Cellular morphogeneisis in the human pathogen Candida albicans

Prof P E Sudbery - Roper Chair in Genetics

• Sheffield 222 6186
• P.Sudbery@sheffield.ac.uk

Career History

Cellular morphogeneisis in the human pathogen Candida albicans

This pathogenic fungus is responsible for thrush and candidiasis a lethal infection common in immuno-compromised patients. After MRSA, it is probably the second most common cause of death from hospital acquired infections It can grow in a variety of morphogenic forms ranging from unicellular yeast, chains of elongated cells known as pseudohyphae and finally true hyphae consisting of long tubes with parallel sides (Figure 1.) These different morphogenic forms are thought to be important in the infective process. We are studying the mechanisms that remodel cell growth during the formation of hyphae and pseudohyphae from unbudded yeast cells. Our strategy has been to employ a combination of molecular genetics and high resolution fluorescence microscopy Figure 2. This allowed us to construct a model of the mechanism whereby hyphae grow from their tips (Figure 3. The focus of our current research is to understand how hyphal growth is controlled by the action of protein kinases.

Figure 1 Morphological forms of C.albicans

Figure 3 A Model of hyphal tip growth. Secretory vesicles are transported from the Golgi along actin cables by the motor complex Myo2/Mlc2. They accumulate in a subapical structure called the Spitzenkörper before docking with the exocyst complex at the cell surface prior to fusion with the plasma membrane. The process is licenced by the action of the GEF Sec2 on the GTPase Sec4

Recent Publications