title: Mutational analysis of Candida albicans SNF7 reveals genetically separable Rim101 and ESCRT functions and demonstrates divergence in bro1-domain protein interactions.
abstract: The opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans can grow over a wide pH range, which is associated with its ability to colonize and infect distinct host niches. C. albicans growth in neutral-alkaline environments requires proteolytic activation of the transcription factor Rim101. Rim101 activation requires Snf7, a member of the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) pathway. We hypothesized that Snf7 has distinct functions in the Rim101 and ESCRT pathways, which we tested by alanine-scanning mutagenesis. While some snf7 alleles conferred no defects, we identified alleles with solely ESCRT-dependent, solely Rim101-dependent, or both Rim101- and ESCRT-dependent defects. Thus, Snf7 function in these two pathways is at least partially separable. Both Rim101- and ESCRT-dependent functions require Snf7 recruitment to the endosomal membrane and alleles that disrupted both pathways were found to localize normally, suggesting a downstream defect. Most alleles that conferred solely Rim101-dependent defects were still able to process Rim101 normally under steady-state conditions. However, these same strains did display a kinetic defect in Rim101 processing. Several alleles with solely Rim101-dependent defects mapped to the C-terminal end of Snf7. Further analyses suggested that these mutations disrupted interactions with bro-domain proteins, Rim20 and Bro1, in overlapping but slightly divergent Snf7 domains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Dana A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D056827:Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011992:Endosomes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000378:metabolism*; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D021381:Protein Transport / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D056827:Endosomal Sorting Complexes Required for Transport; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C489602:RIM101 protein, Candida albicans