Dr.<\/b> Alexandra Brand, <\/b>School of Medicine, Medical Science & Nutrition, University of Aberdeen<\/b><\/p>\n
Tuesday <\/b>6<\/b>th June, 1.00 p.m., Stacey Lecture Theatre 1<\/b><\/p>\n
Candida <\/i>albicans<\/i> lives as a commensal yeast in the GI tract or on mucosal surfaces of the majority of the human population but its release into the bloodstream of immunocompromised patients can lead to invasive candidiasis, a fungal infection with a 40 % mortality rate.\u00a0 Although many fungi cause fatal infections in their yeast form, the formation of hyphal filaments by C.\u00a0<\/i>albicans<\/i> is strongly associated with the invasion and colonisation of internal organs, including the kidney, liver, eyes, brain and even bony joints.\u00a0 Hyphae constitute the \u2018Special Weapons And Tactics\u2019 capability deployed by C. <\/i>albicans<\/i> because they are equipped with adhesins and secreted effectors.\u00a0 However, these are only effective if hyphal guidance mechanisms operate to direct penetrative growth into host tissue.\u00a0 We have identified three defective hyphal phenotypes in which the ability to respond normally to external cues is attenuated or lost.\u00a0 Each phenotype is associated with a group of gene deletion or mutant protein strains. For example, deletion of Pxl1, the Paxillin-like protein, or Ptk2, the Focal Adhesion Kinase homolog, produce hyphae that grow sinusoidally.\u00a0 None of the mutants is able to steer normally in response to topographical cues.\u00a0 This talk will cover the microfabrication methods used to characterise hyphal steering behaviour and our recent efforts to link the three regulatory pathways and generate an overall molecular model for directed growth in C. <\/i>albicans<\/i> hyphae.<\/p>\n