Project C2
Regulation of Candida albicans virulence traits by protein kinases
The reversible phosphorylation of effector proteins is a common mechanism to trigger cellular reactions in response to extracellular and intracellular signals in all organisms. The aim of project C2 is a comprehensive functional analysis of all protein kinases of the human-pathogenic yeast C. albicans to gain insight into their role and importance for the adaptation of this fungal pathogen to different environmental conditions during colonization and infection of its host.
Principal Investigators

Prof. Dr. Joachim Morschhäuser
Institute for Molecular Infection Biology and Research Center for Infectious Diseases (ZINF)
Julius Maximilians University Würzburg
Publications
Author | Year | Title | Journal | Links |
---|---|---|---|---|
Garbe E, Thielemann N, Hohner S, Kumar A, Vylkova S, Kurzai O, Martin R. | 2023 | Functional analysis of the Candida albicans ECE1 Promoter. | Microbiol Spectr: e0025323 | PubMed |
Brandt P, Mirhakkak MH, Wagner L, Driesch D, Möslinger A, Fänder P, Schäuble S, Panagiotou G, Vylkova S. | 2023 | High-Throughput Profiling of Candida auris Isolates Reveals Clade-Specific Metabolic Differences. | Microbiol Spectrum : e0049823 | PubMed |
Ramírez-Zavala B, Krüger I, Dunker C, Jacobsen ID, Morschhäuser J | 2022 | The protein kinase Ire1 has a Hac1-independent essential role in iron uptake and virulence of Candida albicans. | PLoS Pathog 18(2): e1010283 | PubMed |
Garbe E, Miramón P, Gerwien F, Ueberschaar N, Hansske-Braun L, Brandt P, Böttcher B, Lorenz M, Vylkova S | 2022 | GNP2 Encodes a High-Specificity Proline Permease in Candida albicans. | mBio 13(1): e0314221 | PubMed |
Brandt P, Gerwien F, Wagner L, Krüger T, Ramirez-Zavala B, Mirhakkak MH, Schäuble S, Kniemeyer O, Panagiotou G, Brakhage AA, Morschhäuser J, Vylkova S | 2022 | Candida albicans SR-Like Protein Kinases Regulate Different Cellular Processes: Sky1 Is Involved in Control of Ion Homeostasis, While Sky2 Is Important for Dipeptide Utilization. | Frontiers Cellular Infection Microbiology doi:0.3389/fcimb.2022.850531 | Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. |
Alonso-Roman R, Last A, Mirhakkak MH, Spraque JL, Möller L, Großmann P, Graf K, Gratz R, Mogavero S, Vylkova S, Panagiotou G, Schäuble S, Hube B, Gresnigt MS | 2022 | Lactobacillus rhamnosus colonisation antagonizes Candida albicans by forcing metabolic adaptations that compromise pathogenicity. | Nat. Commun. 13, 3192 | Nat. Commun. |
Böttcher B, Driesch D, Krüger T, Garbe E, Gerwien F, Kniemeyer O, Brakhage AA, Vylkova S | 2022 | Impaired amino acid uptake leads to global metabolic imbalance of Candida albicans biofilms. | NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 8(1): 78 | PubMed |
Mottola A, Ramírez-Zavala B, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Morschhäuser J | 2021 | The zinc cluster transcription factor Czf1 regulates cell wall architecture and integrity in Candida albicans. | Mol Microbiol 116: 483-97 | PubMed |
Ramírez-Zavala B, Mottola A, Krüger I, Morschhäuser J | 2021 | A suppressor mutation in the β-subunit Kis1 restores functionality of the SNF1 complex in Candida albicans snf4Δ Mutants. | mSphere 6: e0092921 | PubMed |
Mottola A, Ramírez-Zavala B, Hünniger K, Kurzai O, Morschhäuser J | 2021 | The zinc cluster transcription factor Czf1 regulates cell wall architecture and integrity in Candida albicans. | Mol Microbiol. 116(2): 483-497. | PubMed |
Böttcher B, Hoffmann B, Garbe E, Weise T, Cseresnyés Z, Brandt P, Dietrich S, Driesch D, Figge MT, Vylkova S | 2020 | The transcription factor Stp2 is important for Candida albicans biofilm establishment and sustainability. | Front Microbiol 11: 794 | PubMed |
Ruben S, Garbe E, Mogavero S, Albrecht-Eckardt D, Hellwig D, Häder A, Krüger T, Gerth K, Jacobsen ID, Elshafee O, Brunke S, Hünniger K, Kniemeyer O, Brakhage AA, Morschhäuser J, Hube B, Vylkova S, Kurzai O, Martin R | 2020 | Ahr1 and Tup1 contribute to the transcriptional control of virulence-associated genes in Candida albicans. | mBio 11: e00206-20 | PubMed |
Gerwien F, Dunker C, Brandt P, Garbe E, Jacobsen ID, Vylkova S | 2020 | Clinical Candida albicans vaginal isolates and a laboratory strain show divergent behaviors during macrophage interactions. | mSphere 5: e00393-20 | PubMed |
Brandt P, Garbe E, Vylkova S | 2020 | Catch the wave: Metabolomic analyses in human pathogenic fungi. | PLoS Pathog 16: e1008757 (Review) | PubMed |
Mottola A, Schwanfelder S, Morschhäuser J | 2020 | Generation of viable Candida albicans mutants lacking the “essential” protein kinase Snf1 by inducible gene deletion. | mSphere 5: e00805-20 | PubMed |
Mirhakkak MH, Schäuble S, Klassert TE, Brunke S, Brandt P, Loos D, Uribe RV, Senne de Oliveira Lino F, Ni Y, Vylkova S, Slevogt H, Hube B, Weiss GJ, Sommer MOA, Panagiotou G | 2020 | Metabolic modeling predicts specific gut bacteria as key determinants for Candida albicans colonization levels. | ISME J 15: 1257-70 | PubMed |
von Müller C, Bulman F, Wagner L, Rosenberger D, Marolda A, Kurzai O, Eißmann P, Jacobsen ID, Perner B, Hemmerich P, Vylkova S | 2020 | Active neutrophil responses counteract Candida albicans burn wound infection of ex vivo human skin explants. | Sci Rep 10: 21818 | PubMed |
Mottola A, Morschhäuser J | 2019 | An intragenic recombination event generates a Snf4-independent form of the essential protein kinase Snf1 in Candida albicans. | mSphere 4: e00352-19 | Pubmed |
Popp C, Ramírez-Zavala B, Schwanfelder S, Krüger I, Morschhäuser J | 2019 | Evolution of fluconazole-resistant Candida albicans strains by drug-induced mating competence and parasexual recombination. | mBio 10: e02740-18 | PubMed |
Ramírez-Zavala B, Manz H, Englert F, Rogers PD, Morschhäuser J | 2018 | A hyperactive form of the zinc cluster transcription factor Stb5 causes YOR1 overexpression and beauvericin resistance in Candida albicans. | Antimicrob Agents Chemother 62: e01655-18 | PubMed |
Allert S*, Förster TM*, Svensson CM, Richardson JP, Pawlik T, Hebecker B, Rudolphi S, Juraschitz M, Schaller M, Blagojevic M, Morschhäuser J, Figge MT, Jacobsen ID, Naglik JR, Kasper L, Mogavero S, Hube B; *authors contributed equally | 2018 | Candida albicans-induced epithelial damage mediates translocation through intestinal barriers. | mBio 9: e00915-18 | PubMed |
Ramírez-Zavala B, Mottola A, Haubenreißer J, Schneider S, Allert S, Brunke S, Ohlsen K, Hube B, Morschhäuser J | 2017 | The Snf1-activating kinase Sak1 is a key regulator of metabolic adaptation and in vivo fitness of Candida albicans. | Mol Microbiol 104: 989-1007 | PubMed |
Hampe IAI, Friedman J, Edgerton M, Morschhäuser J | 2017 | An acquired mechanism of antifungal drug resistance simultaneously enables Candida albicans to escape from intrinsic host defenses. | PLoS Pathog 13: e1006655 | PubMed |
Morschhäuser J | 2016 | The development of fluconazole resistance in Candida albicans - an example of microevolution of a fungal pathogen. | J Microbiol 54: 192-201 | PubMed |