Temporal analysis of Candida albicans gene expression during biofilm development

• Published in: Microbiology (Society for General Microbiology) Vol. 153; no. 8; pp. 2373 - 2385
• Main Authors: Yeater, Kathleen M, Chandra, Jyotsna, Cheng, Georgina, Mukherjee, Pranab K, Zhao, Xiaomin, Rodriguez-Zas, Sandra L, Kwast, Kurt E, Ghannoum, Mahmoud A, Hoyer, Lois L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Reading Soc General Microbiol 01.08.2007; Society for General Microbiology
• Subjects: Biofilms - growth & development; Biological and medical sciences; Candida albicans; Candida albicans - genetics; Candida albicans - physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; Metabolic Networks and Pathways - genetics; Microbiology; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; Time Factors; Fungi; Candida albicans; Yeast; Gene; Biofilm; Development; Fungi Imperfecti; Gene expression
• ISSN: 1350-0872; 1465-2080
• DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.2007/006163-0

1 Department of Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61802, USA 2 Center for Medical Mycology, Department of Dermatology, University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA 3 Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA 4 Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA Correspondence Lois L. Hoyer lhoyer{at}uiuc.edu Microarrays were used to identify changes in gene expression associated with Candida albicans biofilm development. Two biofilm substrates (denture and catheter), and two C. albicans strains for each substrate, were tested to remove model- and strain-dependent variability from the overall dataset. Three biofilm developmental phases were examined: early (6 h), intermediate (12 h), and mature (48 h). Planktonic specimens were collected at the same time points. Data analysis focused primarily on gene expression changes over the time-course of biofilm development. Glycolytic and non-glycolytic carbohydrate assimilation, amino acid metabolism, and intracellular transport mechanisms were important during the early phase of biofilm formation. These early events increase intracellular pools of pyruvate, pentoses and amino acids, which prepare the biofilm for the large biomass increase that begins around 12 h of development. This developmental stage demands energy and utilizes specific transporters for amino acids, sugars, ions, oligopeptides and lactate/pyruvate. At mature phase (48 h), few genes were differentially expressed compared with the 12 h time point, suggesting a relative lack of initiation of new metabolic activity. Data analysis to assess biofilm model-specific gene expression showed more dynamic changes in the denture model than in the catheter model. Data analysis to identify gene expression changes that are associated with each strain/substrate combination identified the same types of genes that were identified in the analysis of the entire dataset. Collectively, these data suggest that genes belonging to different, but interconnected, functional categories regulate the morphology and phenotype of C. albicans biofilm. Abbreviations: C T , crossing threshold; ECM, extracellular matrix; IMD, indwelling medical device The University of Illinois and Case Western Reserve research groups contributed equally to this work. Data in MIAME format can be found in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/ ) under the GEO accession number GSE7825. Five supplementary tables listing genes showing differential expression under the conditions examined are available with the online version of this paper.