Transcriptional profiling of Aspergillus fumigatus H515 strain in response to alkaline or calcium shift

The functional coupling of calcium-mediated signalling and alkaline tolerance has been demonstrated in multiple fungi. The applied relevance of such interplay extends most notably to fungal pathogens of man where the physiological pH of serum and tissues exerts considerable alkaline stress. Drugs targeting the calcium-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin, are potent antifungal agents but also perturb human calcineurin signalling, it has therefore been postulated that abrogation of fungal alkaline tolerance could offer a valuable therapeutic adjunct. To study the interdependency of pH- and calcium-mediated intracellular signalling in the major human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus, we examined the transcriptional response following exposure to 200 mM calcium chloride or alkaline pH (pH 8.0). To study the interdependency of pH- and calcium-mediated intracellular signalling in the major human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus we examined the transcriptional response following exposure to 200 mM calcium chloride or alkaline pH (pH 8.0).