Prediction of Phenotype-Associated Genes via a Cellular Network Approach: A Candida albicans Infection Case Study

Candida albicans is the most prevalent opportunistic fungal pathogen in humans causing superficial and serious systemic infections. The infection process can be divided into three stages: adhesion, invasion, and host cell damage. To enhance our understanding of these C. albicans infection stages, this study aimed to predict phenotype-associated genes involved during these three infection stages and their roles in C. albicans–host interactions. In light of the principles that proteins that lie closer to one another in a protein interaction network are more likely to have similar functions, and that genes regulated by the same transcription factors tend to have similar functions, a cellular network approach was proposed to predict the phenotype-associated genes in this study. A total of 4, 12, and 3 genes were predicted as adhesion-, invasion-, and damage-associated genes during C. albicans infection, respectively. These predicted genes highlight the facts that cell surface components are critical for cell adhesion, and that morphogenesis is crucial for cell invasion. In addition, they provide targets for further investigations into the mechanisms of the three C. albicans infection stages. These results give insights into the responses elicited in C. albicans during interaction with the host, possibly instrumental in identifying novel therapies to treat C. albicans infection

Zinc oxide films prepared by sol–gel spin coating technique

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films and micro- and nanostructures are very promising candidates for novel applications in emerging thin-film transistors, solar cells, sensors and optoelectronic devices. In this paper, a low-cost sol-gel spin coating technique was used to fabricate ZnO films on glass substrates. The sol-gel fabrication process of the ZnO films is described. The influence of precursor concentration on the material properties of the ZnO films was investigated. Atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffractometry were employed to examine the structural properties of the ZnO films. The optical properties of the ZnO films were characterized with ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. The experimental results reveal that the precursor concentration in the sol-gel spin coating process exerts a strong influence on the properties of the ZnO films. The effects of the precursor concentration are discussed. Document Type: Articl