Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre

Professor James Fraser

Professor
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
+61 7 336 54868
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Primary research interest

Sex virulence and evolution in pathogenic fungi

Additional role

Investigator, Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre

About me

I completed my PhD in the Department of Genetics at the University of Melbourne, then moved to Durham, North Carolina as a postdoctoral fellow at the Duke University Medical Center in 2002. I returned to Australia as Senior Lecturer in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Queensland in 2006.

Research focus and collaborations

With the growth of immunocompromised patient populations due to the AIDS pandemic and increases in immune system-suppressing medical interventions, infection by fungal pathogens has become a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Of these, meningitis caused the yeast Cryptococcus neoformans is one of the most common life-threatening opportunistic infections in individuals with AIDS. Upon inhalation, Cryptococcusdisseminates to the central nervous system to cause meningoencephalitis that is invariably fatal if untreated. It has been estimated that up to 30% of AIDS patients in parts of Africa develop cryptococcal meningoencephalitis and the most recent data from the CDC estimates there are up to 1,000,000 deaths attributable to these infections each year. Collaborating with a number of groups in Australia and abroad, my laboratory employs molecular genetic and genomic approaches in the study of C. neoformans to understand how this pathogen evolves during infection of humans, and how we can exploit these changes in the development of urgently needed antifungal therapies.

Purine metabolism as an antifungal target

The mortality rate for C. neoformans infection approaches 20% in Australia even with ideal treatments, and in some parts of Africa can be up to 100%. Despite this high mortality rate, treatment for this infection has not changed significantly in over a decade. Novel antifungal agents with broad spectrum that are nontoxic, affordable and synergistic are therefore urgently required in our fight against this infection. Instead of targeting fungal-specific components, we are exploiting the purine biosynthesis pathway. We have extensively characterised several genes in this pathway, identifying those that are required for pathogenicity in multiple animal models. Through collaboration with the structural biology group of Bostjan Kobe (SCMB) and the drug development team of Matt Cooper (IMB), we seek to develop a new era of antifungals that act by modulating purine metabolism, enabling more efficient treatment of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis and other systemic mycoses.

The role of nitrogen metabolism during infection

Proper regulation of metabolism is essential to maximise fitness of organisms in their chosen environmental niche, particularly for an organism like C. neoformans that originates in nutrient-rich pigeon guano but may end up exposed to the hostile host environment during infection. We are invesitgating the regulatory paradigm of nitrogen metabolite repression, a phenomenon in fungi that enables preferential utilisation of more easily assimilated nitrogen sources such as ammonium in order to conserve resources. Using our understanding of nitrogen regulation we are now dissecting a variety of nitrogen metabolic pathways and investigating their importance during infection, and how they can be used to manipulate the host environment to create a more hospitable niche for C. neoformans survival.

Evolution of Cryptococcus during infection of humans

Following the initial infection, relapse of cryptococcal meningoencephalitis due to reemergence of the original infecting strain is common, particularly in patients not undergoing maintenance therapy or ART. While this can be due to patient nonadherence to prophylactic maintenance therapy, the reemergence can be caused by the infecting strain developing drug resistance, changes in virulence-associated traits or unknown mechanisms.Analysis of serial isolates (representing an initial infection isolate, and isolates subsequently collected upon relapse) has indicated that the majority of clinical recurrences result from persistence of a single strain rather than due to coinfection or reinfection with a new strain. However, these chromosomes of these strains have often undergone gross rearrangements during infection, a process that is often coincident with changes in known virulence factors. Using whole genome sequencing, comparative genomics and molecular genetic techniques we are identifying these changes to provide new insights into mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis.

Funded projects

  • NHMRC Project Grant 2015-2017
    Acetohydroxyacid synthase: A new drug target for human fungal pathogens
    Total value of grant: $520,106 (Co-Chief Investigators A/Prof Luke Guddat, A/Prof Craig Williams)
  • NHMRC Project Grant 2013-2015
    Purine metabolism as an antifungal drug target
    Total value of grant: $679,893 (Co-Chief Investigator Mark Butler)
  • NHMRC Project Grant 2011-2013
    Targeting acetohydroxyacid synthase to discover new antifungal agents
    Total value of grant: $464,615 (Co-Chief Investigators A/Prof Luke Guddat, Jian-Guo Wang)
  • UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure 2011
    Cell culture facilities for studying host-pathogen interactions and immune function
    Total value of grant: $198,168 (Co-Chief Investigators Kate Stacey, Mark Schembri, Mark Walker, Alastair McEwan, Alex Khromykh, Paul Young, Roy Hall, Justine Hill, Istvan Toth, Scott Beatson, Melissa Brown, Joe Rothnagel, Stuart Kellie)
  • ARC Discovery Projects 2010-2012
    Understanding an exotic disease: Initiation of sex and infection by the sugarcane smut Ustilago scitaminea
    Total value of grant: $440,000
  • UQ ResTeach 2010-2012
    ResTeach 2010 0.1 FTE School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
    Total value of grant: $26,900
  • NHMRC Career Development Award 2009-2012
    Evolutionary events shaping the genome of Cryptococcus neoformans and their effects on pathogenesis
    Total value of grant: $390,000
  • UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure 2008
    A high-throughput facility for the identification and analysis of gene regulatory elements and factors
    Total value of grant: $160,000 (Co-Chief Investigators Melissa Brown, Bernie Carroll, Joe Rothnagel, Stuart Kellie, Ann Trezise, Rick Sturm, Andrew Perkins, Alan Cassady, Darren Trott, Jennifer Seddon, Matt Trau)

Teaching interests

Featured publications

Publications by James Fraser

Publications

Book Chapters (2)
Journal Articles (97)
Conference Papers (6)

Book Chapters

Fraser, J., Hsueh, Y., Findley, K. and Heitman, J. (2007). Evolution of the Mating-Type Locus: The Basidiomycetes. Sex in Fungi: Molecular Determination and Evolutionary Implications. (pp. 19-34) edited by Heitman, J., Kronstad, J., Taylor, J. and Casselton, L.. Washington, DC: ASM Press. doi: 10.1037/11499-002
Fraser, James A. and Heitman, Joseph (2006). Sex, MAT, and the Evolution of Fungal Virulence. Sex, MAT, and the Evolution of Fungal Virulence. (pp. 13-33) edited by Heitman, J, Filler, SG, Edwards, JE and Mitchell, AP. WASHINGTON: AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY.

Journal Articles

Floyd, Holly E. E., Kavanagh, Angela M., Lowe, Gabrielle J., Amado, Maite, Fraser, James A., Blaskovich, Mark A. T., Elliott, Alysha G. and Zuegg, Johannes (2024). Standardisation of high throughput microdilution antifungal susceptibility testing for Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Scientific Reports, 14 (1) 23407. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-74068-2
Dyba, Taylor G., Rowland, Susan L. and Fraser, James A. (2024). A Framework for the Communication Capabilities of scientists. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 1-19. doi: 10.1080/21548455.2024.2412265
Phillips-Rose, Louis S., Yu, Chendi K., West, Nicholas P. and Fraser, James A. (2024). A Chimeric ORF Fusion Phenotypic Reporter for Cryptococcus neoformans. Journal of Fungi, 10 (8) 567, 567. doi: 10.3390/jof10080567
Yu, Chendi K., Stephenson, Christina J., Villamor, Tristan C., Dyba, Taylor G., Schulz, Benjamin L. and Fraser, James A. (2023). SAGA complex subunit Hfi1 is important in the stress response and pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans. Journal of Fungi, 9 (12) 1198, 1-16. doi: 10.3390/jof9121198
Sun, Xue-Wen, Liu, Yixuan, Wang, Xiaofang, Li, Hao-Ran, Lin, Xin, Tang, Jin-Yin, Xu, Qing, Agnew-Francis, Kylie A., Fraser, James A., Sun, Zhi-Juan, Guddat, Luke W. and Wang, Jian-Guo (2023). Structure-activity relationships of bensulfuron methyl and its derivatives as novel agents against drug-resistant Candida auris. Chemical Biology & Drug Design, 103 (1) e14364, e14364. doi: 10.1111/cbdd.14364
Wizrah, Maha S. I., Chua, Sheena M. H., Luo, Zhenyao, Manik, Mohammad K., Pan, Mengqi, Whyte, Jessica M. L., Robertson, Avril A. B., Kappler, Ulrike, Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2022). AICAR transformylase/IMP cyclohydrolase (ATIC) is essential for de novo purine biosynthesis and infection by Cryptococcus neoformans. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298 (10) 102453, 102453. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102453
Birchley, Giles, Thomas-Unsworth, Sadie, Mellor, Charlotte, Baquedano, Mai, Ingle, Susanne and Fraser, James (2022). Factors affecting decision-making in children with complex care needs: a consensus approach to develop best practice in a UK children's hospital. Bmj Paediatrics Open, 6 (1) ARTN e001589. doi: 10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001589
Fernandes, Kenya E., Fraser, James A. and Carter, Dee A. (2022). Lineages derived from Cryptococcus neoformans type strain H99 support a link between the capacity to be pleomorphic and virulence. mBio, 13 (2). doi: 10.1128/mbio.00283-22
Erpf, Paige E., Chua, Sheena M.H., Phung, Toan K., Kerr, Edward D., Rothnagel, Joseph A., Schulz, Benjamin L. and Fraser, James A. (2022). Identification and characterisation of sPEPs in Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 160 103688, 103688. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2022.103688
Low, Y. S., Garcia, M. D., Lonhienne, T., Fraser, J. A., Schenk, G. and Guddat, L. W. (2021). Triazolopyrimidine herbicides are potent inhibitors of Aspergillus fumigatus acetohydroxyacid synthase and potential antifungal drug leads. Scientific Reports, 11 (1) 21055. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-00349-9
Chua, Sheena M. H., Wizrah, Maha S. I., Luo, Zhenyao, Lim, Bryan Y. J., Kappler, Ulrike, Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2021). Structural features of Cryptococcus neoformans bifunctional GAR/AIR synthetase may present novel antifungal drug targets. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 297 (4) 101091. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101091
Chua, Sheena M. H. and Fraser, James A. (2020). Surveying purine biosynthesis across the domains of life unveils promising drug targets in pathogens. Immunology and Cell Biology, 98 (10), 819-831. doi: 10.1111/imcb.12389
Agnew-Francis, Kylie A., Tang, Yu Cheng, Lin, Xin, Low, Yu Shang, Wun, Shun Jie, Kuo, Andy, Elias, S. M. A. Sayeed Ibn, Lonhienne, Thierry G., Condon, Nicholas, Pimentel, Bruna Natalia Alves da Silva, Vergani, Carlos, Smith, Maree T., Fraser, James A., Williams, Craig M. and Guddat, Luke W (2020). Herbicides that target acetohydroxyacid synthase are potent inhibitors of the growth of drug resistant Candida auris. ACS infectious diseases, 6 (11) acsinfecdis.0c00229, 2901-2912. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00229
Lonhienne, Thierry, Low, Yu Shang, Garcia, Mario D., Croll, Tristan, Gao, Yan, Wang, Quan, Brillault, Lou, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., McGeary, Ross P., West, Nicholas P., Landsberg, Michael J., Rao, Zihe, Schenk, Gerhard and Guddat, Luke W. (2020). Structures of fungal and plant acetohydroxyacid synthases. Nature, 586 (7828), 317-321+. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2514-3
Spencer, Garrick W.K., Chua, Sheena M.H., Erpf, Paige E., Wizrah, Maha S.I., Dyba, Taylor G., Condon, Nicholas D. and Fraser, James A. (2020). Broadening the spectrum of fluorescent protein tools for use in the encapsulated human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 138 103365, 103365. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2020.103365
Tan, Yuen Ping, Savchenko, Andrei I., Agnew-Francis, Kylie A., Boyle, Glen M., Bernhardt, Paul V., Fraser, James A. and Williams, Craig M. (2020). Kalparinol, a Salvialane (Isodaucane) sesquiterpenoid derived from native Australian dysphania species that suggests a putative biogenetic link to zerumbone. Journal of Natural Products, 83 (5) acs.jnatprod.9b01039, 1473-1479. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b01039
Tan, Yuen Ping, Agnew‐Francis, Kylie A., Hofmann, Julian, Savchenko, Andrei I., Lafontaine, Scott R., Boyle, Glen M., Bernhardt, Paul V., Fraser, James A., Shellhammer, Thomas H. and Williams, Craig M. (2020). Humulene diepoxides from the Australian arid zone herb Dysphania: assignment of aged hops constituents. Chemistry: A European Journal, 26 (7) chem.201904420, 1653-1660. doi: 10.1002/chem.201904420
So, Yee-Seul, Maeng, Shinae, Yang, Dong-Hoon, Kim, Hyelim, Lee, Kyung-Tae, Yu, Seong-Ryong, Tenor, Jennifer L., Giri, Vinay K., Toffaletti, Dena L., Arras, Samantha, Fraser, James A., Perfect, John R. and Bahn, Yong-Sun (2019). Regulatory mechanism of the atypical AP-1-like transcription factor Yap1 in Cryptococcus neoformans. mSphere, 4 (6) e00785, e00785-19. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00785-19
Erpf, Paige E., Stephenson, Christina J. and Fraser, James A. (2019). amdS as a dominant recyclable marker in Cryptococcus neoformans. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 131 103241, 103241. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2019.103241
Coll, Rebecca C., Hill, James R., Day, Christopher J., Zamoshnikova, Alina, Boucher, Dave, Massey, Nicholas L., Chitty, Jessica L., Fraser, James A., Jennings, Michael P., Robertson, Avril A. B. and Schroder, Kate (2019). MCC950 directly targets the NLRP3 ATP-hydrolysis motif for inflammasome inhibition. Nature Chemical Biology, 15 (6), 556-559. doi: 10.1038/s41589-019-0277-7
Chitty, Jessica L., Edwards, David J., Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Duley, John A., Cooper, Matthew A. and Fraser, James A. (2019). Quantitation of Purines from Pigeon Guano and Implications for Cryptococcus neoformans Survival During Infection. Mycopathologia, 184 (2), 273-281. doi: 10.1007/s11046-018-0315-0
Garcia, Mario D., Chua, Sheena M. H., Low, Yu-Shang, Lee, Yu-Ting, Agnew-Francis, Kylie, Wang, Jian-Guo, Nouwens, Amanda, Lonhienne, Thierry, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A. and Guddat, Luke W. (2018). Commercial AHAS-inhibiting herbicides are promising drug leads for the treatment of human fungal pathogenic infections. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115 (41), E9649-E9658. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1809422115
Kerr, Edward, McDiarmid, Duin, Fraser, James and Schulz, Benjamin (2018). Cell Wall and Whole Cell Proteomes Define Flocculation and Fermentation Behavior of Yeast. Fermentation, 4 (3) 80, 80. doi: 10.3390/fermentation4030080
Kummari, Lalith K., Butler, Mark S., Furlong, Emily, Blundell, Ross, Nouwens, Amanda, Silva, Alberto B., Kappler, Ulrike, Fraser, James A., Kobe, Bostjan, Cooper, Matthew A. and Robertson, Avril A.B. (2018). Antifungal benzo[b]thiophene 1,1-dioxide IMPDH inhibitors exhibit pan-assay interference (PAINS) profiles. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, 26 (20), 5408-5419. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2018.09.004
Hommel, Benjamin, Mukaremera, Liliane, Cordero, Radames J. B., Coelho, Carolina, Desjardins, Christopher A., Sturny-Leclère, Aude, Janbon, Guilhem, Perfect, John R., Fraser, James A., Casadevall, Arturo, Cuomo, Christina A., Dromer, Françoise, Nielsen, Kirsten and Alanio, Alexandre (2018). Titan cells formation in Cryptococcus neoformans is finely tuned by environmental conditions and modulated by positive and negative genetic regulators. PLoS Pathogens, 14 (5) e1006982, e1006982. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006982
Pedwell, Rhianna K., Fraser, James A., Wang, Jack T. H., Clegg, Jack K., Chartres, Jy D. and Rowland, Susan L. (2018). The beer and biofuels laboratory: a report on implementing and supporting a large, interdisciplinary, yeast-focused course-based undergraduate research experience. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education , 46 (3), 213-222. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21111
Erpf, Paige E. and Fraser, James A. (2018). The long history of the diverse roles of short ORFs: sPEPs in fungi. Proteomics, 18 (10) 1700219, e1700219. doi: 10.1002/pmic.201700219
Lonhienne, Thierry, Garcia, Mario D., Noble, Chris, Harmer, Jeffrey, Fraser, James A., Williams, Craig M. and Guddat, Luke W. (2017). High resolution crystal structures of the acetohydroxyacid synthase-pyruvate complex provide new insights into its catalytic mechanism. Chemistryselect, 2 (36), 11981-11988. doi: 10.1002/slct.201702128
Arras, Samantha D. M., Ormerod, Kate L., Erpf, Paige E., Espinosa, Monica I., Carpenter, Alex C., Blundell, Ross D., Stowasser, Samantha R., Schulz, Benjamin L., Tanurdzic, Milos and Fraser, James A. (2017). Convergent microevolution of Cryptococcus neoformans hypervirulence in the laboratory and the clinic. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 17918, 1-14. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18106-2
Chitty, Jessica L., Butler, Mark S., Suboh, Azzah, Edwards, David J., Cooper, Matthew A., Fraser, James A. and Robertson, Avril A. B. (2017). Antimicrobial octapeptin C4 analogues active against Cryptococcus species. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, 62 (2) e00986-17, 1-10. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00986-17
Upadhya, Rajendra, Lam, Woei C., Maybruck, Brian T., Donlin, Maureen J., Chang, Andrew L., Kayode, Sarah, Ormerod, Kate L., Fraser, James A., Doering, Tamara L. and Lodge, Jennifer K. (2017). A fluorogenic C. neoformans reporter strain with a robust expression of m-cherry expressed from a safe haven site in the genome. Fungal Genetics and Biology : FG & B, 108, 13-25. doi: 10.1016/j.fgb.2017.08.008
Chitty, Jessica L., Blake, Kirsten L., Blundell, Ross D., Koh, Y. Q. Andre E., Thompson, Merinda, Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Cooper, Matthew A., Kappler, Ulrike, Williams, Simon J., Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2017). Cryptococcus neoformans ADS lyase is an enzyme essential for virulence whose crystal structure reveals features exploitable in antifungal drug design. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 292 (28), 11829-11839. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M117.787994
Hagen, Ferry, Lumbsch, H. Thorsten, Arsenijevic, Valentina Arsic, Badali, Hamid, Bertout, Sebastien, Billmyre, R. Blake, Rosa Bragulat, M., Javier Cabanes, F., Carbia, Mauricio, Chakrabarti, Arunaloke, Chaturvedi, Sudha, Chaturvedi, Vishnu, Chen, Min, Chowdhary, Anuradha, Colom, Maria-Francisca, Cornely, Oliver A., Crous, Pedro W., Cuetara, Maria S., Diaz, Mara R., Espinel-Ingroff, Ana, Fakhim, Hamed, Falk, Rama, Fang, Wenjie, Herkert, Patricia F., Ferrer Rodriguez, Consuelo, Fraser, James A., Gene, Josepa, Guarro, Josep, Idnurm, Alexander ... Boekhoutiii, Teun (2017). Importance of resolving fungal nomenclature: the case of multiple pathogenic species in the Cryptococcus genus. Msphere, 2 (4) e00238-17. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00238-17
Chitty, Jessica L. and Fraser, James A. (2017). Purine acquisition and synthesis by human fungal pathogens. Microorganisms, 5 (2) 33, 33.1-33.16. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms5020033
Arras, Samantha D. M., Chitty, Jessica L., Wizrah, Maha S. I., Erpf, Paige E., Schulz, Benjamin L., Tanurdzic, Milos and Fraser, James A. (2017). Sirtuins in the phylum Basidiomycota: A role in virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans. Scientific Reports, 7 (1) 46567, 46567.1-46567.14. doi: 10.1038/srep46567
Chitty, Jessica L., Tatzenko, Tayla L. , Williams, Simon J., Koh, Y. Q. Andre E., Corfield, Elizabeth C., Butler, Mark S., Robertson, Avril A. B., Cooper, Matthew A., Kappler, Ulrike, Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2017). GMP synthase is required for virulence factor production and infection by cryptococcus neoformans. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 292 (7), 3049-3059. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M116.767533
Lonhienne, Thierry, Garcia, Mario D., Fraser, James A., Williams, Craig M. and Guddat, Luke W. (2017). The 2.0 Å X-ray structure for yeast acetohydroxyacid synthase provides new insights into its cofactor and quaternary structure requirements. PLoS One, 12 (2) e0171443, e0171443.1-e0171443.13. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171443
Borneman, A. R., Forgan, A.H., Kolouchova, R., Fraser, J. A. and Schmidt, S.A. (2017). Corrigendum: Whole Genome Comparison Reveals High Levels of Inbreeding and Strain Redundancy Across the Spectrum of CommercialWine Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 6 (957-971)]. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 7 (1), 319-319. doi: 10.1534/g3.116.036038
Arras, Samantha D. M., Chua, Sheena M. H., Wizrah, Maha S. I., Faint, Joshua A., Yap, Amy S. and Fraser, James A. (2016). Targeted genome editing via CRISPR in the pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. PloS One, 11 (10) e0164322, e0164322. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164322
Arras, Samantha D. M. and Fraser, James A. (2016). Chemical inhibitors of non-homologous end joining increase targeted construct integration in Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS One, 11 (9) e0163049, e0163049. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163049
Blundell, Ross D., Williams, Simon J., Arras, Samantha D. M., Chitty, Jessica L., Blake, Kirsten L., Ericsson, Daniel J., Tibrewal, Nidhi, Rohr, Jurgen, Koh, Y. Q. Andre, Kappler, Ulrike, Robertson, Avril A. B., Butler, Mark S., Cooper, Matthew A., Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2016). Disruption of de novo adenosine triphosphate (ATP) biosynthesis abolishes virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans. ACS Infectious Diseases, 2 (9), 651-663. doi: 10.1021/acsinfecdis.6b00121
Borneman, Anthony R., Forgan, Angus H., Kolouchova, Radka, Fraser, James A. and Schmidt, Simon A. (2016). Whole genome comparison reveals high levels of inbreeding and strain redundancy across the spectrum of commercial wine strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 6 (4), 957-971. doi: 10.1534/g3.115.025692
Beattie, Karren D., Ellwood, Nicola, Kumar, Rohitesh, Yang, Xinzhou, Healy, Peter C., Choomuenwai, Vanida, Quinn, Ronald J., Elliott, Alysha G., Huang, Johnny X., Chitty, Jessica L., Fraser, James A., Cooper, Matthew A. and Davis, Rohan A. (2016). Antibacterial and antifungal screening of natural products sourced from Australian fungi and characterisation of pestalactams D-F. Phytochemistry, 124, 79-85. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2015.12.014
Lonhienne, Thierry, Nouwens, Amanda, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., Lee, Yu-Ting, West, Nicholas P. and Guddat, Luke W. (2016). Commercial herbicides can trigger the oxidative inactivation of acetohydroxyacid synthase. Angewandte Chemie, 128 (13), 4319-4323. doi: 10.1002/ange.201511985
Lonhienne, Thierry, Nouwens, Amanda, Williams, Craig M., Fraser, James A., Lee, Yu-Ting, West, Nicholas P. and Guddat, Luke W. (2016). Commercial Herbicides Can Trigger the Oxidative Inactivation of Acetohydroxyacid Synthase. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 55 (13), 4247-4251. doi: 10.1002/anie.201511985
Gerstein, Aleeza C., Fu, Man Shun, Mukaremera, Liliane, Li, Zhongming, Ormerod, Kate L., Fraser, James A, Berman, Judith and Nielsen, Kirsten (2015). Polyploid Titan Cells Produce Haploid and Aneuploid Progeny To Promote Stress Adaptation. mBio, 6 (5) e01340-15, e01340-15. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01340-15
Ormerod, Kate L., George, Narelle M., Fraser, James A., Wainwright, Claire and Hugenholtz, Philip (2015). Comparative genomics of non-pseudomonal bacterial species colonising paediatric cystic fibrosis patients. PeerJ, 3 (9) e1223, e1223.1-e1223.27. doi: 10.7717/peerj.1223
Rees, Karlee A., Bermudez, Cindy, Edwards, David J., Elliott, Alysha G., Ripen, Jovita E., Seta, Cynthia, Huang, Johnny X., Cooper, Matthew A., Fraser, James A., Yeo, Tiong C. and Butler, Mark S. (2015). Flemingin-type prenylated chalcones from the sarawak rainforest plant desmodium congestum. Journal of Natural Products, 78 (8), 2141-2144. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00410
Taniguti, Lucas M., Schaker, Patricia D. C., Benevenuto, Juliana, Peters, Leila P., Carvalho, Giselle, Palhares, Alessandra, Quecine, Maria C., Nunes, Filipe R. S., Kmit, Maria C. P., Wai, Alvan, Hausner, Georg, Aitken, Karen S., Berkman, Paul J., Fraser, James A., Moolhuijzen, Paula M., Coutinho, Luiz L., Creste, Silvana, Vieira, Maria L. C., Kitajima, João P. and Monteiro-Vitorello, Claudia B. (2015). Complete genome sequence of Sporisorium scitamineum and biotrophic interaction transcriptome with sugarcane. PLoS One, 10 (6) e0129318, e0129318. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129318
Chitty, Jessica L. and Fraser, James A. (2015). Rethinking the targets for antifungal development. Microbiology Australia, 36 (2), 88-89. doi: 10.1071/MA15028
Arras, Samantha D. M., Chitty, Jessica L., Blake, Kirsten L., Schulz, Benjamin L. and Fraser, James A. (2015). A Genomic Safe Haven for Mutant Complementation in Cryptococcus neoformans.. PLoS One, 10 (4) e0122916, e0122916-e0122916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122916
Kwon-Chung, Kyung J., Fraser, James A., Doering, Tamara L., Wang, Zhuo A., Janbon, Guilhem, Idnurm, Alexander and Bahn, Yong-Sun (2014). Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii, the Etiologic Agents of Cryptococcosis. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 4 (7), a019760.1-a019760.27. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019760
Janbon, Guilhem, Ormerod, Kate L., Paulet, Damien, Byrnes III, Edmond J., Yadav, Vikas, Chatterjee, Gautam, Mullapudi, Nandita, Hon, Chung-Chau, Billmyre, R. Blake, Brunel, François, Bahn, Yong-Sun, Chen, Weidong, Chen, Yuan, Chow, Eve W. L., Coppée, Jean-Yves, Floyd-Averette, Anna, Gaillardin, Claude, Gerik, Kimberly J., Goldberg, Jonathan, Gonzalez-Hilarion, Sara, Gujja, Sharvari, Hamlin, Joyce L., Hsueh, Yen-Ping, Ianiri, Giuseppe, Jones, Steven, Kodira, Chinnappa D., Kozubowski, Lukasz, Lam, Woei, Marra, Marco ... Dietrich, Fred S. (2014). Analysis of the genome and transcriptome of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii reveals complex RNA expression and microevolution leading to virulence attenuation. PLoS Genetics, 10 (4) e1004261, e1004261.1-e1004261.26. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004261
Hunter, Cameron C., Siebert, Kendra S., Downes, Damien J., Wong, Koon Ho, Kreutzberger, Sara D., Fraser, James A., Clarke, David F., Hynes, Michael J., Davis, Meryl A. and Todd, Richard B. (2014). Multiple nuclear localization signals mediate nuclear localization of the GATA transcription factor AreA. Eukaryotic Cell, 13 (4), 527-538. doi: 10.1128/EC.00040-14
Ormerod, Kate L. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Balancing stability and flexibility within the genome of the pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS Pathogens, 9 (12) e1003764, 1-4. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003764
Blundell, Ross D., Williams, Simon J., Morrow, Carl A., Ericsson, Daniel J., Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2013). Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of adenylosuccinate synthetase from the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications, 69 (Pt. 9), 1033-1036. doi: 10.1107/S1744309113021921
Suciati, Fraser, James A., Lambert, Lynette K., Pierens, Gregory K., Bernhardt, Paul V. and Garson, Mary J. (2013). Secondary metabolites of the sponge-derived fungus Acremonium persicinum. Journal of Natural Products, 76 (8), 1432-1440. doi: 10.1021/np4002114
Lee, I. Russel, Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Nitrogen regulation of virulence in clinically prevalent fungal pathogens. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 345 (2), 77-84. doi: 10.1111/1574-6968.12181
Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Is the nickel-dependent urease complex of Cryptococcus the pathogen's Achilles' heel?. MBio, 4 (4) e00408-13, e00408-13.1-e00408-13.3. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00408-13
Lee, I. Russel, Lui, Edmund Y. L., Chow, Eve W. L., Arras, Samantha D. M., Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Reactive oxygen species homeostasis and virulence of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans requires an intact proline catabolism pathway. Genetics, 194 (2), 421-U199. doi: 10.1534/genetics.113.150326
Lee, I. Russel, Yang, Liting, Sebetso, Gaseene, Allen, Rebecca, Doan, Thi H. N., Blundell, Ross, Lui, Edmund Y. L., Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Characterization of the complete uric acid degradation pathway in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS ONE, 8 (5) e64292, e64292.1-e64292.13. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064292
Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Ploidy variation as an adaptive mechanism in human pathogenic fungi. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, 24 (4), 339-346. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2013.01.008
Ormerod, Kate L., Morrow, Carl A., Chow, Eve W. L., Lee, I. Russel, Arras, Samantha D. M., Schirra, Horst Joachim, Cox, Gary M., Fries, Bettina C. and Fraser, James A. (2013). Comparative Genomics of Serial Isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans Reveals Gene Associated With Carbon Utilization and Virulence. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 3 (4), 675-686. doi: 10.1534/g3.113.005660
Lee, Yu-Ting, Cui, Chang-Jun, Chow, Eve W. L., Pue, Nason, Lonhienne, Thierry, Wang, Jian-Guo, Fraser, James A. and Guddat, Luke W. (2013). Sulfonylureas have antifungal activity and are potent inhibitors of Candida albicans acetohydroxyacid synthase. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 56 (1), 210-219. doi: 10.1021/jm301501k
Morrow, Carl A., Valkov, Eugene, Stamp, Anna, Chow, Eve W. L., Lee, I. Russel, Wronski, Ania, Williams, Simon J., Hill, Justine M., Djordjevic, Julianne T., Kappler, Ulrke, Kobe, Bostjan and Fraser, James A. (2012). De novo GTP biosynthesis is critical for virulence of the fungal pathogen cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS Pathogens, 8 (10) e1002957, e1002957. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002957
Lee, I. Russel, Lim, Jonathan W. C., Ormerod, Kate L., Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2012). Characterization of an Nmr homolog that modulates gata factor-mediated nitrogen metabolite repression in Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS One, 7 (3) e32585, e32585.1-e32585.15. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032585
Morrow, Carl A., Lee, I. Russell, Chow, Eve W. L., Ormerod, Kate L., Goldinger, Anita, Byrnes III, Edmond J., Nielsen, Kirsten, Heitman, Joseph, Schirra, Horst Joachim and Fraser, James A. (2012). A unique chromosomal rearrangement in the Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii type strain enhances key phenotypes associated with virulence. mBio, 3 (2) e00310-11, e00310.1-e00310.11. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00310-11
Findley, Keisha, Sun, Sheng, Fraser, James A., Hsueh, Yen-Ping, Averette, Anna Floyd, Li, Wenjun, Dietrich, Fred S. and Heitman, Joseph (2012). Discovery of a Modified Tetrapolar Sexual Cycle in Cryptococcus amylolentus and the Evolution of MAT in the Cryptococcus Species Complex. PLoS Genetics, 8 (2) e1002528, e1002528-1-e1002528-19. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002528
Chow, Eve W. L., Morrow, Carl A., Djordjevic, Julianne T., Wood, Ian A. and Fraser, James A. (2012). Microevolution of Cryptococcus neoformans driven by massive tandem gene amplification. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 29 (8), 1987-2000. doi: 10.1093/molbev/mss066
Byrnes, Edmond J., Li, Wenjun, Ren, Ping, Lewit, Yonathan, Voelz, Kerstin, Fraser, James A., Dietrich, Fred S., May, Robin C., Chatuverdi, Sudha, Chatuverdi, Vishnu and Heitman, Joseph (2011). A diverse population of Cryptococcus gattii molecular type VGIII in Southern Californian HIV/AIDS patients. PLoS Pathogens, 7 (9) e1002205, 134-1. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002205
Lee, I. Russel, Chow, Eve W. L., Morrow, Carl A., Djordjevic, Julianne T. and Fraser, James A. (2011). Nitrogen Metabolite Repression of Metabolism and Virulence in the Human Fungal Pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Genetics, 188 (2), 309-323. doi: 10.1534/genetics.111.128538
D'Souza, C.A., Kronstad, J.W., Taylor, G., Warrne, R., Yuen, M., Hu, G., Jung, W.H., Sham, A., Kidd, S.E., Tangen, K., Lee, N., Zeilmaker, T., Sawkins, J., McVicker, G., Shah, S., Gnerre, S., Griggs, A., Zeng, Q., Bartlett, K., Li, W., Wang, X., Heitman, J., Stajich, J.E., Fraser, J.A., Meyer, W., Carter, D., Schein, J., Krzywinski, M., Kwon-Chung, K.J. ... Cuomo, C.A. (2011). Genome Variation in Cryptococcus gattii, an Emerging Pathogen of Immunocompetent Hosts. mBio, 2 (1) e00342-10, e00342-1-e00342-10. doi: 10.1128/mBio.00342-10
Morrow, CA, Stamp, A, Valkov, E, Kobe, B and Fraser, JA (2010). Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of mycophenolic acid-resistant and mycophenolic acid-sensitive forms of IMP dehydrogenase from the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus. Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications, 66 (9), 1104-1107. doi: 10.1107/S1744309110031659
Morrow, Carl A. and Fraser, James A. (2009). Sexual reproduction and dimorphism in the pathogenic basidiomycetes. FEMS Yeast Research, 9 (2), 161-177. doi: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2008.00475.x
Hsueh, Yen-Ping, Fraser, James A. and Heitman, Joseph (2008). Transitions in sexuality: recapitulation of an ancestral tri- and tetrapolar mating system in Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryotic Cell, 7 (10), 1847-1855. doi: 10.1128/EC.00271-08
Upton, A., Fraser, J., Kidd, S., Bretz, C., Bartlett, K., Heitman, J. and Marr, K. (2007). First contemporary case of human infection with Cryptococcus gattii in Puget Sound: Evidence for spread of the Vancouver Island outbreak. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 45 (9), 3086-3088. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00593-07
Fraser, James A., Stajich, Jason E., Tarcha, Eric J., Cole, Garry T., Inglis, Diane O., Sil, Anita and Heitman, Joseph (2007). Evolution of the mating type locus: Insights gained from the dimorphic primary fungal pathogens Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immitis, and Coccidioides posadasii. Eukaryotic Cell, 6 (4), 622-629. doi: 10.1128/EC.00018-07
Fraser, J. A., Lim, S. M. C., Diezmann, S., Wenink, E. C., Arndt, C. G., Cox, G. M., Dietrich, F. S. and Heitman, J. (2006). Yeast diversity sampling on the San Juan Islands reveals no evidence for the spread of the Vancouver Island Cryptococcus gattii outbreak to this locale. Fems Yeast Research, 6 (4), 620-624. doi: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2006.00075.x
Kavanaugh, L. A., Fraser, J. A. and Dietrich, F. S. (2006). Recent evolution of the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans by intervarietal transfer of a 14-gene fragment. Molecular Biology And Evolution, 23 (10), 1879-1890. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msl070
Loftus, B. J., Fung, E., Roncaglia, P., Rowley, D., Amedeo, P., Bruno, D., Vamathevan, J., Miranda, M., Anderson, I. J., Fraser, J. A., Allen, J. E., Bosdet, I. E., Brent, M. R., Chiu, R., Doering, T. L., Dontin, M. J., D'Souza, C. A., Fox, D. S., Grinberg, V., Fu, J. M., Fukushima, M., Haas, B. J., Huang, J. C., Janbon, G., Jones, S. J. M., Koo, H. L., Krzywinski, M. I., Kwon-Chung, J. K., Lengeler, K. B. and Maiti, R. (2005). The genome of the basidiomycetous yeast and human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Science, 307 (5713), 1321-1324. doi: 10.1126/science.1103773
Todd, R. B., Fraser, J. A., Wong, K. H., Davis, M. A. and Hynes, M. J. (2005). Nuclear accumulation of the GATA factor AreA in response to complete nitrogen starvation by regulation of nuclear export. Eukaryotic Cell, 4 (10), 1646-1653. doi: 10.1128/EC.4.10.1646-1653.2005
Campbell, L. T., Fraser, J. A., Nichols, C. B., Dietrich, F. S., Dietrich and Heitman, J. (2005). Clinical and environmental isolates of Cryptococcus gattii from Australia that retain sexual fecundity. Eukaryotic Cell, 4 (8), 1410-1419. doi: 10.1128/EC.4.8.1410-1419.2005
Fraser, J. A., Huang, J. C., Pukkila-Worley, R., Alspaugh, J. A., Mitchell, T. G. and Heitman, J. (2005). Chromosomal translocation and segmental duplication in Cryptococcus neoformans. Eukaryotic Cell, 4 (2), 401-406. doi: 10.1128/EC.4.2.401-406.2005
Fraser, J. A. and Heitman, J. (2005). Chromosomal sex-determining regions in animals, plants and fungi. Current Opinion In Genetics & Development, 15 (6), 645-651. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2005.09.002
Fraser, J. A., Giles, S. S., Wenink, E. C., Geunes-Boyer, S. G., Wright, J. R., Diezmann, S., Allen, A., Stajich, J. E., Dietrich, F. S., Perfect, J. R. and Heitman, J. (2005). Same-sex mating and the origin of the Vancouver Island Cryptococcus gattii outbreak. Nature, 437 (7063), 1360-1364. doi: 10.1038/nature04220
Idnurm, A., Bahn, Y. S., Nielsen, K., Lin, X. R., Fraser, J. A. and Heitman, J. (2005). Deciphering the model pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 3 (10), 753-764. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro1245
Fraser, James A., Diezmann, Stephanie, Subaran, Ryan L., Allen, Andria, Lengeler, Klaus B., Dietrich, Fred S. and Heitman, Joseph (2004). Convergent evolution of chromosomal sex-determining regions in the animal and fungal kingdoms. Plos Biology, 2 (12), 2243-2255. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0020384
Nichols, C. B., Fraser, J. A. and Heitman, J. (2004). PAK kinases Ste20 and Pak1 govern cell polarity at different stages of mating in Cryptococcus neoformans. Molecular Biology of The Cell, 15 (10), 4476-4489. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E04-05-0370
Fraser, J. A. and Heitman, J. (2004). Evolution of fungal sex chromosomes. Molecular Microbiology, 51 (2), 299-306. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03874.x
Fraser, James A., Subaran, Ryan L., Nichols, Connie B. and Heitman, Joseph (2003). Recapitulation of the sexual cycle of the primary fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii: Implications for an outbreak on Vancouver Island, Canada. Eukaryotic Cell, 2 (5), 1036-1045. doi: 10.1128/EC.2.5.1036-1045.2003
Fraser, J. A. and Heitman, J. (2003). Fungal mating-type loci. Current Biology, 13 (20), R792-R795. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2003.09.046
Lengeler, Klaus B., Fox, Deborah S., Fraser, James A., Allen, Andria, Forrester, Keri, Dietrich, Fred S. and Heitman, Joseph (2002). Mating-type locus of Cryptococcus neoformans: A step in the evolution of sex chromosomes. Eukaryotic Cell, 1 (5), 704-718. doi: 10.1128/EC.1.5.704-718.2002
Fraser, J. A., Davis, M. A. and Hynes, M. J. (2002). A gene from Aspergillus nidulans with similarity to URE2 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a glutathione S-transferase which contributes to heavy metal and xenobiotic resistance. Applied And Environmental Microbiology, 68 (6), 2802-2808. doi: 10.1128/AEM.68.6.2802-2808.2002
Monahan, B. J., Fraser, J. A., Hynes, M. J. and Davis, M. A. (2002). Isolation and characterization of two ammonium permease genes, meaA and mepA, from Aspergillus nidulans. Eukaryotic Cell, 1 (1), 85-94. doi: 10.1128/EC.1.1.85-94.2002
Fraser, J. A., Davis, M. A. and Hynes, M. J. (2002). The genes gmdA, encoding an amidase, and bzuA, encoding a cytochrome P450, are required for benzamide utilization in Aspergillus nidulans. Fungal Genetics And Biology, 35 (2), 135-146. doi: 10.1006/fgbi.2001.1307
Fraser, J. A., Davis, M. A. and Hynes, M. J. (2001). The formamidase gene of Aspergillus nidulans: Regulation by nitrogen metabolite repression and transcriptional interference by an overlapping upstream gene. Genetics, 157 (1), 119-131.
FRASER, JAL and CLARK, ER (1984). THE EFFECTS OF A SETTLED INDUSTRIAL DOMESTIC SEWAGE WORKS EFFLUENT FROM PERCOLATING FILTERS ON THE SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF VARIOUS STAGES OF RAINBOW-TROUT, SALMO-GAIRDNERI (RICHARDSON). Journal of Fish Biology, 24 (1), 13-27. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1984.tb04772.x

Conference Papers

Pombo, Ana, Beagrie, Robert A., Scialdone, Antonio, Schueler, Markus, Chotalia, Mita, Xie, Sheila Q., Kraemer, Dorothee, de Santiago, Ines, Fraser, James, Dostie, Josee, Game, Laurence, Dillon, Niall, Edwards, Paul A.W. and Nicodemi, Mario (2016). Complex Multi‐Enhancer Contacts Captured By Genome Architecture Mapping, A Novel Ligation‐Free Approach. Experimental Biology 2016 Meeting, San Diego, CA United States, 1-5 April 2016. Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.99.3
Arras, S. D. M. and Fraser, J. A. (2014). Enhancing the complementation process in Cryptococcus neoformans. 9th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 15-19 May 2014. Berlin, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell Verlag GmbH. doi: 10.1111/myc.12196
Ormerod, K. L., Byrnes, E. J., III, Wood, I. A., Lodge, J. K., Heitman, J. and Fraser, J. A. (2014). The H99 family tree: variation in the common laboratory reference strains of Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii characterised through whole-genome sequencing. 9th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 15-19 May 2014. Berlin, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell Verlag GmbH. doi: 10.1111/myc.12196
Blundell, R. B., Arras, S. D. M., Williams, S. J. and Fraser, J. A. (2014). Purine biosynthetic enzymes as antifungal drug targets. 9th International Conference on Cryptococcus and Cryptococcosis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 15-19 May 2014. Berlin, Germany: Wiley-Blackwell Verlag GmbH. doi: 10.1111/myc.12196
Suciati, Fraser, James A. and Garson, Mary J. (2011). Secondary metabolites from saltwater culture of the sponge-derived fungus Acremonium persicinum. International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products (27th, ISCNP, 2011) and the 7th International Conference on Biodiversity (7th, ICOB, 2011), South Bank, QLD, Australia, 10-15 July 2011.
Fraser, J (2006). The Cryptococcus neoformans mating-type locus: evolutionary insights from related species. 8th International Mycological Conference, Cairns, August, 2006.