Surface antigen protein 2 (Csa2) is a member of the Candida albicans Common in Fungal Extracellular Membranes (CFEM) protein superfamily. We previously established its role in iron acquisition in C. albicans. However, the other roles of Csa2 remain unknown. Here, we compared growth, morphological transition, and biofilm formation among wild-type, Csa2-mutant, and complemented strains of C. albicans. Deletion of the Csa2 gene resulted in smaller and reduced colony growth, significant attenuation of the dimorphic transition under serum-inducing conditions, and reduced biofilm formation; complementation restored these levels to those of the wild-type. Our findings demonstrated that Csa2 participated in yeast-to-hyphae morphological switching under serum-inducing conditions and contributed to the biofilm formation of C. albicans. This work, therefore, provides novel insights into the potential roles of Csa2 in virulence of C. albicans.
Keywords: Candida albicans; biofilm formation; common in fungal extracellular membranes (CFEM) protein; dimorphism; morphological transition.