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Friday Evening Lecture Series
08/12/11
Lillie Auditorium, 8:00 PM
"Genetic insight into Candida infection biology"
Aaron Mitchell, Carnegie Mellon University
Introduction by Deborah Hogan
Lecture Abstract:
Candida albicans is among the major fungal pathogens of humans. It can cause infections that range from superficial to life-threatening. Infections are found in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. C. albicans is related to the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but C. albicans is diploid and lacks a complete sexual cycle. The resulting absence of forward genetics in C. albicans led to substantial reliance on the S. cerevisiae model. We developed the first strategy for large-scale production of homozygous C. albicans mutant strains. It involved a split-marker cassette that can disrupt two alleles after a single transformation. We prioritized genes for analysis using homology-based functional inferences. What have we found? We have found novel regulators of such infection-related processes as biofilm formation and cell wall structure, much as one might have expected. Most importantly, we have been able to move forward to more mechanistic understanding. Examples include novel biofilm adhesins and the relationship of cell wall structure and the septin ring. These studies illustrate the strategic use of genetic approaches for analysis of an unwieldy yet important pathogen.
Dr. Aaron Mitchell is Professor of Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. His proposed studies build upon prior studies of cell wall integrity and caspofungin responses in Candida albicans. Specifically, his lab has used a large-scale gene disruption strategy to identify cell wall-related proteins, transcription factors, and protein kinases that govern C. albicans cell wall integrity (CWI). Dr. Mitchell is quite excited about the opportunity to build upon his coalescing studies to address questions regarding signaling, therapeutic development, and pathogenicity, using the combined expertise of his work along with independent studies in the Clancy and Nguyen groups. Mitchell received his BS in Biology from Carnegie Mellon University and a PH.D. in Microbiology from MIT. He was a course director in the Molecular Mycology Summer Course at the MBL from 1997 through 2010.
Dr. Deborah Hogan is an associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Dartmouth Medical School. Dr. Hogan obtained her Ph.D. from Michigan State University and performed her post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School. Her work focuses on the mechanisms that drive interactions between microbes as a way to gain insight into novel ways to combat fungal and bacterial pathogens. Dr. Hogan is currently co-director of the MBL Molecular Mycology Summer Course, and was a student in this course in 2003.
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