Calcium signaling is critical to cellular processes in a wide variety of cells, making it important for human health and disease
Now, researchers have uncovered one of the mechanisms underlying this process in a pathogenic fungus
Candida albicans is one of the most important human yeast pathogens, causing illness in immunocompromised patients
In yeasts and lower eukaryotes, calcium signaling is tightly regulated by the transcription factor Crz1, which travels to the nucleus following calcium stress
C. albicans genes contain potential Crz1-binding motifs, but Crz1 binding has not been shown in the laboratory
Using new RNA sequencing technology, researchers discovered a novel consensus binding motif in the promoters of Crz1 target genes
They also identified hundreds of genes that are controlled by Crz1 and uncovered a potential mechanism whereby Crz1 regulates its own transcription
Further understanding this critical signaling process in yeasts will help to target these pathways in human infectious disease