Functional Characterization Of The Candida Albicans CaRSN1 Gene

Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen,and it is very harmful to people with low immunity.Due to the abuse of antifungal drugs in clinic,there are a large number of drug-resistant C.albicans mutants have appeared.The calcium signaling pathway in C.albicans is involved in the regulation of various cellular metabolic responses,as well as the hyphal development and virulence of C.albicans.The study of the related genes of calcium signaling pathway in C.albicans can help to reveal the pathogenesis and drug resistance mechanism of C.albicans,and to provide ideas for the development of new antifungal drugs.The Arabidopsis thaliana AtCsc1 protein is a non selective cation channel activated by high osmotic pressure.In this study,five homologous proteins with AtCsc1 protein in C.albicans are identified by sequence alignment,the rsn1/rsn1 and csc1/csc1 mutants are constructed by the deletion of two genes,CaRSN1 and CaCSC1,in the coding genes of these five proteins.The phenotype screening experiments of rsn1/rsn1 and csc1/csc1 mutants show that CaRsn1 and CaCsc1 proteins are involved in the regulation of the homeostasis of the intracellular ion and the integrity of the cell wall and cell membrane.Hyphal development and virulence of C.albicans are directly related to its pathogenicity,YPD+10% fetal bovine serum(FBS),Lee's,Spider and SLAD are four kinds of medium to induce the hyphal development of C.albicans by different principles,the hyphal development ability of rsn1/rsn1 mutant is defective in these four kinds of medium;In mice infected experiment,the colony forming units(CFU)value of C.albicans in mice kidney is smaller in the mice infected with rsn1/rsn1 mutant,and the death rate of mice decreased.Therefore,CaRSN1 gene is involved in the regulation of the hyphal development of C.albicans,the impregnation ability and multiplication rate of rsn1/rsn1 mutant decreased in mice.In addition,the subcellular localization experiment of CaRsn1 protein showed that the expression of CaRSN1 gene is related to the growth cycle of C.albicans.