A Host-Pathogen Interaction Screen Identifies as a Mediator of Defenses Against Reactive Oxygen Species.

() forms part of the normal human gut microbiota but can cause life-threatening invasive infections in immune-compromised individuals. displays high resistance to common azole antifungals, which necessitates new treatments. In this investigation, we identified five deletion mutants (, , hir3, and ) from a library of 196 transcription factor mutants that were unable to grow and activate an immune response in larvae. This highlighted the importance of these transcription factors in infectivity. Further investigation into these mutants revealed the requirement of for oxidative stress tolerance. We confirmed this observation whereby growth of the strain was permitted only in flies with suppressed production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Conversely, overexpression of promoted replication in infected wild type larvae resulting in larval killing. We propose that orchestrates the response of against ROS-mediated immune defenses during infection. With the need to find alternative antifungal treatment for infections, genes required for survival in the host environment, such as , provide promising potential targets.