New insights into copper homeostasis in filamentous fungi

• Martzel Antsotegi-Uskola ^[1] ; Ane Markina-Iñarrairaegui ^[1] ; Unai Ugalde ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

     Leioa, España

     
• Localización: International microbiology: official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology, ISSN 1139-6709, Vol. 23, Nº. 1, 2020, págs. 65-73
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Copper is a metal ion that is required as a micronutrient for growth and proliferation. However, copper accumulation generates toxicity by multiple mechanisms, potentially leading to cell death. Due to its toxic nature at high concentrations, different chemical variants of copper have been extensively used as antifungal agents in agriculture and medicine. Most studies on copper homeostasis have been carried out in bacteria, yeast, and mammalian organisms. However, knowledge on filamentous fungi is less well documented. This review summarizes the knowledge gathered in the last few years about copper homeostasis in the filamentous fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus nidulans: The mechanism of action of copper, the uptake and detoxification systems, their regulation at the transcriptional level, and the role of copper homeostasis in fungal pathogenicity are presented.