Fungal pathogens perceive and respond to molecules from the plant, triggering pathogenic development. Transduction of these signals may use heterotrimeric G proteins, and it is thought that protein phosphorylation cascades are also important. We have isolated a mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog from the corn pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus to test its role as a component of the transduction pathways. The new gene, CHK1, has a deduced amino acid sequence 90% identical to Pmk1 of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea and 59% identical to Fus3 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A series of chk1 deletion mutants has poorly developed aerial hyphae, autolysis, and no conidia. No pseudothecia are formed when a cross between two ⌬chk1 mutants is attempted. The ability of ⌬chk1 mutants to infect corn plants is reduced severely. The growth pattern of hyphae on a glass surface is strikingly altered from that of the wild type, forming coils or loops, but no appressoria. This set of phenotypes overlaps only partially with that of pmk1 mutants, the homologous gene of the rice blast fungus. In particular, sexual and asexual sporulation both require Chk1 function in Cochliobolus heterostrophus, in contrast to Pmk1, but perhaps more similar to yeast, where Fus3 transmits the mating signal. Chk1 is required for efficient colonization of leaf tissue, which can be compared with filamentous invasive growth of yeast, modulated through another closely related mitogenactivated protein kinase, Kss1. Ubiquitous signaling elements thus are used in diverse ways in different plant pathogens, perhaps the result of coevolution of the transducers and their targets.

Inositol pyrophosphates (PP-IPs) comprising inositol, phosphate, and pyrophosphate (PP) are essential for multiple functions in eukaryotes. Their role in fungal pathogens has never been addressed. Cryptococcus neoformans is a model pathogenic fungus causing life-threatening meningoencephalitis. We investigate the cryptococcal kinases responsible for the production of PP-IPs (IP7/IP8) and the hierarchy of PP-IP importance in pathogenicity. Using gene deletion and inositol polyphosphate profiling, we identified Kcs1 as the major IP6 kinase (producing IP7) and Asp1 as an IP7 kinase (producing IP8). We show that Kcs1-derived IP7 is the most crucial PP-IP for cryptococcal drug susceptibility and the production of virulence determinants. In particular, Kcs1 kinase activity is essential for cryptococcal infection of mouse lungs, as reduced fungal burdens were observed in the absence of Kcs1 or when Kcs1 was catalytically inactive. Transcriptome and carbon source utilization analysis suggested that compromised growth of the KCS1 deletion strain (Δkcs1 mutant) in the low-glucose environment of the host lung is due to its inability to utilize alternative carbon sources. Despite this metabolic defect, the Δkcs1 mutant established persistent, low-level asymptomatic pulmonary infection but failed to elicit a strong immune response in vivo and in vitro and was not readily phagocytosed by primary or immortalized monocytes. Reduced recognition of the Δkcs1 cells by monocytes correlated with reduced exposure of mannoproteins on the Δkcs1 mutant cell surface. We conclude that IP7 is essential for fungal metabolic adaptation to the host environment, immune recognition, and pathogenicity.

The maize pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus requires two mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), Chk1 and Mps1, to produce normal pigmentation. Young colonies of mps1 and chk1 deletion mutants have a white and autolytic appearance, which was partially rescued by a hyperosmotic environment. We isolated the transcription factor Cmr1, an ortholog of Colletotrichum lagenarium Cmr1 and Magnaporthe grisea Pig1, which regulates melanin biosynthesis in C. heterostrophus. Deletion of CMR1 in C. heterostrophus resulted in mutants that lacked dark pigmentation and acquired an orange-pink color. In cmr1 deletion strains the expression of putative scytalone dehydratase (SCD1) and hydroxynaphthalene reductase (BRN1 and BRN2) genes involved in melanin biosynthesis was undetectable, whereas expression of PKS18, encoding a polyketide synthase, was only moderately reduced. In chk1 and mps1 mutants expression of PKS18, SCD1, BRN1, BRN2, and the transcription factor CMR1 itself was very low in young colonies, slightly up-regulated in aging colonies, and significantly induced in hyperosmotic conditions, compared to invariably high expression in the wild type. These findings indicate that two MAPKs, Chk1 and Mps1, affect Cmr1 at the transcriptional level and this influence is partially overridden in stress conditions including aging culture and hyperosmotic environment. Surprisingly, we found that the CMR1 gene was transcribed in both sense and antisense directions, apparently producing mRNA as well as a long noncoding RNA transcript. Expression of the antisense CMR1 was also Chk1 and Mps1 dependent. Analysis of chromosomal location of the melanin biosynthesis genes in C. heterostrophus resulted in identification of a small gene cluster comprising BRN1, CMR1, and PKS18. Since expression of all three genes depends on Chk1 and Mps1 MAPKs, we suggest their possible epigenetic regulation.

Cryptococcal meningitis is fatal without treatment and responsible for more than 500,000 deaths annually. To be a successful pathogen, C. neoformans must obtain an adequate supply of essential nutrients, including phosphate, from various host niches. Phosphate acquisition in fungi is regulated by the PHO signaling cascade, which is activated when intracellular phosphate decreases below a critical level. Induction of phosphate acquisition genes leads to the uptake of free phosphate via transporters. By blocking the PHO pathway using a Pho4 transcription factor mutant (pho4Δ mutant), we demonstrate the importance of the pathway for cryptococcal dissemination and the establishment of brain infection in murine models. Specifically, we show that reduced dissemination of the pho4Δ mutant to the brain is due to an alkaline pH tolerance defect, as alkaline pH mimics the conditions of phosphate deprivation. The end result is inhibited proliferation in host tissues, particularly in blood.

Cryptococcus neoformans survives host temperature and regulates cell wall integrity via a calcium-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin. However, downstream effectors of C. neoformans calcineurin are largely unknown. In S. cerevisiae and other fungal species, a calcineurin-dependent transcription factor Crz1, translocates to nuclei upon activation and triggers expression of target genes. We now show that the C. neoformans Crz1 ortholog (Crz1/Sp1), previously identified as a protein kinase C target during starvation, is a bona fide target of calcineurin under non-starvation conditions, during cell wall stress and growth at high temperature. Both the calcineurin-defective mutant, Δcna1, and a CRZ1/SP1 mutant (Δcrz1) were susceptible to cell wall perturbing agents. Furthermore, expression of the chitin synthase encoding gene, CHS6, was reduced in both mutants. We tracked the subcellular localization of Crz1-GFP in WT C. neoformans and Δcna1 in response to different stimuli, in the presence and absence of the calcineurin inhibitor, FK506. Exposure to elevated temperature (30–37°C vs 25°C) and extracellular calcium caused calcineurin-dependent nuclear accumulation of Crz1-GFP. Unexpectedly, 1M salt and heat shock triggered calcineurin-independent Crz1-GFP sequestration within cytosolic and nuclear puncta. To our knowledge, punctate cytosolic distribution, as opposed to nuclear targeting, is a unique feature of C. neoformans Crz1. We conclude that Crz1 is selectively activated by calcium/calcineurin-dependent and independent signals depending on the environmental conditions.

Redox sensing is a ubiquitous mechanism regulating cellular activity. Fungal pathogens face reactive oxygen species produced by the host plant's oxidative burst in addition to endogenous reactive oxygen species produced during aerobic metabolism. An array of preformed and induced detoxifying enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, catalases, and peroxidases, could allow fungi to infect plants despite the oxidative burst. We isolated a gene (CHAP1) encoding a redox-regulated transcription factor in Cochliobolus heterostrophus, a fungal pathogen of maize. CHAP1 is a bZIP protein that possesses two cysteine-rich domains structurally and functionally related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae YAP1. Deletion of CHAP1 in C. heterostrophus resulted in decreased resistance to oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide and menadione, but the virulence of chap1 mutants was unaffected. Upon activation by oxidizing agents or plant signals, a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-CHAP1 fusion protein became localized in the nucleus. Expression of genes encoding antioxidant proteins was induced in the wild type but not in chap1 mutants. Activation of CHAP1 occurred from the earliest stage of plant infection, in conidial germ tubes on the leaf surface, and persisted during infection. Late in the course of infection, after extensive necrotic lesions were formed, GFP-CHAP1 redistributed to the cytosol in hyphae growing on the leaf surface. Localization of CHAP1 to the nucleus may, through changes in the redox state of the cell, provide a mechanism linking extracellular cues to transcriptional regulation during the plant-pathogen interaction.

Summary Secreted phospholipase B1 (CnPlb1) is essential for dissemination of Cryptococcus neoformans to the central nervous system (CNS) yet essential components of its secretion machinery remain to be elucidated. Using gene deletion analysis we demonstrate that CnPlb1 secretion is dependent on the CnSEC14 product, CnSec14-1p. CnSec14-1p is a homologue of the phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PITP) ScSec14p, which is essential for secretion and viability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In contrast to CnPlb1, neither laccase 1 (Lac1)-induced melanization within the cell wall nor capsule induction were negatively impacted in CnSEC14-1 deletion mutants (CnΔsec14-1 and CnΔsec14-1CnΔsfh5). Similar to the CnPLB1 deletion mutant (CnΔplb1), CnΔsec14-1 was hypo-virulent in mice and did not disseminate to the CNS by day 14 post infection. Furthermore, macrophage expulsion of live CnΔsec14-1 and CnΔplb1 (vomocytosis) was reduced. Individual deletion of CnSEC14-2, a closely-related CnSEC14-1 homologue, and CnSFH5, a distantly-related SEC fourteen-like homologue, did not abrogate CnPlb1 secretion or virulence. However, reconstitution of CnΔsec14-1 with CnSEC14-1 or CnSEC14-2 restored both phenotypes, consistent with functional genetic redundancy. We conclude that CnPlb1 secretion is SEC14-dependent and that C. neoformans preferentially exports virulence determinants to the cell periphery via distinct pathways. We also demonstrate that CnPlb1 secretion is essential for vomocytosis.

dPhospholipase C (PLC) of Cryptococcus neoformans (CnPlc1) is crucial for virulence of this fungal pathogen. To investigate the mechanism of CnPlc1-mediated signaling, we established that phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) is a major CnPlc1 substrate, which is hydrolyzed to produce inositol trisphosphate (IP 3 ). In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Plc1-derived IP 3 is a substrate for the inositol polyphosphate kinase Arg82, which converts IP 3 to more complex inositol polyphosphates. In this study, we show that in C. neoformans, the enzyme encoded by ARG1 is the major IP 3 kinase, and we further demonstrate that catalytic activity of Arg1 is essential for cellular homeostasis and virulence in the Galleria mellonella infection model. IP 3 content was reduced in the Cn⌬plc1 mutant and markedly increased in the Cn⌬arg1 mutant, while PIP 2 was increased in both mutants. The Cn⌬plc1 and Cn⌬arg1 mutants shared significant phenotypic similarity, including impaired thermotolerance, compromised cell walls, reduced capsule production and melanization, defective cell separation, and the inability to form mating filaments. In contrast to the S. cerevisiae ARG82 deletion mutant (Sc⌬arg82) strain, the Cn⌬arg1 mutant exhibited dramatically enlarged vacuoles indicative of excessive vacuolar fusion. In mammalian cells, PLC-derived IP 3 causes Ca 2؉ release and calcineurin activation. Our data show that, unlike mammalian PLCs, CnPlc1 does not contribute significantly to calcineurin activation. Collectively, our findings provide the first evidence that the inositol polyphosphate anabolic pathway is essential for virulence of C. neoformans and further show that production of IP 3 as a precursor for synthesis of more complex inositol polyphosphates is the key biochemical function of CnPlc1.