Response of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis Pb01 to stressor agents and cell wall osmoregulators

In its attempt to survive, the fungal cell can change the cell wall composition and/or structure in response to environmental stress. The molecules involved in these compensatory mechanisms are a possible target for the development of effective antifungal agents. In the thermodimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis Pb01, the main polymers that compose the cell wall are chitin and glucans. These polymers form a primary barrier that is responsible for the structural integrity and formation of the cell wall. In this study the behaviour of P. brasiliensis was evaluated under incubation with cell wall stressor agents such as Calcofluor White (CFW), Congo Red (CR), Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS), NaCl, KCl, and Sorbitol. Use of concentrations at which the fungus is visually sensitive to those agents helped to explain some of the adaptive mechanisms used by P. brasiliensis in response to cell wall stress. Our results show that 1,3-β-D-glucan synthase (PbFKS1), glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (PbGFA1) and β-1,3-glucanosyltransferase (PbGEL3)as well as 1,3-β-D-glucan and N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) residues in the cell wall are involved in compensatory mechanisms against cell wall damage.