AUTHOR=Fourie Ruan , Albertyn Jacobus , Sebolai Olihile , Gcilitshana Onele , Pohl Carolina H. 

TITLE=Candida albicans SET3 Plays a Role in Early Biofilm Formation, Interaction With Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Virulence in Caenorhabditis elegans

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.680732

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.680732

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>The yeast <italic>Candida albicans</italic> exhibits multiple morphologies dependent on environmental cues. <italic>Candida albicans</italic> biofilms are frequently polymicrobial, enabling interspecies interaction through proximity and contact. The interaction between <italic>C. albicans</italic> and the bacterium, <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic>, is antagonistic <italic>in vitro, with P. aeruginosa</italic> repressing the yeast-to-hyphal switch in <italic>C. albicans</italic>. Previous transcriptional analysis of <italic>C. albicans</italic> in polymicrobial biofilms with <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> revealed upregulation of genes involved in regulation of morphology and biofilm formation, including <italic>SET3</italic>, a component of the Set3/Hos2 histone deacetylase complex (Set3C). This prompted the question regarding the involvement of <italic>SET3</italic> in the interaction between <italic>C. albicans</italic> and <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>, both <italic>in vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo.</italic> We found that <italic>SET3</italic> may influence early biofilm formation by <italic>C. albicans</italic> and the interaction between <italic>C. albicans</italic> and <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>. In addition, although deletion of <italic>SET3</italic> did not alter the morphology of <italic>C. albicans</italic> in the presence of <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic>, it did cause a reduction in virulence in a <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic> infection model, even in the presence of <italic>P. aeruginosa.</italic></p>