Putative Membrane Receptors Contribute to Activation and Efficient Signaling of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascades during Adaptation of Aspergillus fumigatus to Different Stressors and Carbon Sources.

The high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) response pathway is a multifunctional signal transduction pathway that specifically transmits ambient osmotic signals. Saccharomyces cerevisiae Hog1p has two upstream signaling branches, the sensor histidine kinase Sln1p and the receptor Sho1p. The Sho1p branch includes two other proteins, the Msb2p mucin and Opy2p. Aspergillus fumigatus is the leading cause of pulmonary fungal diseases. Here, we investigated the roles played by A. fumigatus SlnASln1p, ShoASho1p, MsbAMsb2p, and OpyAOpy2p putative homologues during the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) HOG pathway. The shoA, msbA, and opyA singly and doubly null mutants are important for the cell wall integrity (CWI) pathway, oxidative stress, and virulence as assessed by a Galleria mellonella model. Genetic interactions of ShoA, MsbA, and OpyA are also important for proper activation of the SakAHog1p and MpkASlt2 cascade and the response to osmotic and cell wall stresses. Comparative label-free quantitative proteomics analysis of the singly null mutants with the wild-type strain upon caspofungin exposure indicates that the absence of ShoA, MsbA, and OpyA affects the osmotic stress response, carbohydrate metabolism, and protein degradation. The putative receptor mutants showed altered trehalose and glycogen accumulation, suggesting a role for ShoA, MsbA, and OpyA in sugar storage. Protein kinase A activity was also decreased in these mutants. We also observed genetic interactions between SlnA, ShoA, MsbA, and OpyA, suggesting that both branches are important for activation of the HOG/CWI pathways. Our results help in the understanding of the activation and modulation of the HOG and CWI pathways in this important fungal pathogen.IMPORTANCEAspergillus fumigatus is an important human-pathogenic fungal species that is responsible for a high incidence of infections in immunocompromised individuals. A. fumigatus high-osmolarity glycerol (HOG) and cell wall integrity pathways are important for the adaptation to different forms of environmental adversity such as osmotic and oxidative stresses, nutrient limitations, high temperatures, and other chemical and mechanical stresses that may be produced by the host immune system and antifungal drugs. Little is known about how these pathways are activated in this fungal pathogen. Here, we characterize four A. fumigatus putative homologues that are important for the activation of the yeast HOG pathway. A. fumigatus SlnASln1p, ShoASho1p, MsbAMsb2p, and OpyAOpy2p are genetically interacting and are essential for the activation of the HOG and cell wall integrity pathways. Our results contribute to the understanding of A. fumigatus adaptation to the host environment.

Variabilidade genética de isolados do cogumelo Agaricus blazei por meio de marcadores RAPD / Genetic variability of mushroom isolates Agaricus blazei using markers rapd

Agaricus blazei (Murrill) ss. Heinem. é um cogumelo nativo do Brasil que vem despertando a atenção de vários pesquisadores em todo o mundo, devido às suas propriedades farmacológicas e nutricionais. Este trabalho teve por objetivo, analisar a variabilidade genética de alguns isolados utilizados comercialmente, por meio de marcadores RAPD. Foram analisados nove isolados de A. blazei, provenientes de diferentes regiões do Brasil e, como controle, dois isolados de A. bisporus. Todos eles fazem parte da coleção de fungos do Laboratório de Cogumelos Comestíveis e Medicinais do DBI/UFLA. Diferentes primers aleatórios foram utilizados, gerando um total de 139 bandas polimórficas. Procedeu-se a avaliação de similaridade genética entre os isolados pelo coeficiente de Dice e análise de agrupamento pelo método UPGMA. Os resultados revelaram que dos 9 isolados de A. blazei, 6 (CS1, CS3, CS4, CS6, CS8 e CS9) apresentaram uma alta similaridade genética, sendo considerados isolados de uma mesma origem ou clones. O isolado CS2 foi o que apresentou a maior divergência genética em relação aos demais, seguido dos isolados CS5 e CS7, os quais formaram cada um, um grupo a parte, com médias de 60,6 por cento, 88,7 por cento e 91,3 por cento de similaridade genética, respectivamente.

Agaricus blazei (Murrill) ss. Heinem. is a Brazilian native mushroom which has called the attention of several researchers all over the world due to its nutritional and pharmacological properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic variability of some isolates commercially used, using RAPD markers. Nine isolates of A. blazei were analyzed, from different regions in the country, and two isolates of the A. bisporus, which served as control group. All of them are part of the collection of mushroom of the Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Laboratory of DBI/UFLA. For RAPD analysis, different random primers were used, generating 139 polymorphic bands. The genetic similarity evaluation was proceeded between the isolates by means of Dice coefficient and grouping analysis through the UPGMA method. The results showed that from the 9 isolates of A. blazei, 6 (CS1, CS3, CS4, CS6, CS8 e CS9) have shown a high genetic similarity and these were considered isolates of the same origin or clones. The CS2 was the isolate which showed the higher genetic divergence in relation to the others, followed by the CS5 and CS7, with averages of 60.6 percent, 88.7 percent and 91.3 percent genetic similarity, respectively.