Thau N, Monod M, Crestani B, Rolland C, Tronchin G, Latgé J P, Paris S
Unité de Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Infect Immun. 1994 Oct;62(10):4380-8. doi: 10.1128/iai.62.10.4380-4388.1994.
Conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus adhere in vitro to host proteins and cells via the outer cell wall layer. The rodA gene of A. fumigatus was cloned by homology with the rodA gene of Aspergillus nidulans, which is involved in the structure of the rodlets characteristic of the surface layer. The A. fumigatus RODA protein sequence has 85% similarity to that of A. nidulans RODA; the sequence codes for a hydrophobin, a low-molecular-weight protein moderately hydrophobic and rich in cysteines. The gene was disrupted with the hygromycin B resistance gene. By transformation of protoplasts with the disrupted gene, RodA- mutants were generated. These mutants are deficient in the ability to disperse their conidia; their conidia lack the rodlet layer and are hydrophilic. The adhesion of the rodletless conidia to collagen and bovine serum albumin was lower than that of the wild type; in contrast, there was no difference between RodA- and RodA+ conidia in adhesion to pneumocytes, fibrinogen, and laminin, suggesting that RODA is not the receptor for these cells and proteins. RodA- conidia were pathogenic for mice.
烟曲霉的分生孢子在体外通过细胞壁外层与宿主蛋白和细胞黏附。通过与构巢曲霉的rodA基因同源克隆了烟曲霉的rodA基因，构巢曲霉的rodA基因参与表层特征性小杆的结构。烟曲霉RODA蛋白序列与构巢曲霉RODA的相似性为85%；该序列编码一种疏水蛋白，这是一种低分子量、中度疏水且富含半胱氨酸的蛋白。用潮霉素B抗性基因破坏该基因。通过用破坏的基因转化原生质体，产生了RodA-突变体。这些突变体在分生孢子分散能力方面存在缺陷；它们的分生孢子缺乏小杆层且具有亲水性。无小杆分生孢子对胶原蛋白和牛血清白蛋白的黏附低于野生型；相反，RodA-和RodA+分生孢子对肺细胞、纤维蛋白原和层粘连蛋白的黏附没有差异，这表明RODA不是这些细胞和蛋白的受体。RodA-分生孢子对小鼠具有致病性。
