Copper acquisition and detoxification machineries are conserved in dimorphic fungi

The survival of pathogenic fungi in the host after adhesion and invasion depends on their ability to obtain nutrients, including the transition metal copper, which performs several structural and catalytic functions due to its oxide-reducing potential. Although essential, this ion can be toxic when in excess. During the infectious process, the host manipulates copper levels in order to contain the infection and microorganisms may be subject to metal deprivation or intoxication. Copper homeostasis is maintained by membrane transporters and other proteins regulated by specific transcription factors and is well described in the yeast model Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as in pathogenic species in the Aspergillus, Candida and Cryptococcus genera. Aspects of homeostatic and adaptative responses to copper availability in thermally dimorphic fungi are, however, still scarce and the few existing studies came to the literature recently. In this review, we sought to summarize the mechanisms underlying copper homeostasis already described in human pathogenic fungi and, additionally, investigate the conservation of those mechanisms in dimorphic fungi by employing in silico analysis.