Genetically encoded sensors for monitoring intracellular redox health of the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans
Publication Date
Publication Journal
Author(s)
Braydon Black, Tianne Kussat, Christopher W. J. Lee, Xianya Qu, Guanggan Hu, Mélissa Caza, and James W. Kronstad
Measuring redox state (the balance of electron acceptors and donors in a cell) is critical to understanding the pathogenic mechanisms of Cryptococcus neoformans, a fungus that can cause fatal meningitis infections in immunocompromised people. Toward this end, the authors designed real-time sensors using cryptococcal redox proteins and developed fluorescence-based methods for reporting intracellular redox state. They found that their sensors accurately measured changes in redox status due to peroxide stress at different stages of cell growth. This work provides a new platform for gaining insight into how C. neoformans evades host immunity to establish infection and expands the genetic toolbox for molecular and synthetic biology experimentation in other fungi.