Review

Nature Reviews Microbiology 6, 667-673 (September 2008) | doi:10.1038/nrmicro1960

Molecular mechanisms of mechanosensing and their roles in fungal contact sensing

Carol A. Kumamoto1  About the author

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Numerous fungal species respond to contact with a surface by undergoing differentiation. Contact between plant pathogenic fungi and a surface results in the elaboration of the complex structures that enable invasion of the host plant, and for the opportunistic human pathogen Candida albicans, contact with a semi-solid surface results in invasive growth into the subjacent material. The ability to sense contact with an appropriate surface therefore contributes to the ability of these fungi to cause disease in their respective hosts. This Review discusses molecular mechanisms of mechanosensitivity, the proteins involved, such as mechanosensitive ion channels, G-protein-coupled receptors and integrins, and their putative roles in fungal contact sensing.

Author affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
    Email: carol.kumamoto@tufts.edu

Published online 4 August 2008

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