Research outcomes
Mr. Soma Suzuki from the Applied Stress Microbiology Lab received the Excellent Presentation Award at the 518th meeting of Kansai Branch, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry
At the 518th meeting of Kansai Branch, Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry, Mr Soma Suzuki from the Takagi Lab received the Excellent Presentation Award for his research entitled “Identification and functional analysis of GTP cyclohydrolase II in Candida glabrata.” Pathogenic microorganisms are exposed to nitric oxide (NO) stress derived from a host immune system during infection process. Therefore, NO stress tolerance mechanisms in pathogens are important for their pathogenicity. We have previously shown that GTP cyclohydrolase II (GCH2), an enzyme in the riboflavin (RF) biosynthetic pathway, encoded by the RIB1 gene is important for NO stress tolerance in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we identified and characterized GCH2 in an opportunistic pathogen Candida glabrata. Our phenotypic and biochemical analyses indicated that a putative RIB1 in C. glabrata (CgRIB1) was required for RF biosynthesis and also encoded GCH2. Furthermore, the overexpression or deletion of CgRIB1 increased or decreased the NO stress tolerance of C. glabrata, respectively. Moreover, the infection experiments using macrophage-like cells or a silkworm as a model host showed that GCH2 was essential for the virulence of C. glabrata. These results suggest that the GCH2-dependent NO stress resistance mechanism is a promising target for novel antifungals. (December 4th, 2021)
Professor Hiroshi Takagi, Mr. Soma Suzuki and Assistant Professor Ryo Nasuno (from left to right)
Laboratory of Applied Stress Microbiology
https://bsw3.naist.jp/eng/courses/courses305.html
https://bsw3.naist.jp/takagi/?cate=183
( December 22, 2021 )
