Abstract
Aspergillus fumigatus is a filamentous fungal saprophyte that is ubiquitous in the environment. It is also a human pathogen and induces allergenic response, negatively impacting health care and associated costs significantly around the world. Much of the basic biology of this organism is only poorly understood, but the recent completion and publication of its genome sequence provides an excellent tool for researchers to gain insight into these processes. In this review we will summarize some of the more salient features revealed by analysis of the genome, including the search for candidate pathogenicity genes and the switch to a pathogenic lifestyle, allergen proteins, DNA repair, secondary metabolite gene clusters that produce compounds both useful and toxic, a theoretical capability of this asexual organism to reproduce sexually, signalling, and transcription. A. fumigatus was compared with the food biotechnology fungus Aspergillus oryzae and sexual fungus Aspergillus nidulans, as well as other fungi, in an attempt to discern key differences between these organisms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 223-228 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Revista Iberoamericana de Micologia |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2005 Dec |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:1The Institute for Genomic Research, Rockville, MD, USA; 2School of Medicine and Faculty of Life Sciences, TheUniversity of Manchester, Manchester, UK; 3European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, UK; 4Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas de Ribeirao Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, SãoPaulo, Brazil; 5Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield,UK; 6UnitedStates Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southern Regional Research Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; 7The George Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Washington DC, USA
Keywords
- Allergen
- Aspergillus
- Genome sequence
- Pathogen
- Sexuality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases