title: Disruption of protein synthesis as antifungal mode of action by chitosan.
abstract: The antimicrobial activity of chitosan has been acknowledged for more than 30 years and yet its mode-of-action remains ambiguous. We analyzed chemical-genetic interactions of low-molecular weight chitosan using a collection of ≈ 4600 S. cerevisiae deletion mutants and found that 31% of the 107 mutants most sensitive to chitosan had deletions of genes related primarily to functions involving protein synthesis. Disruption of protein synthesis by chitosan was substantiated by an in vivo β-galactosidase expression assay suggesting that this is a primary mode of antifungal action. Analysis of the yeast gene deletion array and secondary assays also indicate that chitosan has a minor membrane disruption effect - a leading model of chitosan antimicrobial activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B5, Canada.
authors.forename: Imelda
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Galván Márquez
authors.forename: Jones
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akuaku
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheetham
authors.forename: Ashkan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Golshani
authors.forename: Myron L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000187:drug effects; D048271:Chitosan / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D048271:Chitosan; D001616:beta-Galactosidase