Function analysis of galactofuranosyltransferases in filamentous fungus for development of novel antifungal agent

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26450106
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied microbiology
• Research Institution: Sojo University
• Principal Investigator: OKA Takuji 崇城大学, 生物生命学部, 准教授 (50510690)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ガラクトマンナン / ガラクトフラノース / 糖鎖 / 糖転移酵素 / 糸状菌 / 細胞壁 / 糖鎖生合成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The galactomannans (GMs) that are produced by filamentous fungi belonging to Pezizomycotina, many of which are pathogenic for animals and plants, are polysaccharides consisting of α-(1→2)-/α-(1→6)-mannosyl and β-(1→5)-/β-(1→6)-galactofuranosyl residues. GMs are located at the outermost layer of the cell wall. When a pathogenic fungus infects a host, its cell surface must be in contact with the host. The GMs on the cell surface may be involved in the infection mechanism of a pathogenic fungus or the defense mechanism of a host. There are two types of GMs in filamentous fungi, fungal-type galactomannans and O-mannose type galactomannans. In this study, we elucidated that AfGfsA protein acts as a UDP-Galf: β-galactofuranoside β1,5-galactofuranosyltransferase and all β-(1→5)-galactofuranosyl residues of FTGM and OMGM in A. fumigatus were biosynthesized by AfGfsA and AfGfsC.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学