AcuDGene Knockout Attenuates the Virulence of Talaromyces marneffeiin a Zebrafish Model

AbstractTalaromyces marneffeiis the only dimorphic species in its genus and causes a fatal systemic mycosis named talaromycosis. Our previous study indicated that knockdown of AcuDgene (encodes isocitrate lyase of glyoxylate bypass) of T. marneffeiby RNA interference approach attenuated the virulence of T. marneffei, while the virulence of the AcuDknockout strains was not studied. In this study, T. marneffei-zebrafish infection model was successfully established through hindbrain microinjection with different amounts of T. marneffeiyeast cells. After co-incubated at 28°C, the increasing T. marneffeiinoculum doses result in greater larval mortality; and hyphae generation might be one virulence factor involved in T. marneffei-zebrafish infection. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the virulence of the ΔAcuDwas significantly attenuated in this Zebrafish infection model.