Dissection of UME6 point and truncation mutants effects on C. albicans filamentous growth

Candida albicans is a fungal pathogen that is dangerous when it enters the bloodstream and as it can cause Candidiasis. Candidiasis lethality in immunocompromised individuals and C. albicans antifungal drug resistance has made it critical that we understand C. albicans biology at a molecular level. Ume6 is a transcription factor important for C. albicans filamentous growth and virulence. For this project, I used CRISPR-mediated mutagenesis to create and characterize mutants that substituted two conserved positively charged lysines with two negatively charged glutamates and truncated Ume6 upstream of the Zn2+ finger DNA binding and C-terminal domains. Using filamentation assays, I demonstrated that there is decreased filamentous growth with truncation and glutamate substitution mutations upstream of the Ume6 Zn2+ finger DNA binding domain. Using virulence tests with Galleria mellonella larvae, I demonstrated that there is decreased mortality with truncation and glutamate substitution mutations upstream of the Ume6 Zn2+ finger DNA binding domain. Our data supported the hypothesis that the Ume6 Zn2+ finger DNA binding domain is important for filamentous growth regulation and virulence.Honors CollegeThesis (B.?