Roles of RPS41 in Biofilm Formation, Virulence, and Hydrogen Peroxide Sensitivity in Candida albicans

In eukaryotes, loss of cytoplasmic ribosomal proteins (RPs) results in a reduced growth rate and other phenotypic defects. The ability to transition from a unicellular budding yeast to a filamentous form is very important for biofilm formation and virulence in Candida albicans. Our recent study found that loss of the RPS41 (C2_10620W_A) gene but not its paralog RPS42 (C1_01640W_A) resulted in altered growth and filamentation changes in C. albicans, so we hypothesized that the RPS41 gene should play important roles in virulence and biofilm formation in this pathogen. We found that both virulence and the ability to form biofilms were defective due to deletion of the RPS41 gene. We also found that loss of the RPS41 gene increased sensitivity to hydrogen peroxide, and that hydrogen peroxide induced the expression of the RPS41 gene in a wild-type strain. These results suggested that the RPS41 gene plays important roles in C. albicans biofilm formation, virulence, and susceptibility to hydrogen peroxide.