Qian Shen
Rhodes College, TN·Microbiology & Immunology
Some fungi can change shape. They grow as long threads called mycelia in one setting and as round, single yeast cells in another.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biology
Genetics
- Topics
Histoplasma capsulatum
dimorphic fungi
carbon dioxide sensing
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2027
What they work on
- Genetically and biochemically characterize the putative carbonic anhydrases of Histoplasma capsulatum, enzymes that interconvert CO2 and water with bicarbonate and protons, to learn their role in sensing CO2.
- Identify genes that regulate expression of carbonic anhydrase genes in Histoplasma, using a genetic screen and a DNA pull-down assay as two independent approaches.
- Use RNA-seq transcriptional profiling to find Histoplasma genes that are upregulated under elevated CO2.
- Overexpress CO2-induced genes in Histoplasma to test whether they enhance amino acid metabolism or reduce antifungal susceptibility regardless of the surrounding CO2 concentration.
More about the research
These dimorphic fungi include species that make useful products and species that cause disease in crops, animals and people. To survive, they must sense cues such as temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide (CO2), yet how they detect and respond to CO2 is largely unknown.
Why it matters
Learning how disease-causing fungi such as Histoplasma sense CO2 could point to new targets for antifungal drugs against life-threatening fungal infections. It could also inform new agricultural fungicides to reduce crop damage. The link between high CO2 and reduced antifungal susceptibility may also help explain why some infections are hard to treat.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Anita Sil
University of California-San Francisco, CA·Microbiology & Immunology
Define how the Ryp1–4 transcription factors and the heat shock pathway, including the chaperone Hsp90, work together to drive temperature-triggered yeast growth and virulence in Histoplasma capsulatum.
Haoping Liu
University of California-Irvine, CA·Microbiology & Immunology
Investigate how Nrg1, a repressor that blocks hypha genes, is rapidly removed when Candida albicans starts forming hyphae, a step controlled by the Ras-cAMP-PKA signaling pathway.
Vincent Michael Bruno
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine the role of ANGPTL4, a protein produced downstream of the host hypoxia-response pathway, in Mucorales lung invasion, and test whether blocking it treats mucormycosis in mice.
The school
Rhodes College: 1 labs on PI Pages.
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