Thompson Delma S, Carlisle Patricia L, Kadosh David
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr., MC 7758, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA.
Eukaryot Cell. 2011 Sep;10(9):1173-82. doi: 10.1128/EC.05085-11. Epub 2011 Jul 15.
Many of the major human fungal pathogens are known to undergo morphological changes, which in certain cases are associated with virulence. Although there has been an intense research focus on morphology in fungi, very little is known about how morphology evolved in conjunction with a variety of other virulence properties. However, several recent important discoveries, primarily in Candida species, are beginning to shed light on this important area and answer many longstanding questions. In this minireview, we first provide a description of the major fungal morphologies, as well as the roles of morphology and morphology-associated gene expression in virulence. Next, focusing largely on Candida species, we examine the evolutionary relationships among specific morphological forms. Finally, drawing on recent findings, we begin to address the question of how specific morphological changes came to be associated with virulence of Candida species during evolution.
已知许多主要的人类真菌病原体都会发生形态变化，在某些情况下，这些变化与毒力相关。尽管对真菌形态学的研究一直很深入，但对于形态学如何与多种其他毒力特性协同进化却知之甚少。然而，最近的几项重要发现，主要是在念珠菌属中，开始为这一重要领域带来曙光，并回答了许多长期存在的问题。在这篇小型综述中，我们首先描述了主要的真菌形态，以及形态和与形态相关的基因表达在毒力中的作用。接下来，主要聚焦于念珠菌属，我们研究了特定形态形式之间的进化关系。最后，借鉴最近的研究结果，我们开始探讨在进化过程中，特定的形态变化是如何与念珠菌属的毒力相关联的。
