The infectious propagules of Aspergillus fumigatus are coated with antimicrobial peptides
| Autor: | Sven Krappmann, Reinhard Fischer, Michaela Dümig, Mike Hasenberg, Matthias Gunzer, Anastasia Gaculenko, Markus Künzler, Lex Winandy, Jasmin Binder, Franziska Daul |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Life sciences
biology Pore Forming Cytotoxic Proteins Staphylococcus aureus Immunology Antimicrobial peptides Genes Fungal Medizin Virulence Colonisation resistance Biology Microbiology defensin‐like peptide Aspergillus fumigatus Conidium Defensins Fungal Proteins 03 medical and health sciences Virology ddc:570 Escherichia coli Humans aspergillosis Microbiome 030304 developmental biology 0303 health sciences 030306 microbiology fungi defensin-like peptide fungal virulence Spores Fungal biology.organism_classification Spore Susceptible individual |
| Zdroj: | Cellular microbiology, 23 (3), Art.Nr. e13301 Cellular Microbiology, 23 (3) |
| ISSN: | 1462-5814 1462-5822 |
| DOI: | 10.5445/ir/1000129139 |
| Popis: | Fungal spores are unique cells that mediate dispersal and survival in the environment. For pathogenic fungi encountering a susceptible host, these specialised structures may serve as infectious particles. The main causative agent of the opportunistic disease aspergillosis, Aspergillus fumigatus, produces asexual spores, the conidia, that become dissipated by air flows or water currents but also serve as propagules to infect a susceptible host. We demonstrate that the defX gene of this mould encodes putative antimicrobial peptides resembling cysteine‐stabilised (CS)αβ defensins that are expressed in a specific spatial and temporal manner in the course of asexual spore formation. Localisation studies on strains expressing a fluorescent proxy or tagged defX alleles expose that these antimicrobial peptides are secreted to coat the conidial surface. Deletion mutants reveal that the spore‐associated defX gene products delay the growth of Gram‐positive Staphylococcus aureus and demonstrate that the defX gene and presumably its encoded spore‐associated defensins confer a growth advantage to the fungal opponent over bacterial competitors. These findings have implications with respect to the ecological niche of A. fumigatus that serves as a ‘virulence school’ for this human pathogenic mould; further relevance is given for the infectious process resulting in aspergillosis, considering competition with the host microbiome or co‐infecting microorganisms to break colonisation resistance at host surfaces. Cellular Microbiology, 23 (3) ISSN:1462-5814 ISSN:1462-5822 |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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