Journal
ANNUAL REVIEW OF MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 63, Issue -, Pages 223-247Publisher
ANNUAL REVIEWS
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.micro.62.081307.162753
Keywords
cryptococcosis; glycan biosynthesis; glycosyltransferase; fungal virulence
Categories
Funding
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- National Science Foundation POWRE program
- Edward J. Mallinckrodt
- Jr. Foundation
- departmental funds at Cornell Medical School and Washington University
- National Institutes of General Medicine [R01-071007]
- Allergy and Infectious Disease [R21-073380]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES [R21AI073380] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [R01GM071007] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic fungus responsible for severe opportunistic infections. The most prominent feature of this yeast is its elaborate polysaccharide capsule, a complex structure that is required for virulence. The capsule is intimately associated with the cell wall, which underlies the Capsule and offers the organism strength and flexibility in potentially hostile environments. Both structures are primarily composed of polysaccharides, offering a glimpse of the tremendous variation inherent in natural carbohydrate structures and their multiple biological functions. The steps in cell wall and capsule biosynthesis and assembly pose fascinating questions of metabolism, enzymology, cell biology, and regulation; the answers have potential application to treatment of a deadly infection. This article reviews current knowledge of cryptococcal cell wall and capsule biosynthesis and outstanding questions for the future.
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