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Candida albicans Pma1p Contributes to Growth, pH Homeostasis, and Hyphal Formation

Hallie S Rane1, Summer R Hayek1, Jillian E Frye2

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of New Mexico Health Science Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States.

Frontiers in Microbiology
|May 31, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Candida albicans Pma1p, essential for fungal pH regulation, is crucial for glucose response and filamentation. Truncations impair its activity, affecting cytosolic pH and cell polarity.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Candida albicans inhabits diverse host niches, requiring pH tolerance.
  • The plasma membrane H+-ATPase Pma1p is vital for fungal cytosolic pH homeostasis and is a potential antifungal drug target.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of Pma1p in Candida albicans pH regulation, glucose response, and filamentation.
  • To characterize the effects of Pma1p C-terminal truncations on its activity and cellular functions.

Main Methods:

  • Characterization of Pma1p mutants with C-terminal truncations.
  • Measurement of plasma membrane ATPase activity and cytosolic pH.
  • Assessment of glucose-induced pH changes, cation responses, vacuolar morphology, and filamentation competence.

Main Results:

  • Increasing Pma1p C-terminal truncation reduced ATPase activity, cytosolic pH, and the glucose-induced pH increase.
  • Pma1p truncation impaired cation responses, altered vacuolar morphology and pH, and reduced filamentation.
  • Pma1p plays a role in cell polarity establishment and its distribution is non-uniform in hyphae.

Conclusions:

  • Pma1p is essential for regulating cytosolic pH and responding to glucose in Candida albicans.
  • Pma1p truncation disrupts cellular homeostasis and filamentation, highlighting its importance in fungal growth and pathogenicity.
  • Pma1p is implicated in establishing cell polarity and regulating the specialized growth form of filamentation.
Keywords:
Candida albicanscytosolic pHfilamentationglucose metabolismpH homeostasisplasma membrane H+ ATPase

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