Genome-wide Analysis of the Expression Profile of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Response to Treatment with the Plant Isoflavone, Wighteone, as a Potential Antifungal Agent

The limitations of currently available antifungal agents and the rapid emergence of drug-resistant strains necessitate more efficient approaches to screening and developing novel antifungal drugs. The antifungal activity of the natural products of a series of plants was evaluated and wighteone, 5, 7, 4′–trihydroxy–6–(γ,γ-dimethylallyl)isoflavone showed excellent anti-yeast activity (MIC against Saccharomyces cerevisiae was 4 μg/ml). Transcriptome profiling of wighteone-treated S. cerevisiae indicated that wighteone is different from commonly used antifungal compounds in its mode of action.