HAPX — Candida albicans

Summary

C1_11210C_A (HAPX, also known as HAP43) on Candida albicans chromosome 1 encodes a bZIP transcription factor with both DNA-binding transcription activator and repressor activities, and is a component of the CCAAT-binding factor complex. The gene is associated with responses to host iron concentration, cellular responses to iron ion starvation, and iron-sulfur cluster assembly, as well as sexual and asexual sporulation, flocculation, and metabolic burst. It is linked to inhibition of asperthecin and sterigmatocystin formation, and upregulation of cellular response to amino acid starvation. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to iron concentration and virulence, with some relatives showing reduced virulence.