# Signal pathways controlling the bud to hypha transition

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 2020 · $324,463

## Abstract

Project Summary:
 The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans causes a range of diseases including severe
morbidity from mucosal infections and life-threatening systemic infections. There is an urgent need
to improve the therapeutic management of C. albicans since the pool of susceptible individuals is
increasing due to factors that include new medical treatments, an aging population, and the
emergence of drug resistant strains. Central to the pathogenesis of C. albicans is its ability to grow
in different morphologies that promote dissemination in the host. Small budding cells more readily
colonize the G.I. tract and disseminate in the bloodstream, whereas elongated hyphal cells
mediate invasion into tissues and promote biofilm formation. However, the current models for the
regulation of hyphal growth that were developed ~20 years ago now have limitations. Therefore,
we propose innovative new experiments to overcome the major barriers to progress. Aim 1 is to
define the mechanisms of a novel cAMP-independent pathway for hyphal growth that we
discovered recently. These results are expected to identify important new mediators of hyphal
growth that move the field past the narrow focus on adenylyl cyclase and cAMP signaling. Aim 2 is
to determine how phosphorylation regulates the signaling and morphogenesis proteins that
promote hyphal formation. These studies are expected to fill a gap in our understanding of the
mechanisms that stimulate hyphal growth that can’t be explained by previous studies that have
focused on the role of hyphal-induced genes. Aim 3 is to determine which genes influence hyphal
growth in the host by studying unusual clinical isolates that are defective in forming hyphae. These
hyphal defective clinical strains are thought to arise during commensal growth, since budding cells
are better able to colonize the GI tract (whereas hyphae are better invading into tissues). Defining
the mechanisms that regulate the switch to hyphal morphogenesis will provide new insights into C.
albicans pathogenesis and new opportunities for developing antifungal therapy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9912167
- **Project number:** 5R01GM116048-06
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **Principal Investigator:** James B Konopka
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $324,463
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2015-08-07 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9912167

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9912167, Signal pathways controlling the bud to hypha transition (5R01GM116048-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9912167. Licensed CC0.

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