Evolution of the complex transcription network controlling biofilm formation in Candida species.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Mancera, Eugenio Nocedal, Isabel Hammel, Stephen Gulati, Megha Mitchell, Kaitlin F Andes, David R Nobile, Clarissa J Butler, Geraldine Johnson, Alexander D
Editor	Wittkopp, Patricia J Landry, Christian R
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	We examine how a complex transcription network composed of seven ‘master’ regulators and hundreds of target genes evolved over a span of approximately 70 million years. The network controls biofilm formation in several Candida species, a group of fungi that are present in humans both as constituents of the microbiota and as opportunistic pathogens. Using a variety of approaches, we observed two major types of changes that have occurred in the biofilm network since the four extant species we examined last shared a common ancestor. Master regulator ‘substitutions’ occurred over relatively long evolutionary times, resulting in different species having overlapping but different sets of master regulators of biofilm formation. Second, massive changes in the connections between the master regulators and their target genes occurred over much shorter timescales. We believe this analysis is the first detailed, empirical description of how a complex transcription network has evolved.
Journal	eLife
Volume Number	10
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8075579
PubMed reference number	33825680
e-ISSN	2050084X
DOI	10.7554/elife.64682
Language	English
Publisher	eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Publisher Date	2021-04-07
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. © 2021, Mancera et al
Subject Keyword	transcriptional evolution biofilm candida albicans candida dubliniensis candida tropicalis candida parapsilosis
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Immunology and Microbiology Neuroscience Medicine Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology