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Full-Text Articles in Microbiology
The Effects Of Exogenous Fatty Acids On Enterococcus Faecalis Og1rf, Holly Elizabeth Johnson Saito
The Effects Of Exogenous Fatty Acids On Enterococcus Faecalis Og1rf, Holly Elizabeth Johnson Saito
Doctoral Dissertations
Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal of the mammalian intestine and an opportunistic pathogen that infects various locations in the human host. Specifically, the organism can infect surgical wounds, the urinary tract, and is an agent of endocarditis. Regardless of niche, this organism has access to fatty acid sources in the host, which may influence its ability to survive and cause infection; yet, the effects of exogenous fatty acids were unknown in E. faecalis. We have shown that complex sources of fatty acids such as bile or serum can significantly alter the membrane content and protect E. faecalis from acute …
The Role Of Phosphatidylserine And Phosphatidylethanolamine In Candida Albicans Virulence, Sarah Elizabeth Davis
The Role Of Phosphatidylserine And Phosphatidylethanolamine In Candida Albicans Virulence, Sarah Elizabeth Davis
Doctoral Dissertations
In hospitalized patients with neutropenia, Candida albicans is the fourth leading cause of systemic bloodstream infections, which have a mortality rate of approximately 30 %. The phosphatidylserine synthase enzyme of C. albicans, Cho1p, appears to be a good drug target as a mutant lacking this enzyme (the cho1Δ/Δ [null mutant]) is avirulent in animal models of Candida infections and this enzyme is not conserved in humans. We discovered that the loss of phosphatidylserine (PS) synthesis affects C. albicans' expression of the Als3p adhesin, a virulence protein, and loss of PS synthesis also compromises the cell wall, causing increased …