title: Aquaporin in Candida: characterization of a functional water channel protein.
abstract: The Candida albicans genome database contains one ORF with homology to aquaporins, AQY1. Xenopus oocytes injected with cRNA encoding C. albicans Aqy1p displayed a coefficient of water permeability (P(f)) that was equivalent to the P(f) for oocytes injected with the cRNA of S. cerevisiae Aqy1p. In addition, as seen in Saccharomyces for Aqy1p and Aqy2p, deletion of AQY1 in C. albicans resulted in cells that were less sensitive than wild-type to osmotic shock. In Saccharomyces, aquaporin null cells also have a cell surface that is more hydrophobic. However, unlike Saccharomyces, there was no effect on the cell surface hydrophobicity, flocculation or cell aggregation in aqy1 null C. albicans cells. Perhaps as a result, there was no difference between the virulence of C. albicans wild-type and aqy1 null strains in a murine model for systemic candidiasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205-2185, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carbrey
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Cormack
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Agre
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D051398:Aquaporin 1; D020346:Aquaporins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D001681:Biological Assay; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013499:Surface Properties; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: C496021:Aqp1 protein, mouse; D020346:Aquaporins; D051398:Aquaporin 1