Phosphorylation of Aspergillus fumigatus PkaR impacts growth and cell wall integrity through novel mechanisms
Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Protein kinase A (PKA) signaling is essential for growth and virulence of the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Little is known concerning the regulation of this pathway in filamentous fungi. Employing liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy, we identified novel phosphorylation sites on the regulatory subunit PkaR, distinct from those previously identified in mammals and yeasts, and demonstrated the importance of two phosphorylation clusters for hyphal growth and cell wall-stress response. We also identified key differences in the regulation of PKA subcellular localization in A. fumigatus compared with other species. This is the first analysis of the phosphoregulation of a PKA regulatory subunit in a filamentous fungus and uncovers critical mechanistic differences between PKA regulation in filamentous fungi compared with mammals and yeast species, suggesting divergent targeting opportunities.
Source: FEBS Letters
Institutions: Duke University, Duke Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Awards: G1443874385, Instrumentation for Quantitative Phosphoproteomics and Acetylomics, Defining the Aspergillus fumigatus Calcineurin-Dependent Regulatory Network through Whole Phosphoproteome Analysis, Structural Biological Development of Fungal-Specific Calcineurin Inhibitors, Structural Biological Development of Fungal-Specific Calcineurin Inhibitors, G9000213338, Tri-Institutional Molecular Mycology and Pathogenesis Training Program
OpenAlex ID: W2767099495