title: Cloning of the chitin synthase 3 gene from Candida albicans and its expression during yeast-hyphal transition.
abstract: The chitin synthase 3 gene (CACHS3) has been cloned from Candida albicans. The yeast CAL1 gene encoding the chitin synthase 3 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was used as a probe for the isolation of the gene from C. albicans. The CAL1 homolog was identified in Southern blots of C. albicans genomic DNA and cloned from a C. albicans genomic DNA library. The nucleotide sequences of two partial clones were determined and combined giving a total length of 4610 bp. A continuous open reading frame of 3525 bp encoding a predicted protein of 1175 amino acids and molecular mass of 131 850 daltons was identified. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of CAL1 and the Candida chitin synthase 3 protein showed 59.3% identity. Southern blot analysis indicates that the CACHS3 gene is present in a single copy in the genome and maps to chromosome I. Northern blot analysis shows that expression of chitin synthase 3 gene is dramatically increased during the transition from the yeast to the hyphal form of C. albicans. This change in transcription level strongly suggests that CACHS3 may play a role in Candida morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mycology, Nippon Roche Research Center, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sudoh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arisawa
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015870:Gene Expression; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D002687:Chitin Synthase