Sensing Extracellular Signals in Cryptococcus neoformans

Abstract

The chapter describes the abilities of Cryptococcus neoformans to sense and adapt to a subset of environmental conditions it encounters. The mechanisms for sensing extracellular signals such as stress, light, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and oxygen are emerging. There are several future paths toward understanding the light responses of C. neoformans. First, the functions of the opsin and phytochrome in light sensing, if any, are currently unknown. Second, the conformational effects of light on the white collar complex are also unknown in C. neoformans or in detail from any fungal system since the proteins are notoriously difficult to purify in abundance for structural and other studies. Third, ..