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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology
Acetate Metabolism In The Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus Neoformans, Oly Ahmed
Acetate Metabolism In The Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus Neoformans, Oly Ahmed
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Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental basidiomycetous fungus with a worldwide distribution and a wide range of habitats. Inhalation of the desiccated yeasts or spores of C. neoformans often leads to opportunistic pulmonary infections in immunocompromised individuals, and in severe cases causes lethal meningitis following hematogenous dissemination. During infection, depending on the tissue and disease state, the invading fungi experience a range of nutrient microenvironments within the host body. As a result, rapid metabolic adaptations geared towards efficient utilization of carbon sources alternative to glucose become one of the prime determinants of survival and growth for the pathogen. Incidentally, cryptococcal infection …
Allosteric Regulation Of Bacterial And Fungal Xylulose 5-Phosphate/ Fructose 6-Phosphate Phosphoketolases (Xfps), Katie Glenn
Allosteric Regulation Of Bacterial And Fungal Xylulose 5-Phosphate/ Fructose 6-Phosphate Phosphoketolases (Xfps), Katie Glenn
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Acetate is excreted as a metabolic end product in many microbes. Acetate production has primarily been studied in bacteria and archaea but is known to occur in eukaryotic organisms as well. For example, acetate is one of the most abundant metabolites excreted by the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans during cryptococcosis suggesting that acetate production may be important during pathogenesis. One possible pathway for acetate production in C. neoformans involves the enzymes xylulose 5-phosphate/ fructose 6-phosphate phosphoketolase (Xfp), which can generate acetyl phosphate from either fructose 6-phosphate (F6P) or xylulose 5-phosphate (X5P), and acetate kinase (Ack), which can then convert acetyl …