Effects of Ire1 gene on virulence and pathogenicity of .

With the extensive utilization of antifungal drugs, the drug resistance of is progressively intensifying, and the effect of empirical treatment for infection is not evident. There is an urgent need for novel strategies and methods for the treatment of infection. Our study utilized the previously constructed Ire1 double gene deletion strain to explore the influence of the Ire1 on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and pathogenicity of through drug stress phenotype testing, biofilm and hyphomycete formation testing, and mouse systemic infection testing. The results indicate that Ire1 is involved in maintaining the integrity of the cell wall and influencing the hyphal formation ability of . Concurrently, the deletion of the Ire1 increased the sensitivity of to the ER stress agents tunicamycin and dithiothreitol and diminished the biofilm formation ability of , resulting in significant inhibition of the growth of . In mouse models, the deletion of Ire1 completely nullified the virulence and pathogenicity of in the tail vein infection. In conclusion, Ire1 might be a key target for the potential development of new therapeutic drugs and vaccines.