Ammonium transceptors: Novel regulators of fungal development

• Published in: PLoS pathogens 2019-11, Vol.15 (11), p.e1008059-e1008059
• Main Authors: van den Berg, Bert, Lister, Siobhan, Rutherford, Julian C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine triphosphatase; Amino acids; Ammonium; Ammonium Compounds - pharmacology; Binding sites; Biology and Life Sciences; Computer simulation; Crystal structure; E coli; Fungal infections; Fungal Proteins - genetics; Fungal Proteins - metabolism; Fungi; Fungi - drug effects; Fungi - growth & development; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal - drug effects; H+-transporting ATPase; Mathematical models; Medicine and Health Sciences; Morphology; Mutants; Nitrogen; Pathogens; Pearls; Phosphorylation; Proteins; Receptors, Cell Surface - metabolism; Regulators; Research and Analysis Methods; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Signal transduction; Transport; Yeast; Yeasts
• ISSN: 1553-7374; 1553-7366; 1553-7374
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008059

In response to limiting ammonium, transceptors regulate morphological change in the yeasts Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScMep2), Candida albicans (CaMep2), Ustilago maydis (Ump2), and Cryptococcus neoformans (Amt2) [4–7]. Crystal structures and computer simulations of ammonium transport by the Escherichia coli AmtB transporter are consistent with the ammonium ion being recruited at an extracellular site. [...]a link between pH and polarized growth has been identified in various fungal systems [33–37]. [...]a global screen has identified subunits of the vacuolar H+-ATPase as being essential for the induction of pseudohyphal growth by S. cerevisiae [38]. Transceptor signaling, however, does not occur in the absence of ammonium, as mutants that fail to transport but that are correctly localized to the plasma membrane fail to initiate a dimorphic switch [10, 39]. [...]ammonium import when environmental levels of ammonium are low is the signal to induce morphological change.