Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 21, 2026

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions
11:58

The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans - A Versatile In Vivo Model to Study Host-microbe Interactions

Published on: October 18, 2017

The GPI-anchored protein CaEcm33p is required for cell wall integrity, morphogenesis and virulence in Candida

Raquel Martinez-Lopez1, Lucia Monteoliva, Rosalia Diez-Orejas

  • 1Departamento de Microbiología II, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.

Microbiology (Reading, England)
|October 8, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Candida albicans Ecm33p is crucial for fungal cell wall integrity and virulence. Deleting the CaECM33 gene in Candida albicans causes cell defects and significantly reduces virulence in a mouse model.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Cell Biology
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Ecm33p is a conserved fungal protein essential for cell wall function.
  • Homologs of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ecm33p include Candida albicans Ecm33p (CaEcm33p), Pst1p, and YCL048w.
  • CaEcm33p is a cell-surface GPI protein that can complement yeast cell wall defects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the function of CaEcm33p in Candida albicans.
  • To determine the role of CaEcm33p in cell morphology, cell wall integrity, yeast-to-hyphae transition, and virulence.

Main Methods:

  • Generation of heterozygous and homozygous CaECM33 deletion mutants (RML1, RML2) and reintegrants (RML3, RML4).
  • Phenotypic analysis of mutant strains, including morphology, cell wall integrity assays (Calcofluor white, Congo red, hygromycin B), and flocculation tests.
  • Assessment of yeast-to-hyphae transition in vitro and fungal virulence in a murine systemic infection model.

Main Results:

  • Caecm33 mutants exhibited aberrant morphology (larger, rounder cells) and cell wall defects, showing increased sensitivity to cell wall-disrupting agents and enhanced flocculation.
  • CaEcm33p is essential for normal yeast-to-hyphae transition and hyphal development on solid media.
  • CaECM33 demonstrated a gene dosage effect on cell phenotype.
  • Caecm33 mutants were non-virulent in a murine systemic infection model, with complete survival of infected mice, indicating CaEcm33p is critical for virulence.

Conclusions:

  • CaEcm33p plays a vital role in maintaining Candida albicans cell wall integrity, morphology, and developmental transitions.
  • CaEcm33p is indispensable for Candida albicans virulence in a systemic infection model.
  • The findings highlight CaEcm33p as a potential therapeutic target for candidiasis.

More Related Videos

An Ex vivo Assay to Study Candida albicans Hyphal Morphogenesis in the Gastrointestinal Tract07:42

An Ex vivo Assay to Study Candida albicans Hyphal Morphogenesis in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Published on: July 1, 2020

Related Concept Videos

GPI Anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane01:29

GPI Anchoring of Proteins in the ER Membrane

GPI-anchoring is a post-translational, reversible protein modification that is ubiquitous in eukaryotes. Such proteins are primarily present on the exoplasmic leaflet of the plasma membrane.
GPI-anchor structure
A sequence of 11 enzymatic reactions results in the synthesis of the complete GPI anchor consisting of a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic portion. The hydrophobic portion comprises phosphatidylinositol, while the hydrophilic part comprises polar groups like phosphoethanolamine,...
Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition01:02

Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition

Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of disassembly and...
Coat Assembly and GTPases01:33

Coat Assembly and GTPases

Vesicles incorporate different coat protein subunits in different cell locations, which changes the properties of the coat, such as the shape and geometry of the transport vesicles. Thus, vesicle coat proteins also play a significant role in cargo selection.
Coat assembly depends on the local availability of phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs and GTP-binding proteins. Adaptor proteins, which link the coat proteins to the membrane, bind to these PIPs and play a crucial role in controlling...
Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria01:29

Cytoskeletal Proteins in Bacteria

Bacterial cells were initially considered simple, randomly organized structures lacking a cytoskeleton. However, the discovery of cytoskeleton homologs in bacteria led to the change of this opinion. Bacterial cytoskeletal filaments regulate the cell shape, cell polarity, cell division, and partitioning of plasmids during cell division. It was later discovered that bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, mainly actin and tubulin homologs, are diverse compared to their eukaryotic counterparts. On the...
Overview of Secretory Vesicles01:33

Overview of Secretory Vesicles

Secretory vesicles, also known as dense core vesicles (DCVs), are membrane-bound vesicles that transport secretory proteins, such as hormones or neurotransmitters. Regulated secretory vesicles transport proteins from the trans-Golgi network to the exterior of the cell. Proteins present in regulated secretory vesicles are required to be rapidly exocytosed in large amounts upon a specific stimulus.
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...
GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity01:09

GPCRs Regulate Adenylyl Cylase Activity

Some GPCRs transmit signals through adenylyl cyclase (AC), a transmembrane enzyme. AC helps synthesize second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). AC catalyzes cyclization reaction and converts ATP to cAMP by releasing a pyrophosphate. The pyrophosphate is further hydrolyzed to phosphate by the enzyme pyrophosphatase, which drives cAMP synthesis to completion. However, cAMP is rapidly degraded to 5′ AMP by the enzymes phosphodiesterase (PDE), preventing overstimulation of cells.
Two...