Baltussen Tim J H, Coolen Jordy P M, Verweij Paul E, Dijksterhuis Jan, Melchers Willem J G
Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Center of Expertise in Mycology Radboudumc/CWZ, 6532 SZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
J Fungi (Basel). 2021 Apr 1;7(4):270. doi: 10.3390/jof7040270.
spp. is an opportunistic human pathogen that may cause a spectrum of pulmonary diseases. In order to establish infection, inhaled conidia must germinate, whereby they break dormancy, start to swell, and initiate a highly polarized growth process. To identify critical biological processes during germination, we performed a cross-platform, cross-species comparative analysis of germinating and conidia using transcriptional data from published RNA-Seq and Affymetrix studies. A consensus co-expression network analysis identified four gene modules associated with stages of germination. These modules showed numerous shared biological processes between and during conidial germination. Specifically, the module was enriched with secondary metabolism, the module was highly enriched with protein synthesis, the module was enriched with protein fate, and the module was highly enriched with polarized growth. More specifically, enriched functional categories identified in the module were vesicle formation, vesicular transport, tubulin dependent transport, actin-dependent transport, exocytosis, and endocytosis. Genes important for these biological processes showed similar expression patterns in and , therefore, they could be potential antifungal targets. Through cross-platform, cross-species comparative analysis, we were able to identify biologically meaningful modules shared by and , which underscores the potential of this approach.
某菌种是一种机会性人类病原体，可能导致一系列肺部疾病。为了建立感染，吸入的分生孢子必须萌发，在此过程中它们打破休眠、开始膨胀并启动高度极化的生长过程。为了确定萌发过程中的关键生物学过程，我们利用已发表的RNA测序和基因芯片研究的转录数据，对萌发的分生孢子和分生孢子进行了跨平台、跨物种的比较分析。一项共识共表达网络分析确定了与萌发阶段相关的四个基因模块。这些模块在分生孢子萌发过程中显示出许多分生孢子和某菌种之间共有的生物学过程。具体而言，某模块富含次生代谢，某模块高度富含蛋白质合成，某模块富含蛋白质命运，某模块高度富含极化生长。更具体地说，在某模块中鉴定出的富集功能类别包括囊泡形成、囊泡运输、微管依赖性运输、肌动蛋白依赖性运输、胞吐作用和内吞作用。对这些生物学过程重要的基因在某菌种和某菌种中表现出相似的表达模式，因此，它们可能是潜在的抗真菌靶点。通过跨平台、跨物种比较分析，我们能够鉴定出某菌种和某菌种共有的具有生物学意义的模块，这突出了这种方法的潜力。
