Issue 3, 2019

Ultrastructural and SINS analysis of the cell wall integrity response of Aspergillus nidulans to the absence of galactofuranose

Abstract

With lethal opportunistic fungal infections on the rise, it is imperative to explore new methods to examine virulence mechanisms. The fungal cell wall is crucial for both the virulence and viability of Aspergillus nidulans. One wall component, Galf, has been shown to contribute to important fungal processes, integrity of the cell wall and pathogenesis. Here, we explore gene deletion strains lacking the penultimate enzyme in Galf biosynthesis (ugmAΔ) and the protein that transports Galf for incorporation into the cell wall (ugtAΔ). In applying gene deletion technology to the problem of cell wall integrity, we have employed multiple micro- and nano-scale imaging tools, including confocal fluorescence microscopy, electron microscopy, X-Ray fluorescence and atomic force microscopy. Atomic force microscopy allows quantification of ultrastructural cell wall architecture while near-field infrared spectroscopy provides spatially resolved chemical signatures, both at the nanoscale. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate correlative data collection with these two emerging modalities for the multiplexed in situ study of the nanoscale architecture and chemical composition of fungal cell walls.

Graphical abstract: Ultrastructural and SINS analysis of the cell wall integrity response of Aspergillus nidulans to the absence of galactofuranose

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Leq 2018
Accepted
18 Dit 2018
First published
01 Xim 2018

Analyst, 2019,144, 928-934

Ultrastructural and SINS analysis of the cell wall integrity response of Aspergillus nidulans to the absence of galactofuranose

G. Bakir, B. E. Girouard, R. W. Johns, C. R.-J. Findlay, H. A. Bechtel, M. Eisele, S. G. W. Kaminskyj, T. E. S. Dahms and K. M. Gough, Analyst, 2019, 144, 928 DOI: 10.1039/C8AN01591K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements