The superoxide dismutases of Candida glabrata protect against oxidative damage and are required for lysine biosynthesis, DNA integrity and chronological life survival.

The fungal pathogen Candida glabrata has a well-defined oxidative stress response, is extremely resistant to oxidative stress and can survive inside phagocytic cells. In order to further our understanding of the oxidative stress response in C. glabrata, we characterized the superoxide dismutases (SODs) Cu,ZnSOD (Sod1) and MnSOD (Sod2). We found that Sod1 is the major contributor to total SOD activity and is present in cytoplasm, whereas Sod2 is a mitochondrial protein. Both SODs played a central role in the oxidative stress response but Sod1 was more important during fermentative growth and Sod2 during respiration and growth in non-fermentable carbon sources. Interestingly, C. glabrata cells lacking both SODs showed auxotrophy for lysine, a high rate of spontaneous mutation and reduced chronological lifespan. Thus, our study reveals that SODs play an important role in metabolism, lysine biosynthesis, DNA protection and aging in C. glabrata.