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SUMMARY:A  Horizontal Transfer from Bacteria to Fungi Enhances Fungal Path
 ogenicity - Dannie Durand (Carnegie Mellon University)
DTSTART:20150703T110000Z
DTEND:20150703T120000Z
UID:TALK59956@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Florian Markowetz
DESCRIPTION:Adaptation to a novel niche requires metabolic machinery suita
 ble for\nsurviving and exploiting a new environment.   Horizontal gene tra
 nsfer -\nthe acquisition of genetic material from another species - can pr
 ovide\nnew metabolic capabilities instantaneously\, allowing rapid respons
 e to\nsudden environmental changes.  Here\, I investigate the hypothesis t
 hat a\nhorizontal transfer from bacteria to an ancient fungal species\ncon
 tributed to the evolution of virulence and invasive growth in fungi.  \n\n
 Organisms from bacteria to mammals use the Pentose Phosphate Pathway to\ns
 ynthesize ribose\, the basic building block of DNA and RNA.\nSurprisingly\
 , in Saccharomyces cerevisiae\, ribose can also be\nsynthesized by an alte
 rnative route\, encoded by the newly characterized\ngene\, SHB17.  Diverse
  fungal species possess SHB17?like genes\, but\noutside of fungi\, SHB17?l
 ike genes are only found in a small group of\nbacteria. The presence of a 
 SHB17?like gene in distantly related\nbacteria\, but not in more closely r
 elated animal and plant species\,\nsuggests that an ancient fungal species
  may have acquired SHB17 directly\nfrom bacteria.  Intriguingly\, a Shb17?
 like gene in the fungal pathogen\nCandida albicans exhibits increased expr
 ession during the infectious\nprocess.  I will present computational evide
 nce that SHB17 was acquired\nby horizontal transfer and experimental evide
 nce that SHB17 contributes\nto virulence in C. albicans. Taken together\, 
 these observations suggest\nthat the acquisition of a new gene may have co
 ntributed to a novel\necological strategy in fungi.\n
LOCATION:CRUK CI Room 215
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