Micafungin-induced Cell Wall Damage Stimulates Microcycle Conidiation in Aspergillus nidulans

The fungal cell wall relay messages through the Cell Wall Integrity Signaling (CWIS) pathway about cell wall stress towards the nucleus. The responsibility of the CWIS pathway is to repair damage at the cell wall and to regain normal hyphae growth. Echinocandin antifungals can be the cause for cell wall damage, however, filamentous fungi's response to these antifungals are fundamentally unknown. Through the use of RNA-Sequencing and observation of hyphae morphology changes post micafungin exposure, our study provides evidence that genes that regulate asexual development in Aspergillus nidulans also aid in the response to environmental cell wall stressors.