title: The type II Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases are involved in the regulation of cell wall integrity and oxidative stress response in Candida albicans.
abstract: The type II Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinases (CaMKs) are thought to play a vital role in cellular regulation in mammalian cells. Two genes CMK1 and CMK2 in the Candida albicans genome encode homologues of mammalian CaMKs. In this work, we constructed the cmk1Δ/Δ, the cmk2Δ/Δ and the cmk1Δ/Δcmk2Δ/Δ mutants and found that CaMKs function in cell wall integrity (CWI) and cellular redox regulation. Loss of either CMK1 or CMK2, or both resulted in increased expression of CWI-related genes under Calcofluor white (CFW) treatment. Besides, CaMKs are essential for the maintenance of cellular redox balance. Disruption of either CMK1 or CMK2, or both not only led to a significant increase of intracellular ROS levels, but also led to a decrease of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), suggesting the important roles that CaMKs play in the maintenance of the mitochondrial function.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Qilin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Yijie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Yulu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin, PR China.
authors.forename: Laijun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, College of Life Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, PR China.. Electronic address: nklimingchun@163.com.
authors.forename: Mingchun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017353:Gene Deletion; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; D018384:Oxidative Stress
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins; D054732:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2
keywords: CWI; CaMKs; Candida albicans; Oxidative stress