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Chloride channel-dependent copper acquisition of laccase in the basidiomycetous fungus Cryptococcus neoformans

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Abstract

The CLC chloride channel gene CLC-A of the pathogen yeast Cryptococcus neoformans was previously reported to be critical for multicopper laccase activity and growth at an elevated pH. This study reports that copper homeostasis was impaired in the clc-a mutant. This was demonstrated by the substantial decrease of the intracellular quantity of copper under copper-limited growth as determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. CLC-A is a critical factor in copper homeostasis which is required for copper acquisition of laccase in C. neoformans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Program of Microbiology and Department of Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    ChangWei Zhu, Nan Jiang, Jiao Pan & XuDong Zhu

  2. Tianjin Industrial Microbiology Key Lab, College of Bioengineering, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China

    DongGuang Xiao

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  1. ChangWei Zhu
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  2. Nan Jiang
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  3. DongGuang Xiao
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  4. Jiao Pan
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  5. XuDong Zhu
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Correspondence to XuDong Zhu.

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Zhu, C., Jiang, N., Xiao, D. et al. Chloride channel-dependent copper acquisition of laccase in the basidiomycetous fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Sci. China Life Sci. 53, 125–130 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-010-0021-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-010-0021-8

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