Editorial: Functional Genomics of Transcriptional Regulation in Pathogenic Fungi

Approximately one hundred thousand fungal species have been described and some studies estimate that there are over five million (Blackwell, 2011).Many fungi play a positive role in various ecosystems, such as their symbiotic association with plants while others have been successfully used in the biotechnology field, as exemplified by the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris).However, a number of fungal species constitute a major threat to plants and animals, including humans (Fisher et al., 2012).In humans, fungi are responsible for 1.5 million deaths each year with Aspergillus, Candida, and Cryptococcus species being the fungal pathogens generating the majority of cases of serious fungal disease.Candida albicans is the principal cause of invasive infections with C. glabrata ranking second; other fungi play less lethal roles, such as Microsporum canis which is a common skin fungus.In this series of publications, the authors describe the role of a number of transcriptional regulators involved in controlling diverse processes in a variety of pathogenic fungi.C. albicans is a typically commensal organism that inhabits the mucosal linings of warm-blooded animals, but as stated above, it is also the major culprit in human fungal infections.C. albicans is a severe and persistent opportunistic pathogen of immunocompromised individuals.Rogriguez et al. reviewed gene networks involved in the regulation of developmental processes in C. albicans.The authors provide a detailed assessment of the factors that form the basis of transcriptional circuits involved in controlling three central developmental processes.(1) association of virulence of C. albicans with its ability to switch from yeast to hyphae (and vice-versa), (2) ability of C. albicans to switch from white to opaque forms (a process important for its parasexual cycle and (3) the formation of biofilms containing a protective extra-cellular matrix, a structure providing resistance to antifungal treatment.The authors also discuss the interconnection among these circuits.In C. albicans, the role of many transcription factors has been uncovered using transcriptomics and genome-wide location analyses.However, the majority of these studies have been performed under normoxic conditions even though hypoxia is a condition frequently encountered in the human host and is a major signal for filamentous growth.Henry et al. were interested in better characterizing the link between hypoxia and growth in a filamentous form.A genetic screen with deletion mutants identified a number of factors involved in this process, including the transcriptional regulators Ahr1 and Tye7 that were known to regulate genes involved in glycolysis and adhesion, respectively.The authors show that Ahr1 and Tye7 act as negative

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