Manganese homeostasis modulates fungal virulence and stress tolerance in Candida albicans

Abstract

Transition metals such as manganese provide considerable functionality across biological systems as they are used as cofactors for many catalytic enzymes. The availability of manganese is very limited inside the human body. Consequently, pathogenic microbes have evolved sophisticated mechanisms to uptake this micronutrient inside the human host to sustain their growth and cause infections. Here, we undertook a comprehensive approach to understand how manganese availability impacts the biology of the prevalent fungal pathogen, Candida albicans . We uncovered that manganese homeostasis in this pathogen modulates different biological processes that are essential for host infection which underscores the value of targeting fungal manganese homeostasis for potential antifungal therapeutics development.