# Discovery of gene function and dissection of network re-wiring in non-model fungi

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $382,160

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
 The long-term goal of my research program is to be able to make mechanistic models for understudied
fungi, thus allowing us to understand new aspects of fungal biology. To build these models, and predict how
specific perturbations will affect the cell, it critical to have gene function annotations. However, the majority of
the genes in non-model organisms are still unannotated and uncharacterized. Our interest therefore lies in
building and testing computational models for predicting gene function in Candida auris, a newly emerging fungal
pathogen. To carry out this work, we will perform high-throughput transcriptomic studies to generate a co-
expression network, and then test the accuracy of this approach through functional genetic screening and
detailed molecular genetics. As an additional complication to understanding gene function, regulatory network
re-wiring is common throughout evolution, where the same key proteins respond to a suite of different inputs.
Understanding how these signaling cascades can be re-wired will give insight into both gene function and the
environmental stimuli that drive these changes. We will dissect, in molecular detail, the role of cis and trans
factors in network re-wiring between C. albicans and C. auris, using a conserved transcription factor as a case
study. These studies will provide fundamental data and cell biological knowledge to the community studying
fungi, and more broadly to those studying non-model organisms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10495941
- **Project number:** 1R35GM147894-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Teresa R. OMeara
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $382,160
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-28 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10495941

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10495941, Discovery of gene function and dissection of network re-wiring in non-model fungi (1R35GM147894-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10495941. Licensed CC0.

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