl1, the isocitrate lyase enzyme. The icl1∆/∆ mutants overexpressing WOR1 are deficient in the production of phloxine B positive cells, a main characteristic of opaque cells, a phenotype also observed in mating type hemizygous mtla1∆ icl1∆/∆ cells, suggesting the involvement of Icl1 in the adaptation to the commensal state. In fact, icl1∆/∆ cells have reduced fitness in mouse gastrointestinal tract as compared with essentially isogenic heterozygous ICL1/icl1∆, but overproduction of WOR1 in an icl1∆/∆ mutant does not restore fitness. These results implicate the glyoxylate shunt in the adaptation to commensalism of C. albicans by mechanisms that are partially independent of WOR1.
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