title: Aspergillus fumigatus transcriptome response to a higher temperature during the earliest steps of germination monitored using a new customized expression microarray.
abstract: Aspergillus fumigatus is considered to be the most prevalent airborne pathogenic fungus and can cause invasive diseases in immunocompromised patients. It is known that its virulence is multifactorial, although the mechanisms of pathogenicity remain unclear. With the aim of improving our understanding of these mechanisms, we designed a new expression microarray covering the entire genome of A. fumigatus. In this first study, we analysed the transcriptomes of this fungus at the first steps of germination after being grown at 24 and 37 °C. The microarray data revealed that 1249 genes were differentially expressed during growth at these two temperatures. According to our results, A. fumigatus modified significantly the expression of genes related to metabolism to adapt to new conditions. The high percentages of genes that encoded hypothetical or unclassified proteins differentially expressed implied that many as yet unknown genes were involved in the establishment of A. fumigatus infection. Furthermore, amongst the genes implicated in virulence upregulated at 37 °C on the microarray, we found those that encoded proteins mainly related to allergens (Asp F1, Asp F2 and MnSOD), gliotoxin biosynthesis (GliP and GliZ), nitrogen (NiiA and NiaD) or iron (HapX, SreA, SidD and SidC) metabolism. However, gene expression in iron and nitrogen metabolism might be influenced not only by heat shock, but also by the availability of nutrients in the medium, as shown by the addition of fresh medium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sueiro-Olivares
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Jimena V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Molina
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abad-Diaz-de-Cerio
authors.affiliation: Tecnalia Research & Innovation, 48160 Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gorospe
authors.affiliation: Tecnalia Research & Innovation, 48160 Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pascual
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Xabier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guruceaga
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Andoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garaizar
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Hernando
authors.affiliation: Tecnalia Research & Innovation, 48160 Derio, Spain.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Margareto
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Spain aitor.rementeria@ehu.es.
authors.forename: Aitor
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rementeria
mesh_terms: D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins