title: Cloning and characterization of chsD, a chitin synthase-like gene of Aspergillus fumigatus.
abstract: A chitin synthase-like gene (chsD) was isolated from an Aspergillus fumigatus genomic DNA library. Comparisons with the predicted amino acid sequence from chsD reveals low but significant similarity to chitin synthases, to other N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (NodC from Rhizopus spp., HasA from Streptococcus spp. and DG42 from vertebrates. A chsD- mutant strain constructed by gene disruption has a 20% reduction in total mycelial chitin content; however, no differences between the wild-type strain and the chsD- strain were found with respect to morphology, chitin synthase activity or virulence in a neutropenic murine model of aspergillosis. The results show that the chsD product has an important but inessential role in the synthesis of chitin in A. fumigatus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Bacteriology, Royal Postgraduate Medical School, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mellado
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Specht
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Holden
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001228:Aspergillosis / Q000209:etiology; D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001483:Base Sequence; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal; D005656:Fungal Proteins; C100786:ChsD protein, Aspergillus; D002687:Chitin Synthase