Cited by 206Fungal and yeast genetics researchBacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyAntifungal resistance and susceptibility

Phylogenetic diversity of stress signalling pathways in fungi

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Nikolaou, Elissavet, Agrafioti, Ino, Stumpf, Michael, Quinn, Janet, Stansfield, Ian, Brown, Alistair JP·2009·BMC Evolutionary Biology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Microbes must sense environmental stresses, transduce these signals and mount protective responses to survive in hostile environments. In this study we have tested the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling pathways have evolved rapidly in a niche-specific fashion that is independent of phylogeny. To test this hypothesis we have compared the conservation of stress signalling molecules in diverse fungal species with their stress resistance. These fungi, which include ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and microsporidia, occupy highly divergent niches from saline environments to plant or mammalian hosts. RESULTS: The fungi displayed significant variation in their resistance to osmotic (NaCl and sorbitol), oxidative (H2O2 and menadione) and cell wall stresses (Calcofluor White and Congo Red). There was no strict correlation between fungal phylogeny and stress resistance. Rather, the human pathogens tended to be more resistant to all three types of stress, an exception being the sensitivity of Candida albicans to the cell wall stress, Calcofluor White. In contrast, the plant pathogens were relatively sensitive to oxidative stress. The degree of conservation of osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways amongst the eighteen fungal species was examined. Putative orthologues of functionally defined signalling components in Saccharomyces cerevisiae were identified by performing reciprocal BLASTP searches, and the percent amino acid identities of these orthologues recorded. This revealed that in general, central components of the osmotic, oxidative and cell wall stress signalling pathways are relatively well conserved, whereas the sensors lying upstream and transcriptional regulators lying downstream of these modules have diverged significantly. There was no obvious correlation between the degree of conservation of stress signalling pathways and the resistance of a particular fungus to the corresponding stress. CONCLUSION: Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that fungal stress signalling components have undergone rapid recent evolution to tune the stress responses in a niche-specific fashion.

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  • C. glabrata is highly tolerant to oxidative, cell wall, osmotic and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

    “C. glabrata is highly tolerant to oxidative, cell wall, osmotic and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress [79].”

    From Candida glabrata: A Lot More Than Meets the Eye (2019) · cites this paper as [79]

  • An experimental E. coli culture could evolve the ability to aerobically utilize citrate, or the ability to use the non-natural carbon source 1,2-propanediol; also, a strain deficient in glutathione biosynthesis was able to develop compensatory mutations to restore this function.

    “For example, an experimental E. coli culture could evolve the ability to aerobically utilize citrate [37], or the ability to use the non-natural carbon source 1,2-propanediol [71]; also, a strain deficient in glutathione biosynthesis was able to develop compensatory mutations to restore this function [147].”

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  1. Fleet GH Rose AH, Harrison JS Cell walls The Yeasts 1991 New York: Academic Press 199 277

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Authors
Nikolaou, E., Agrafioti, I., Stumpf, M., Quinn, J., Stansfield, I., & Brown, A. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Aberdeen (GB)
  • Imperial College London (GB)
  • Newcastle University (GB)
Corresponding author
Brown, Alistair JP
Venue
BMC Evolutionary Biology
Published
2009-02-21
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
44-44
ISSN
1471-2148 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1985831723
Cited by
206
References
159
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 13
FWCI
4.69
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • BMC Evolutionary Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Aberdeen University Research Archive (Aberdeen University) (submittedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Newcastle University ePrints (Newcastle Univesity)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (080088)
  • University of Exeter
  • Imperial College London
  • University of Aberdeen
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/D009308/1, BB/C510391/1, BB/F00513X/1, BB/F013566/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Fungal and yeast genetics research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
Keywords
stress tolerance, osmotic stress, oxidative stress, cell wall stress, phylogenetic conservation, orthologs, human fungal pathogens, plant pathogenic fungi, Candida albicans, Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, microsporidia, signal transduction
MeSH terms
Benzenesulfonates, Candida albicans, Cell Wall, Congo Red, DNA, Fungal, Fungal Proteins, Hydrogen Peroxide, Osmotic Pressure, Phylogeny, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Sodium Chloride, Sorbitol, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal, Genome, Fungal, Oxidative Stress, Evolution, Molecular, Vitamin K 3

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