Precise Expression of Afmed15 Is Crucial for Asexual Development, Virulence, and Survival of Aspergillus fumigatus

Abstract

The identification and characterization of regulators essential for virulence or development constitute one approach for antifungal drug development. In this study, we screened and functionally characterized Afmed15 , a novel developmental regulator in A. fumigatus . We demonstrate that the precise transcriptional expression of Afmed15 is crucial for fungal asexual development, virulence, and survival. Downregulating the expression of Afmed15 abolished the conidiation and decreased the fungal virulence in an insect model. In contrast, the overexpression of Afmed15 caused fungal death accompanied by intensive autophagy. Our study provides a foundation for further studies to identify compounds perturbing the expression of Afmed15 that may be used for the prevention of invasive A. fumigatus infections.