Fungal Physiology and Immunopathogenesis

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

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2. The Role of Melanin in Fungal Pathogenesis for Animal Hosts

   • Daniel F. Q. Smith, Arturo Casadevall

   Pages 1-30

3. The Overlooked Glycan Components of the Cryptococcus Capsule

   • Fernanda L. Fonseca, Flavia C. G. Reis, Bianca A. G. Sena, Luísa J. Jozefowicz, Livia Kmetzsch, Marcio L. Rodrigues

   Pages 31-43

4. Extracellular Vesicles in Fungi: Composition and Functions

   • Sharon de Toledo Martins, Paulo Szwarc, Samuel Goldenberg, Lysangela Ronalte Alves

   Pages 45-59

5. From Genes to Networks: The Regulatory Circuitry Controlling Candida albicans Morphogenesis

   • Virginia Basso, Christophe d’Enfert, Sadri Znaidi, Sophie Bachellier-Bassi

   Pages 61-99

6. Cryptococcal Titan Cells: When Yeast Cells Are All Grown up

   • Rocío García-Rodas, HC de Oliveira, Nuria Trevijano-Contador, Oscar Zaragoza

   Pages 101-120

7. The Clock Keeps on Ticking: Emerging Roles for Circadian Regulation in the Control of Fungal Physiology and Pathogenesis

   • Luis F. Larrondo, Paulo Canessa

   Pages 121-156

8. Histoplasma Capsulatum: Mechanisms for Pathogenesis

   • Jamie Mittal, Maria G. Ponce, Inessa Gendlina, Joshua D. Nosanchuk

   Pages 157-191

9. Transcriptome Sequencing Approaches to Elucidate Host–Microbe Interactions in Opportunistic Human Fungal Pathogens

   • Hrant Hovhannisyan, Toni Gabaldón

   Pages 193-235

10. Host Genetic Signatures of Susceptibility to Fungal Disease

    • Cláudia F. Campos, Frank L. van de Veerdonk, Samuel M. Gonçalves, Cristina Cunha, Mihai G. Netea, Agostinho Carvalho

    Pages 237-263

11. Fungi as Part of the Microbiota and Interactions with Intestinal Bacteria

    • Mario Kapitan, M. Joanna Niemiec, Alexander Steimle, Julia S. Frick, Ilse D. Jacobsen

    Pages 265-301

This volume offers an overview of the various aspects involved in the ability of fungi to damage host cells, and discusses cutting-edge approaches to the study of fungal pathogenesis. The first chapter illustrate the key roles of glycans and pigments, the most abundant surface components in fungal cells, in their interactions with host cells. The connections between cellular physiology and fungal pathogenesis are then discussed in the following chapters. Physiology-related processes affecting pathogenesis include fungal secretion, morphological transitions, and response to light.

In turn, the book illustrates mechanisms of damage to host cells using the Histoplasma capsulatum model of infection, and reviews the use of transcriptomic approaches to understand the mechanisms of interaction between fungal cells and host tissues. After a discussion of the immunological mechanisms underlying host susceptibility to fungal infections, the book’s closing contribution reviews the mechanisms of interaction between fungi and other microbes, and the impact of this association on fungal pathogenesis. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scientists in the fields of mycology, microbiology, infectious diseases, biology and medicine.

• fungal systems biology
• fungal infections
• fungal biofilms
• cryptococcal pathogenesis
• candida parapsilosis pathogenesis
• fungal virulence
• candida morphology
• candida pathogenesis

• Instituto Carlos Chagas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Curitiba, Brazil

  Marcio L. Rodrigues

Marcio Rodrigues is a senior investigator in the Carlos Chagas Institute (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Fiocruz; Brazil). His laboratory is mainly interested in the mechanisms by which fungal cells export biologically active molecules to the extracellular space. In this context, the laboratory has been investigating the role of extracellular vesicles in fungal physiology and pathogenesis for the last decade, mainly using the Cryptococcus model of secretion. The group is especially interested in how lipids and glycans participate in secretory processes that are essential for fungi, aiming to connect basic cell biology mechanisms with the identification of cellular pathways that could be targeted by novel antifungal agents. 

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