Research

Oxygen Sensing

Excitingly, our characterization of the yeast SREBP, Sre1, revealed that fission yeast SREBP-SCAP function in an oxygen sensing pathway. Sre1-Scp1 monitor changes in oxygen-dependent sterol synthesis as an indirect measure of environmental oxygen. Under low oxygen, Sre1 activates a gene expression program that is essential for anaerobic growth. Recently, we extended these studies to the pathogenic basidiomycete, Cryptococcus neoformans. In this organism, Sre1 also controls adaptation to low oxygen and this gene expression program is required for virulence in a mouse model of infection. Thus, an emerging research focus of the lab is to describe the multiple mechanisms that cells use to sense and respond to changes in oxygen supply. Using this multi-organismal approach, we will identify new regulators of oxygen homeostasis.

Current projects in the lab include:

1. Understanding oxygen-dependent regulation of Sre1 activity
2. Describing the low oxygen gene expression programs controlled by Sre1 in S. pombe and C. neoformans
3. Understanding the requirement of Sre1 for C. neoformans virulence with the goal of developing therapies for cryptococcosis that target the Sre1 pathway