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pH Response Pathways in Fungi: Adapting to Host-derived and Environmental Signals

Kyla Selvig1, J Andrew Alspaugh

  • 1Departments of Medicine and Molecular Genetics/Microbiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA.

Mycobiology
|July 12, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Fungi use the Pal/Rim pathway to sense and respond to environmental pH changes. This pathway

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Mycology

Background:

  • Fungal survival depends on sensing and responding to environmental pH.
  • The Pal/Rim pathway is a conserved signaling mechanism activated by alkaline pH.
  • This pathway targets the PacC/Rim101 transcription factor.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the role of the Pal/Rim pathway in fungal pH response.
  • To highlight functional differences in this pathway among human fungal pathogens.
  • To explain how these differences facilitate adaptation to host micro-environments.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of conserved pH-responsive signaling pathways in fungi.
  • Analysis of Pal/Rim pathway components and their conservation across fungal species.
  • Examination of species-specific downstream transcriptional targets and their functional implications.

Main Results:

  • The core Pal/Rim pathway signaling components are conserved in filamentous and yeast-like fungi.
  • Significant species-specific differences exist in the downstream transcriptional targets of this pathway.
  • These downstream differences enable fungi to adapt to diverse ecological niches, including host environments.

Conclusions:

  • The Pal/Rim pathway is crucial for fungal adaptation to pH fluctuations.
  • Functional divergence in downstream targets allows specialized adaptation in human fungal pathogens.
  • Understanding these differences is key to addressing fungal infections in diverse host micro-environments.
Keywords:
Aspergillus nidulansCandida albicansCryptococcus neoformansPacCRim101Saccharomyces cerevisiaeSignal transductionYeast

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