Tyrosol is a quorum-sensing molecule in Candida albicans.
The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans shows a significant lag in growth when diluted into fresh minimal medium. This lag is abolished by the addition of conditioned medium from a high-density culture. The active component of conditioned medium is tyrosol, which is released into the medium continuously during growth. Under conditions permissive for germ-tube formation, tyrosol stimulates the formation of these filamentous protrusions. Because germ-tube formation is inhibited by farnesol, another quorum-sensing molecule, this process must be under complex positive and negative control by environmental conditions. The identification of tyrosol as an autoregulatory molecule has important implications on the dynamics of growth and morphogenesis in Candida.
Chen
Hao
H
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Fujita
Masaki
M
Feng
Qinghua
Q
Clardy
Jon
J
Fink
Gerald R
GR
D001483:Base Sequence; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D017931:DNA Primers; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D017931:DNA Primers; C011867:4-hydroxyphenylethanol; D010626:Phenylethyl Alcohol