title: The two-component hybrid kinase regulator CaNIK1 of Candida albicans.
abstract: Using degenerate primers of highly conserved regions of two-component response regulators for PCR amplification, a two-component response regulator was cloned from Candida albicans that is homologous to nik-1+ of Neurospora crassa. This two-component hybrid kinase, CaNIK1, also shows features of bacterial two-component response regulators, including a putative unorthodox second histidine kinase motif at the carboxy-terminal end. CaNIK1 was expressed at low levels in both the white and opaque switch phenotypes and in the bud and hyphal growth forms of C. albicans strain WO-1, but in both developmental programmes, the level of transcript was modulated (levels were higher in opaque cells and in hyphae). Partial deletion of both CaNIK1 alleles, by which the histidine autokinase- and ATP-binding domains were removed, did not inhibit either high-frequency phenotypic switching or the bud-hypha transition in high salt concentrations, but in both cases the efficiency of the developmental process was reduced.
authors.forename: Thyagarajan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Srikantha
authors.forename: Luong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Karla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Enger
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Highley
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Soll
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D020134:Catalytic Domain / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D000071677:Histidine Kinase; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D011494:Protein Kinases; C106494:HSL1 protein, S cerevisiae; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000071677:Histidine Kinase