RtfA controls development, secondary metabolism, and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus

R. R. Myers (1) , T. D. Smith (1) , S. F. Elsawa (1) , Olivier Puel (2) , Souria Tadrist (3) , Ana M. Calvo (1)

1 Department of Biological Sciences
2 ToxAlim-BioToMyc - Biosynthèse & Toxicité des Mycotoxines
3 ToxAlim - ToxAlim

Invasive aspergillosis by Aspergillus fumigatus is a leading cause of infection-related mortality in immune-compromised patients. In order to discover potential genetic targets to control A. fumigatus infections we characterized rtfA, a gene encoding a putative RNA polymerase II transcription elongation factor-like protein. Our recent work has shown that the rtfA ortholog in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans regulates morphogenesis and secondary metabolism. The present study on the opportunistic pathogen A. fumigatus rtfA gene revealed that this gene influences fungal growth and conidiation, as well as production of the secondary metabolites tryptoquivaline F, pseurotin A, fumiquinazoline C, festuclavine, and fumigaclavines A, B and C. Additionally, rtfA influences protease activity levels, the sensitivity to oxidative stress and adhesion capacity, all factors important in pathogenicity. Furthermore, rtfA was shown to be indispensable for normal virulence using Galleria mellonella as well as murine infection model systems.

Mots clés: secondary metabolism; genes

Mots clés: toxicologie alimentaire; marqueur de virulence; aspergillus fumigatus; métabolisme secondaire; développement du champignon; gène

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

R. R. Myers, T. D. Smith, S. F. Elsawa, Olivier Puel, Souria Tadrist, et al.. RtfA controls development, secondary metabolism, and virulence in Aspergillus fumigatus. PLoS ONE, 2017, 12 (4), 26 p. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0176702⟩. ⟨hal-01604856⟩