The Role of Oxidoreductase-Like Protein Olp1 in Sexual Reproduction and Virulence of .

is a basidiomycete human fungal pathogen causing lethal meningoencephalitis, mainly in immunocompromised patients. Oxidoreductases are a class of enzymes that catalyze redox, playing a crucial role in biochemical reactions. In this study, we identified one oxidoreductase-like protein-encoding gene and investigated its role in the sexual reproduction and virulence of . Gene expression patterns analysis showed that the gene was expressed in each developmental stage of , and the Olp1 protein was located in the cytoplasm of cells. Although it produced normal major virulence factors such as melanin and capsule, the Δ mutants showed growth defects on the yeast extract peptone dextrose (YPD) medium supplemented with lithium chloride (LiCl) and 5-fluorocytosine (5-FC). The fungal mating analysis showed that Olp1 is also essential for fungal sexual reproduction, as Δ mutants show significant defects in hyphae growth and basidiospores production during bisexual reproduction. The fungal nuclei imaging showed that during the bilateral mating of Δ mutants, the nuclei failed to undergo meiosis after fusion in the basidia, indicating that Olp1 is crucial for regulating meiosis during mating. Moreover, Olp1 was also found to be required for fungal virulence in , as the Δ mutants showed significant virulence attenuation in a murine inhalation model. In conclusion, our results showed that the oxidoreductase-like protein Olp1 is required for both fungal sexual reproduction and virulence in .