Ras signalling in pathogenic yeasts
Authors:Daniel R. Pentland1, Elliot Piper-Brown1, Fritz A. Mühlschlegel1,2 and Campbell W. Gourlay1
doi: 10.15698/mic2018.02.612
Volume 5, pp. 63 to 73, published 18/12/2017.
1 Kent Fungal Group, School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, United Kingdom, CT2 7NJ.
2 Laboratoire national de santé, 1, Rue Louis Rech, L-3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg.
Keywords:
Ras signalling, C. albicans, C. neoformans, pathogenicity, morphogenesis, biofilm
Corresponding Author(s):
Conflict of interest statement:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Please cite this article as:
Daniel R. Pentland, Elliot Piper-Brown, Fritz A. Mühlschlegel and Campbell W. Gourlay (2017). Ras signalling in pathogenic yeasts. Microbial Cell 5(2): 63-73. doi: 10.15698/mic2018.02.612
© 2017 Pentland et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.
Abstract:
The small GTPase Ras acts as a master regulator of growth, stress response and cell death in eukaryotic cells. The control of Ras activity is fundamental, as highlighted by the oncogenic properties of constitutive forms of Ras proteins. Ras also plays a crucial role in the pathogenicity of fungal pathogens where it has been found to regulate a number of adaptions required for virulence. The importance of Ras in fungal disease raises the possibility that it may provide a useful target for the development of new treatments at a time when resistance to available antifungals is increasing. New findings suggest that important regulatory sequences found within fungal Ras proteins that are not conserved may prove useful in the development of new antifungals. Here we review the roles of Ras protein function and signalling in the major human yeast pathogens Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans and discuss the potential for targeting Ras as a novel approach to anti-fungal therapy.