In silico approaches in the identification of Cryptococcus neoformans chemoreceptors

Abstract

Cryptococcus neoformans, a pathogenic, yeast-like fungus, typically forms biofilms on medical devices that prevents the efficient penetration of antifungal drugs. As quorum sensing (QS)-related chemoreceptors play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans particularly in biofilm formation, studying them would enable a clearer understanding on the host-pathogen interaction. However, information regarding C. neoformans QS-related chemoreceptors such as the encoding DNA sequences, protein structures and the binding ligands remain unknown till today. Here, we provide information to facilitate researchers to comprehend the basic views on gene homology and its various applications in the identification of novel chemoreceptors in microorganism especially the novel QS-related chemoreceptors for future use.

Keywords: Cryptococcus neoformans, homology-based transfer, quorum sensing, chemoreceptors