Inducible Cell Fusion Permits Use of Competitive Fitness Profiling in the Human Pathogenic Fungus Aspergillus fumigatus

Abstract

Antifungal agents directed against novel therapeutic targets are required for treating invasive, chronic, and allergic Aspergillus infections. Competitive fitness profiling technologies have been used in a number of bacterial and yeast systems to identify druggable targets; however, the development of similar systems in filamentous fungi is complicated by the fact that they undergo cell fusion and heterokaryosis.