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SUMMARY:The Last of Us- Unravelling mechanisms of fungal micronutrient sca
 venging - Johanna Syrjanen  Institute of Biotechnology\, HiLIFE | Universi
 ty of Helsinki
DTSTART:20250807T150000Z
DTEND:20250807T160000Z
UID:TALK234922@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:90994
DESCRIPTION:Candida albicans causes more than 400\,000 life-threatening\, 
 and half a billion mucosal infections annually. In response to infection\,
  the host limits availability of essential micronutrients\, including zinc
 \, to restrict growth of the invading pathogen. As assimilation of zinc is
  essential for C. albicans pathogenicity\, its limitation induces the secr
 etion of the zincophore protein Pra1 to scavenge zinc from the host. Pra1 
 also plays a number of important roles in host-pathogen interactions and i
 s conserved in most fungi. However\, the structure of fungal zincophores i
 s not known. Here\, we present cryogenic electron microscopy structures of
  C. albicans Pra1 in its apo- and zinc-bound states. Our work reveals a he
 xameric ring-like assembly with multiple zinc binding sites. Through genet
 ic studies\, we show that the integrity of specific zinc binding sites is 
 essential for C. albicans growth under zinc restriction. These data provid
 e a foundation for future work to explore the structural basis of Pra1-med
 iated host-pathogen interactions\, C. albicans zinc uptake\, as well thera
 peutics development. 
LOCATION:Department of Biochemistry\, Sanger Building\, Perham Seminar Roo
 m
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