ArticlePloS one2011
Pyomelanin formation in Aspergillus fumigatus requires HmgX and the transcriptional activator HmgR but is dispensable for virulence.
Article in PloS one, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Mining Genetically Encoded Biosensors from Filamentous Fungi.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- A stress responsive protein contributes to pyomelanin biosynthesis and cell wall stress adaptation inFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Transcription factor RonA-driven GlcNAc catabolism is essential for growth, cell wall integrity, and pathogenicity inMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- A Comprehensive In Vitro and In Silico Approach for Targeting 4-Hydroxyphenyl Pyruvate Dioxygenase: Towards New Therapeutics for Alkaptonuria.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Regulation of melanin production in fungi.Frontiers in fungal biology · 2025Review
- Melanin in fungi: advances in structure, biosynthesis, regulation, and metabolic engineering.Microbial cell factories · 2024Review
- TheFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Article
- Regulation of nutrient utilization in filamentous fungi.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2023Review
- An Overlooked and Underrated Endemic Mycosis-Talaromycosis and the Pathogenic Fungus Talaromyces marneffei.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2023Review
- Genome and transcriptome reveal lithophilic adaptation ofMycology · 2023Article
- Response and regulatory mechanisms of heat resistance in pathogenic fungi.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2022Review
- Comprehensive Guide to Extracting and Expressing Fungal Secondary Metabolites with Aspergillus fumigatus as a Case Study.Current protocols · 2021Article
- Presence, Mode of Action, and Application of Pathway Specific Transcription Factors inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- DNA affinity purification sequencing and transcriptional profiling reveal new aspects of nitrogen regulation in a filamentous fungus.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2021Article
- Pyomelanin Synthesis inFrontiers in microbiology · 2021Article
- L-tyrosine induces the production of a pyomelanin-like pigment by the parasitic yeast-form of Histoplasma capsulatum.Medical mycology · 2018Article
- The Genome of a Thermo Tolerant, Pathogenic AlbinoFrontiers in microbiology · 2018Article
- Transcriptome Study of anFrontiers in microbiology · 2018Article
- Melanisation of Aspergillus terreus-Is Butyrolactone I Involved in the Regulation of Both DOPA and DHN Types of Pigments in Submerged Culture?Microorganisms · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The opportunistic human pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is able to produce the dark brown pigment pyomelanin by degradation of L-tyrosine. Pyomelanin was shown to protect the fungus against reactive oxygen intermediates as well as cell wall disturbing compounds and is therefore assumed to protect against immune effector cells during the infection process. Several genes for tyrosine degradation and pyomelanin formation are organized in a cluster in the genome of A. fumigatus. Here, we aimed at further analyzing tyrosine degradation and a possible role of pyomelanin in virulence. For this purpose, the function of two not yet characterized genes of the cluster, i.e., hmgX and hmgR, was analyzed. Generation of corresponding gene deletion mutants and reconstituted strains revealed that hmgX and hmgR are essential for tyrosine degradation. Both mutants, ΔhmgX and ΔhmgR, were not able to use tyrosine as sole carbon or nitrogen source and revealed impaired pyomelanin production. HmgR harbors a Zn(II)2Cys6-DNA binding domain. Analyses of the steady state mRNA levels revealed that HmgR acts as a transcriptional activator for the genes of the tyrosine degradation cluster. Consistently, an HmgR-eGFP fusion protein was localized in the nucleus of A. fumigatus cells. By contrast, HmgX was found to be localized in the cytoplasm and does not contribute to regulation of gene transcription. HPLC analyses showed that HmgX is crucial for the conversion of p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate to homogentisic acid, the main intermediate in pyomelanin formation. Thus, HmgX is supposed to function as an accessory factor to mediate specific activity of HppD. Remarkably, the ability to degrade tyrosine and to form pyomelanin is dispensable for virulence of A. fumigatus in a murine infection model.
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