Copper-Only Superoxide dismutase 6 of Candida albicans plays a key role in pathogenicity and DNA integrity

Published: 10 September 2025| Version 1 | DOI: 10.17632/m4svm22w2d.1
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Description

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) serves as the first line of defense against reactive oxygen species (ROS), protecting organisms from oxidative stress. Recently, a fungal-specific copper-only SOD family was identified in Candida albicans (C. albicans), yet the function of SOD6, a member of this new family, remains unclear. In the present study, we firstly constructed sod6Δ/Δ mutant strain using transient CRISPR/Cas9 technology and further investigate the molecular biological function of SOD6 in C. albicans. The results showed that the sod6Δ/Δ strain exhibited a significant reduction in pathogenicity compared to the wild-type (WT) strain in both Galleria mellonella and murine system bloodstream infection models (P < 0.05). And, sod6Δ/Δ mutant strain displayed increased sensitivity to zeocin which indicated DNA integrity was damaged. Additionally, the sod6Δ/Δ mutant strain significantly accumulated DNA integrity related ROS level in intracellular and extracellular. Collectively these findings suggest that SOD6 of C. albicans plays a key role in the pathogenicity and DNA integrity.

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Institutions

  • Jining First People's Hospital

Categories

Data Integrity, Superoxide Dismutase, Reactive Oxygen Species, Mechanism of Pathogenicity, Candida albicans

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