Work

A two‐way road: novel roles for fungal extracellular vesicles

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: The biological functions of fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs) or exosomes have been mostly determined on the basis of the assumption that they are vehicles of trans-cell wall transport and molecular export. The possibility that fungal cells can bind to and internalize EVs remained largely unaddressed. Recent studies, however, demonstrated that fungal cells can internalize host-derived and/or fungal EVs through processes that profoundly modify their regular physiology. To illustrate this novel view, we discuss (i) the uptake of plant EVs by phytopathogenic fungi culminating in growth defects and virulence attenuation, (ii) the influence of EV internalization in prion transmission and biofilm formation in yeast cells, and (iii) the EV-mediated transfer of virulence in isolates of Cryptococcus gattii. These recent observations indicate that the functions exerted by EVs in fungal cells result from previously unknown mechanisms of bidirectional transport, opening new venues for the investigation of how EVs impact fungal physiology.

Source: Molecular Microbiology

DOI: 10.1111/mmi.14095

Authors: Marcio L. Rodrigues, Arturo Casadevall

Institutions: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto Carlos Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Johns Hopkins University

Language: English

Topic: Extracellular vesicles in disease

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro

Awards: G4089087902, G5062122599