title: rodletless mutants of Aspergillus fumigatus.
abstract: Conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus adhere in vitro to host proteins and cells via the outer cell wall layer. The rodA gene of A. fumigatus was cloned by homology with the rodA gene of Aspergillus nidulans, which is involved in the structure of the rodlets characteristic of the surface layer. The A. fumigatus RODA protein sequence has 85% similarity to that of A. nidulans RODA; the sequence codes for a hydrophobin, a low-molecular-weight protein moderately hydrophobic and rich in cysteines. The gene was disrupted with the hygromycin B resistance gene. By transformation of protoplasts with the disrupted gene, RodA- mutants were generated. These mutants are deficient in the ability to disperse their conidia; their conidia lack the rodlet layer and are hydrophilic. The adhesion of the rodletless conidia to collagen and bovine serum albumin was lower than that of the wild type; in contrast, there was no difference between RodA- and RodA+ conidia in adhesion to pneumocytes, fibrinogen, and laminin, suggesting that RODA is not the receptor for these cells and proteins. RodA- conidia were pathogenic for mice.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Mycologie, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thau
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monod
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crestani
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rolland
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tronchin
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Latgé
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paris
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins