A fundamental feature of the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum is its ability to shift from a mycelial phase in the soil to a yeast phase in its human host. Each form plays a critical role in infection and disease, but little is understood about how these two morphologic phases are established and maintained. To identify phase-regulated genes of H. capsulatum, we carried out expression ana...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are important plant mutualists that can connect roots of neighboring plants to form common mycelial networks. A recent study demonstrated that these networks can act as conduits for aphid-induced signals between plants, activating chemical defenses in uninfested neighboring plants so that they become unattractive to aphids but attractive to their enemies (paras...

A fundamental feature of the fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum is its ability to shift from a mycelial phase in the soil to a yeast phase in its human host. Each form plays a critical role in infection and disease, but little is understood about how these two morphologic phases are established and maintained. To identify phase-regulated genes of H. capsulatum, we carried out expression ana...

Sooty blotch and flyspeck occur on fruit surfaces and result in economic losses due to less attractive appearance. Sooty blotch fungi form dark mycelial mats whereas flyspeck fungal agents are well characterized with black, sclerotium-like bodies on fruit surface. Whilst more than 60 species have been reported in association with these two fungal diseases, thus far they have not been studied in...

Glucans were isolated from the cell wall of the yeast (Y) and mycelial (M) forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. The alkali-soluble glucan of the Y form had properties of alpha-1,3-glucan. The alkali-insoluble glucan of the M form was identified as a beta-glucan which contains a beta-(1 --> 3)-glycosidic linkage by infrared absorption spectrum, by effect of beta-1,3-glucanase, and by partial ...

Investigation into the switch between single-celled and filamentous forms of fungi may provide insights into cell polarity, differentiation, and fungal pathogenicity. At the molecular level, much of this investigation has fallen on two closely related budding yeasts, Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recently, the much more distant fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe was shown ...

Departamentos de Genetica y Biolog(a Molecular1 and Ingenieria Genetica (Unidad Irapuato)2, Centro de lnvestigacidn y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Irapuato, Gto, Mexico PCR was used to amplify fragments corresponding to CHS genes from Ustilago maydis, utilizing as primers oligonucleotides devised according to the conserved regions of fungal CHS genes. The PCR product was employed as a probe t...

Crude chitin synthetase preparations from the mycelial and yeast forms of MUCOP rouxii behaved differently. The mycelial preparations, incubated at 28 “C, lost virtually all chitin synthetase activity in a few hours; by contrast, the activity of enzyme preparations from yeast cells increased several fold during similar incubations. These spontaneous changes were probably caused by endogenous pr...

The antifungal activity of the essential oil of Lavandula angustifolia Mill. (lavender oil) and its main components, linalool and linalyl acetate, was investigated against 50 clinical isolates of Candida albicans (28 oropharyngeal strains, 22 vaginal strains) and C. albicans ATCC 3153. Growth inhibition, killing time and inhibition of germ tube formation were evaluated. The chemical composition...