Morphological transitions in Candida species are key factors in facilitating invasion and adapting to environmental changes. N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a monosaccharide signalling molecule that can regulate morphological transitions in Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. Interestingly, although the uptake and metabolic pathways of GlcNAc and GlcNAc-mediated white-to-opaque cell switching are similar between the two Candida species, GlcNAc induces hyphal development in C. albicans, whereas it suppresses hyphal development in C. tropicalis. These findings indicate that the characteristics of C. albicans and C. tropicalis in response to GlcNAc are remarkably different. Here, we compare the conserved and divergent GlcNAc-mediated signalling pathways and catabolism between the two Candida species. Deletion of NGT1, a GlcNAc transportation gene, inhibited hyphal formation in C. albicans but promoted hyphal development in C. tropicalis. To further understand these opposite effects on filamentous growth in response to GlcNAc in the two Candida species, the cyclic adenosine monophosphate/protein kinase A (cAMP/PKA) signalling pathways in both C. albicans and C. tropicalis were compared. Interestingly, GlcNAc activated the cAMP/PKA signalling pathway of the two Candida species, suggesting that the hyphal development-regulated circuit is remarkably diverse between the two species. Indeed, the Ndt80-like gene REP1, which is critical for regulating GlcNAc catabolism, exhibits distinct roles in the hyphal development of C. albicans and C. tropicalis. These data suggest possible reasons for the divergent hyphal growth response in C. albicans and C. tropicalis upon GlcNAc induction.

念珠菌物种的形态转变是促进入侵和适应环境变化的关键因素。N-乙酰氨基葡萄糖 (GlcNAc) 是一种单糖信号分子，可以调节白色念珠菌和热带念珠菌的形态转变。有趣的是，尽管 GlcNAc 和 GlcNAc 介导的白色至不透明细胞转换的摄取和代谢途径在两种念珠菌属物种之间相似，但 GlcNAc 在白色念珠菌中诱导菌丝发育，而在热带念珠菌中抑制菌丝发育。这些发现表明，白色念珠菌的特征和热带念珠菌响应于GlcNAc的是显着地不同。在这里，我们比较了两个念珠菌物种之间保守和不同的 GlcNAc 介导的信号通路和分解代谢。的缺失NGT1，一个运输的GlcNAc基因，抑制菌丝形成在白色念珠菌但促进菌丝发育在热带念珠菌。为了进一步了解对两种念珠菌中GlcNAc 响应的丝状生长的这些相反影响，白色念珠菌和热带念珠菌中的环磷酸腺苷/蛋白激酶 A (cAMP/PKA) 信号通路进行了比较。有趣的是，GlcNAc 激活了两个念珠菌物种的 cAMP/PKA 信号通路，表明这两个物种之间的菌丝发育调节回路显着不同。事实上，对调节 GlcNAc 分解代谢至关重要的 Ndt80 样基因REP1在白色念珠菌和热带念珠菌的菌丝发育中表现出不同的作用。这些数据表明在 GlcNAc 诱导后白色念珠菌和热带念珠菌中菌丝生长反应不同的可能原因。