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Biochemical Systems Analysis of Signaling Pathways to Understand Fungal Pathogenicity

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Yeast Genetic Networks

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 734))

Abstract

Over the past decade, researchers have recognized the need to study biological systems as integrated systems. While the reductionist approaches of the past century have made remarkable advances of our understanding of life, the next phase of understanding comes from systems-level investigations. Additionally, biology has become a data-intensive field of research. The introduction of high throughput sequencing, microarrays, high throughput proteomics, metabolomics, and now lipidomics are producing significantly more data than can be interpreted using existing methods. The field of systems biology brings together methods from computer science, modeling, statistics, engineering, and biology to explore the volumes of data now being produced and to develop mathematical representations of metabolic, signaling, and gene regulatory systems. Advances in these methods are allowing biologists to develop new insights into the complexities of life, to predict cellular responses and treatment outcomes, and to effectively plan experiments that extend our understanding. In this chapter, we are providing the basic steps of developing and analyzing a small S-system model of a biochemical pathway related to sphingolipid metabolism in the regulation of virulence of the human fungal microbial pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn).

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants AI56168 and AI72142 (to M.D.P) and was conducted in a facility constructed with support from the National Institutes of Health, Grant Number C06 RR015455 from the Extramural Research Facilities Program of the National Center for Research Resources. Kellie J Sims is funded by Grant 5K12GM081265-03, an Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) program from NIGMS. John H. Schwacke is supported in part by a contract from the National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI NO1-HV-28181). Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta is a Burroughs Wellcome New Investigator in Pathogenesis of Infectious Diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Maurizio Del Poeta

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  1. Jacqueline Garcia
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  2. Kellie J. Sims
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  3. John H. Schwacke
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  4. Maurizio Del Poeta
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Correspondence to Maurizio Del Poeta .

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  1. Biochemisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, Zürich, 8057, Switzerland

    Attila Becskei

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Garcia, J., Sims, K.J., Schwacke, J.H., Del Poeta, M. (2011). Biochemical Systems Analysis of Signaling Pathways to Understand Fungal Pathogenicity. In: Becskei, A. (eds) Yeast Genetic Networks. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 734. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-086-7_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-086-7_9

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