title: Elongation factor 3 (EF-3) from Candida albicans shows both structural and functional similarity to EF-3 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
abstract: As with many other fungi, including the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the dimorphic fungus Candida albicans encodes the novel translation factor, elongation factor 3 (EF-3). Using a rapid affinity chromatography protocol, EF-3 was purified to homogeneity from C. albicans and shown to have an apparent molecular mass of 128 kDa. A polyclonal antibody raised against C. albicans EF-3 also showed cross-reactivity with EF-3 from S. cerevisiae. Similarly, the S. cerevisiae TEF3 gene (encoding EF-3) showed cross-hybridization with genomic DNA from C. albicans in Southern hybridization analysis, demonstrating the existence of a single gene closely related to TEF3 in the C. albicans genome. This gene was cloned by using a 0.7 kb polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA fragment to screen to C. albicans gene library. DNA sequence analysis of 200 bp of the cloned fragment demonstrated an open reading frame showing 51% predicted amino acid identity between the putative C. albicans EF-3 gene and its S. cerevisiae counterpart over the encoded 65-amino-acid stretch. That the cloned C. albicans sequence did indeed encode EF-3 was confirmed by demonstrating its ability to rescue an otherwise non-viable S. cerevisiae tef3:HIS3 null mutant. Thus EF-3 from C. albicans shows both structural and functional similarity to EF-3 from S. cerevisiae.
authors.affiliation: Biological Laboratory, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Colthurst
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Schauder
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Tuite
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000906:Antibodies; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D015698:Genomic Library; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; C111584:YEF3 protein, S cerevisiae