The signature feature of systemic dimorphic fungi - a family of six primary fungal pathogens of humans - is a temperature-induced phase transition. These fungi grow as a mold in soil at ambient temperature and convert to yeast after infectious spores are inhaled into the lungs of a mammalian host. Seminal work 20 years ago established that a temperature-induced phase transition from mold to yeast is required for virulence. Several yeast-phase specific genes, identified one-by-one and studied by reverse genetics, have revealed mechanisms by which the phase transition promotes disease pathogenesis. Transcriptional profiling of microarrays built with genomic elements of Histoplasma capsulatum and ESTs of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis that represent partial genomes has identified 500 genes and 328 genes, respectively, that are differentially expressed upon the phase transition. The genomes of most of the dimorphic fungi are now in varying stages of being sequenced. The creation of additional microarrays and the application of new reverse genetic tools promise fresh insight into genes and mechanisms that regulate pathogenesis and morphogenesis. The use of insertional mutagenesis by Agrobacterium has uncovered a hybrid histidine kinase that regulates dimorphism and pathogenicity in Blastomyces dermatitidis and H. capsulatum. Two-component signaling appears to be a common strategy for model and pathogenic fungi to sense and respond to environmental stresses.

Summary Host–parasite associations are potentially shaped by evolutionary reciprocal selection dynamics, in which parasites evolve to overcome host defences and hosts are selected to counteract these through the evolution of new defences. This is expected to result in variation in parasite-defence interactions, and the evolution of resistant parasites causing increased virulence. Fungus-growing ants maintain antibiotic-producing Pseudonocardia (Actinobacteria) that aid in protection against specialized parasites of the ants’ fungal gardens, and current evidence indicates that both symbionts have been associated with the ants for millions of years. Here we examine the extent of variation in the defensive capabilities of the ant–actinobacterial association against Escovopsis (parasite-defence interactions), and evaluate how variation impacts colonies of fungus-growing ants. We focus on five species of Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants, crossing 12 strains of Pseudonocardia with 12 strains of Escovopsis in a Petri plate bioassay experiment, and subsequently conduct subcolony infection experiments using resistant and non-resistant parasite strains. Diversity in parasite-defence interactions, including pairings where the parasites are resistant, suggests that chemical variation in the antibiotics produced by different actinobacterial strains are responsible for the observed variation in parasite susceptibility. By evaluating the role this variation plays during infection, we show that infection of ant subcolonies with resistant parasite strains results in significantly higher parasite-induced morbidity with respect to garden biomass loss. Our findings thus further establish the role of Pseudonocardia-derived antibiotics in helping defend the ants’ fungus garden from the parasite Escovopsis, and provide evidence that small molecules can play important roles as antibiotics in a natural system.

Novel antifungal drugs and targets are urgently needed. Group III hybrid histidine kinases (HHKs) represent an appealing new therapeutic drug target because they are widely expressed in fungi but absent from humans. We investigated the mode of action of the widely utilized, effective fungicide fludioxonil. The drug acts in an HHK-dependent manner by constitutive activation of the HOG (highosmolarity glycerol) pathway, but its mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here, we report a new mode of drug action that entails conversion of the HHK from a kinase into a phosphatase. We expressed Drk1 (dimorphism-regulating kinase), which is an intracellular group III HHK from the fungal pathogen Blastomyces dermatitidis, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Drk1 engendered drug sensitivity in B. dermatitidis and conferred sensitivity upon S. cerevisiae. In response to fludioxonil, Drk1 behaved as a phosphatase rather than as a kinase, leading to dephosphorylation of its downstream target, Ypd1, constitutive activation of the HOG pathway, and yeast cell death. Aspartic acid residue 1140 in the Drk1 receiver domain was required for in vivo phosphatase activity on Ypd1, and Hog1 was required for drug effect, indicating fidelity in HHK-dependent drug action. In in vitro assays with purified protein, intact Drk1 demonstrated intrinsic kinase activity, and the Drk1 receiver domain exhibited intrinsic phosphatase activity. However, fludioxonil failed to induce intact Drk1 to dephosphorylate Ypd1. We conclude that fludioxonil treatment in vivo likely acts on an upstream target that triggers HHK to become a phosphatase, which dephosphorylates its downstream target, Ypd1.

New antifungal drugs are urgently needed due to the currently limited selection, the emergence of drug resistance, and the toxicity of several commonly used drugs. To identify drug leads, we screened small molecules using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae reporter bioassay in which S. cerevisiae heterologously expresses Hik1, a group III hybrid histidine kinase (HHK) from Magnaporthe grisea. Group III HHKs are integral in fungal cell physiology, and highly conserved throughout this kingdom; they are absent in mammals, making them an attractive drug target. Our screen identified compounds 13 and 33, which showed robust activity against numerous fungal genera including Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp. and molds such as Aspergillus fumigatus and Rhizopus oryzae. Drug-resistant Candida albicans from patients were also highly susceptible to compounds 13 and 33. While the compounds do not act directly on HHKs, microarray analysis showed that compound 13 induced transcripts associated with oxidative stress, and compound 33, transcripts linked with heavy metal stress. Both compounds were highly active against C. albicans biofilm, in vitro and in vivo, and exerted synergy with fluconazole, which was inactive alone. Thus, we identified potent, broad-spectrum antifungal drug leads from a small molecule screen using a high-throughput, S. cerevisiae reporter bioassay.

Since current antifungal drugs have not kept pace with the escalating medical demands of fungal infections, new, effective medications are required. However, antifungal drug discovery is hindered by the evolutionary similarity of mammalian and fungal cells, which results in fungal drug targets having human homologs and drug non-selectivity. The group III hybrid histidine kinases (HHKs) are an attractive drug target since they are conserved in fungi and absent in mammals. We used a Saccharomyces cerevisiae reporter strain that conditionally expresses HHK to establish a high-throughput bioassay to screen microbial extracts natural products for antifungals. We identified macrotetrolides, a group of related ionophores thought to exhibit restricted antifungal activity. In addition to confirming the use of this bioassay for the discovery of antifungal natural products, we demonstrated broader, more potent fungistatic activity of the macrotetrolides against multiple Candida spp., Cryptococcus spp., and Candida albicans in biofilms. Macrotetrolides were also active in an animal model of C. albicans biofilm, but were found to have inconsistent activity against fluconazole-resistant C. albicans, with most isolates resistant to this natural product. The macrotetrolides do not directly target HHKs, but their selective activity against S. cerevisiae grown in galactose (regardless of Drk1 expression) revealed potential new insight into the role of ion transport in the mode of action of these promising antifungal compounds. Thus, this simple, high-throughput bioassay permitted us to screen microbial extracts, identify natural products as antifungal drugs, and expand our understanding of the activity of macrotetrolides.