Adh1, short for Alcohol Dehydrogenase 1, is a key enzyme in various metabolic processes. It catalyzes the conversion between acetaldehyde and ethanol in fungal metabolism, such as in Candida albicans [1]. In plants like Arabidopsis, it is involved in the response to environmental stress, specifically cold stress [3]. In animals, alcohol dehydrogenases prevent the toxic accumulation of alcohols and aldehydes [2].

In Candida albicans, deletion of ADH1 has no effect on growth and cell viability but significantly prolongs survival time in host models, decreases fungal burden, and lessens tissue damage. It also reduces virulence in terms of adhesion, hyphal formation, and biofilm formation, along with downregulation of virulence-related genes [1]. In Adh1 knockout (Adh1-/-) and Adh1/4 double knockout (Adh1/4-/-) mice, there are changes in dopamine (DA) system-related behavior, with higher spontaneous locomotor activity and altered DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA ratios in some brain regions, suggesting they could be models for presymptomatic Parkinson's disease [2]. In Arabidopsis, adh1 mutants have a different metabolic response to freezing stress compared to wild-type plants, with differences in metabolite accumulation such as soluble sugars and amino acids [3].

In summary, Adh1 plays essential roles in fungal pathogenicity, plant stress response, and animal metabolism. The gene knockout mouse models and plant mutant studies have revealed its significance in diseases like Parkinson's and in plant adaptation to cold stress, contributing to our understanding of these biological processes and disease mechanisms.

References:

1. Song, Yanjun, Li, Shuixiu, Zhao, Yajing, Li, Dongmei, Zhang, Hong. 2019. ADH1 promotes Candida albicans pathogenicity by stimulating oxidative phosphorylation. In International journal of medical microbiology : IJMM, 309, 151330. doi:10.1016/j.ijmm.2019.151330. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31471070/

2. Anvret, Anna, Ran, Caroline, Westerlund, Marie, Galter, Dagmar, Belin, Andrea Carmine. 2011. Adh1 and Adh1/4 knockout mice as possible rodent models for presymptomatic Parkinson's disease. In Behavioural brain research, 227, 252-7. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2011.10.040. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22079585/

3. Song, Yuan, Liu, Lijun, Wei, Yunzhu, Yue, Xiule, An, Lizhe. 2017. Metabolite Profiling of adh1 Mutant Response to Cold Stress in Arabidopsis. In Frontiers in plant science, 7, 2072. doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.02072. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28123394/