Table 1.
Summary of genomic resources available for C. neoformans and C. albicans and some of the insights they have provided
| Organism | Genomic resource | Screens | Major findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| C. neoformans | 1201 gene-deletion library | In vivo infectivity (Liu et al. 2008) | Identified 197 genes with increased or decreased virulence |
| Phagocytosis resistance (Liu et al. 2008) | Identified critical role for GAT201 in preventing engulfment by macrophages | ||
| Melanin production (Liu et al. 2008) | Identified 38 genes with defective melanin production; many of the genes also had virulence defects | ||
| Growth at 37°C (Liu et al. 2008) | Identified 92 genes important for proliferation at body temperature | ||
| Capsule production (Liu et al. 2007, 2008) | Identified CPL1, GAT201, PBX1, and PBX2 as regulating capsule production or assembly | ||
| Growth under hypoxia (Chang et al. 2007; Chun et al. 2007) | SREBP pathway controls growth under hypoxia | ||
| C. albicans | ∼700 homozygous gene-deletion library | In vivo infectivity (Noble et al. 2010) | Identified 115 mutants defective in infectivity; 46 of those had no defects in morphogenesis |
| Growth at 37°C (Noble et al. 2010) | Identified 68 mutants defective in proliferation | ||
| Colony morphology (Noble et al. 2010) | Identified 133 mutants defective in morphogenesis; 66 of those had no defect in infectivity | ||
| 143 homozygous transcription factor deletion library | Tested 55 conditions (Homann et al. 2009) | Most mutants affect growth under at least one condition | |
| Surface adherence (Finkel et al. 2012) | Identified the transcription factor SNF5 as a key regulator of adhesion | ||
| GRACE collection (∼1100 conditional mutants) | Growth requirement (Roemer et al. 2003) | Identified 567 essential genes |
See text for details. GRACE, gene replacement and conditional expression; SREBP, sterol regulatory element-binding protein.