N-Acetylglucosamine-Induced Cell Death in Candida albicans and Its Implications for Adaptive Mechanisms of Nutrient Sensing in Yeasts

MBio
Han DuGuanghua Huang

Abstract

Single-celled organisms have different strategies to sense and utilize nutrients in their ever-changing environments. The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a common member of the human microbiota, especially that of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. An important question concerns how C. albicans gained a competitive advantage over other microbes to become a successful commensal and opportunistic pathogen. Here, we report that C. albicans uses N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), an abundant carbon source present in the GI tract, as a signal for nutrient availability. When placed in water, C. albicans cells normally enter the G0 phase and remain viable for weeks. However, they quickly lose viability when cultured in water containing only GlcNAc. We term this phenomenon GlcNAc-induced cell death (GICD). GlcNAc triggers the upregulation of ribosomal biogenesis genes, alterations of mitochondrial metabolism, and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), followed by rapid cell death via both apoptotic and necrotic mechanisms. Multiple pathways, including the conserved cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling and GlcNAc catabolic pathways, are involved in GICD. GlcNAc acts as a signaling molecule to regulate multiple cellular pro...Continue Reading

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Citations

Mar 3, 2017·Medical Mycology Journal·Sanae A IshijimaShigeru Abe
May 13, 2017·RNA Biology·Benjamin RocheRobert Martienssen
Nov 7, 2019·Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy·Jiao GongGuanghua Huang
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May 26, 2018·Current Genetics·Chang SuYang Lu
Apr 3, 2021·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Karl LiboroHyunsook Park

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Datasets Mentioned

BETA
GSE64659

Methods Mentioned

BETA
scanning electron microscopy
PCR
reverse transcription-PCR
fluorescence microscopy
transmission electron microscopy
RNA-Seq

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