Calcineurin Plays Key Roles in the Dimorphic Transition and Virulence of the Human Pathogenic Zygomycete Mucor circinelloides
Figure 5
Yeast-locked mutants are attenuated in virulence in a heterologous host model.
(A) 20,000 wild-type spores, wild-type yeast, or the cnbRΔ yeast-locked mutants were inoculated into wax moth larvae. Infection with wild-type spores or yeast resulted in 100% mortality by day 4 post-infection; however, the cnbRΔ yeast-locked mutants were significantly less virulent compared to wild-type spores or yeast cells. (B) At an inoculum of 40,000 cells, the cnbRΔ mutants exhibited 60 to 70% mortality by day 2 post-infection, whereas wild-type spores showed 100% mortality.