Elucidation of the infection mechanism of Trichosporon asahii, a pathogenic fungus resident in the environment

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K07022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 47030:Pharmaceutical hygiene and biochemistry-related
• Research Institution: Meiji Pharmaceutical University
• Principal Investigator: Matsumoto Yasuhiko 明治薬科大学, 薬学部, 准教授 (60508141)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 真菌 / 病原性 / 遺伝子組換え / カイコ / トリコスポロン

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Trichosporon asahii is one of the pathogenic fungi that cause severe deep-seated fungal infections in immunocompromised patients. However, the identification of virulence-related factors of T. asahii and their functional analysis have not been performed. In this study, we established an experimental infection system using silkworms for evaluating the virulence of T. asahii. Moreover, we developed a gene-recombination method for generating the gene-deficient mutants of T. asahii using the deficient mutant in the repair mechanism by non-homologous end joining. Therefore, we succeeded in establishing a silkworm infection model for evaluating the virulence of T. asahii and an efficient method for generating the gene-deficient mutants.

Free Research Field

微生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で、世界で初めてトリコスポロン属真菌の遺伝子組換え法の確立に成功した。さらに、病原真菌であるトリコスポロン・アサヒの感染機構を解明するためのカイコ感染モデルを構築した。これらの技術を組み合わせることで、トリコスポロン・アサヒの感染機構や薬剤耐性機構を分子遺伝学的方法で解明することが可能になった。本研究成果がトリコスポロン・アサヒに対する抗感染症薬の開発に貢献することが期待できる。