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Monitoring ALS1 and ALS3 Gene Expression During In Vitro Candida albicans Biofilm Formation Under Continuous Flow Conditions

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Abstract

ALS1 and ALS3 encode cell-surface associated glycoproteins that are considered to be important for Candida albicans biofilm formation. The main goal of the present study was to monitor ALS1 and ALS3 gene expression during C. albicans biofilm formation (on silicone) under continuous flow conditions, using the Centers for Disease Control biofilm reactor (CDC reactor). For ALS1, we found few changes in gene expression until later stages of biofilm formation (72 and 96 h) when this gene appeared to be downregulated relative to the gene expression level in the start culture. We observed an induction of ALS3 gene expression in the initial stages of biofilm formation (0.5, 1, and 6 h), whereas at later stages, this gene was also downregulated relative to the gene expression level in the start culture. We also found that biofilms of an als3/als3 deletion mutant contained less filaments at several time points (1, 6, 24, and 48 h), although filamentation as such was not affected in this strain. Together, our data indicate an important role for ALS3 in the early phases of biofilm formation in the CDC reactor, probably related to adhesion of filaments, while the role of ALS1 is less clear.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Aaron Mitchell and Alistair Brown for providing strains and acknowledge Andrea Cochis, Hanne Thuysbaert, Sofie Vandevivere and Kim De Rijck for excellent technical assistance and Jo Vandesompele for useful advice concerning qPCR data analysis. KT and TC acknowledge the support of the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO). This work was partially funded by the Belgian Federation against Cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Ghent University, Harelbekestraat 72, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Heleen Nailis, Hans Nelis & Tom Coenye

  2. Laboratory for General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke

  3. Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Kelly Tilleman & Dieter Deforce

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  1. Heleen Nailis
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  2. Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke
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Correspondence to Tom Coenye.

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Nailis, H., Vandenbroucke, R., Tilleman, K. et al. Monitoring ALS1 and ALS3 Gene Expression During In Vitro Candida albicans Biofilm Formation Under Continuous Flow Conditions. Mycopathologia 167, 9–17 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-008-9148-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-008-9148-6

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