Court Helen, Sudbery Peter
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Sheffield University, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom.
Mol Biol Cell. 2007 Jan;18(1):265-81. doi: 10.1091/mbc.e06-05-0411. Epub 2006 Nov 8.
The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans can switch between yeast, pseudohyphal, and hyphal morphologies. To investigate whether the distinctive characteristics of hyphae are due to increased activity of the Cdc42 GTPase, strains lacking negative regulators of Cdc42 were constructed. Unexpectedly, the deletion of the Cdc42 Rho guanine dissociation inhibitor RDI1 resulted in reduced rather than enhanced polarized growth. However, when cells lacking both Cdc42 GTPase-activating proteins, encoded by RGA2 and BEM3, were grown under pseudohyphal-promoting conditions the bud was highly elongated and lacked a constriction at its base, so that its shape resembled a hyphal germ tube. Moreover, a Spitzenkörper was present at the bud tip, a band of disorganized septin was present at bud base, true septin rings formed within the bud, and nuclei migrated out of the mother cell before the first mitosis. These are all characteristic features of a hyphal germ tube. Intriguingly, we observed hyphal-specific phosphorylation of Rga2, suggesting a possible mechanism for Cdc42 activation during normal hyphal development. In contrast, expression of Cdc42(G12V), which is constitutively GTP bound because it lacks GTPase activity, resulted in swollen cells with prominent and stable septin bars. These results suggest the development of hyphal-specific characteristics is promoted by Cdc42-GTP in a process that also requires the intrinsic GTPase activity of Cdc42.
人类真菌病原体白色念珠菌能够在酵母、假菌丝和菌丝形态之间转换。为了研究菌丝的独特特征是否归因于Cdc42 GTP酶活性的增加,构建了缺乏Cdc42负调控因子的菌株。出乎意料的是,Cdc42 Rho鸟嘌呤解离抑制剂RDI1的缺失导致极化生长降低而非增强。然而,当同时缺乏由RGA2和BEM3编码的Cdc42 GTP酶激活蛋白的细胞在促进假菌丝生长的条件下生长时,芽高度伸长且基部缺乏缢缩,因此其形状类似于菌丝芽管。此外,在芽尖存在一个纺锤体,在芽基部存在一条无序的隔膜带,在芽内形成真正的隔膜环,并且细胞核在第一次有丝分裂之前从母细胞中迁出。这些都是菌丝芽管的特征。有趣的是,我们观察到Rga2的菌丝特异性磷酸化,这表明在正常菌丝发育过程中Cdc42激活的一种可能机制。相比之下,Cdc42(G12V)的表达导致细胞肿胀,具有突出且稳定的隔膜条,Cdc42(G12V)由于缺乏GTP酶活性而持续结合GTP。这些结果表明,在一个也需要Cdc42内在GTP酶活性的过程中,Cdc42-GTP促进了菌丝特异性特征的发育。