Lessons from protozoans: Phosphate sensing and polyphosphate storage in fungi

Abstract

In order to function, cells must be able to uptake, store, and mobilize nutrients according to the availability of their surrounding environment. Opposite to most heterotrophic organisms, fungi secrete enzymes to the environment that reduce nutrient complexity before uptake and metabolization. Despite this remarkable difference, yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been extensively used as a model to study the biochemical and molecular regulatory pathways that control how eukaryotic cells respond to the environment. In that sense, how fungi coordinate the supply and mobilization of nitrogen and carbon for the synthesis of biomolecules, such as amino acids and sugars, has been the focus of intensive research In contrast, the coordination of phosphate (Pi) homeostasis has attracted less attention from the scientific community.

Topics & Concepts