Discovery of gene function and dissection of network re-wiring in non-model fungi

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PROJECT ABSTRACT The long-term goal of my research program is to be able to make mechanistic models for understudied fungi, thus allowing us to understand new aspects of fungal biology. To build these models, and predict how specific perturbations will affect the cell, it critical to have gene function annotations. However, the majority of the genes in non-model organisms are still unannotated and uncharacterized. Our interest therefore lies in building and testing computational models for predicting gene function in Candida auris, a newly emerging fungal pathogen. To carry out this work, we will perform high-throughput transcriptomic studies to generate a co- expression network, and then test the accuracy of this approach through functional genetic screening and detailed molecular genetics. As an additional complication to understanding gene function, regulatory network re-wiring is common throughout evolution, where the same key proteins respond to a suite of different inputs. Understanding how these signaling cascades can be re-wired will give insight into both gene function and the environmental stimuli that drive these changes. We will dissect, in molecular detail, the role of cis and trans factors in network re-wiring between C. albicans and C. auris, using a conserved transcription factor as a case study. These studies will provide fundamental data and cell biological knowledge to the community studying fungi, and more broadly to those studying non-model organisms.