Transcriptional expression of PHR2 is positively controlled by the calcium signaling transcription factor Crz1 through its binding motif in the promoter

• Published in: Microbiology spectrum 2024-01, Vol.12 (1), p.e0168923-e0168923
• Main Authors: Jiang, Linghuo, Xu, Huihui, Wei, Min, Gu, Yiying, Yan, Hongbo, Pan, Lingxin, Wei, Chunyu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: calcium; Calcium Signaling; Candida albicans; Candida albicans - metabolism; Chitin - metabolism; Crz1; Eukaryotic Cells; Fungal Proteins - genetics; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Glucans - metabolism; Humans; PHR2; Research Article; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 2165-0497; 2165-0497
• DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01689-23

The fungal cell wall consists of glucans, mannoproteins, and chitin and is essential for cell viability, morphogenesis, and pathogenesis. The enzymes of the GH72 family are responsible for ß-(1,3)-glucan elongation and branching, which is crucial for the formation of the glucan-chitin polymer at the bud neck of yeast cells. In the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans, there are five GH72 enzyme-encoding genes: , and . It is known that expression of and is controlled by the pH-responsive Rim101 pathway through the transcription factor Rim101. In this study, we have demonstrated that the transcription expression of is also controlled by the transcription factor Crz1 through its binding motif in the promoter. Therefore, we have uncovered a dual-control mechanism by which expression is negatively regulated via CaRim101 through the pH-responsive pathway and positively modulated by CaCrz1 through the calcium/calcineurin signaling pathway.