Isolation of the CHS4 gene of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and its accommodation in a new class of chitin synthases.
The nucleotide sequence of a chitin synthase gene (PbrCHS4) of the dimorphic fungal human pathogen Paracoccidioides brasiliensis has been determined. A homology search with the deduced amino acid sequence of PbrChs4 (1744 aa) reveals the presence of two distinct domains, an N-terminal domain showing up to 30% homology to myosin motor-like domains and a C-terminal domain with up to 68% homology to chitin synthases, as has been reported for some class V chitin synthases. However, unlike class V chitin synthases with myosin motor-like domains, PbrChs4 does not present characteristic signatures of myosin motor-like domains. Also, although the Chs domain presents the closest homology to other fungal class V enzymes, it is low enough to consider PbrChs4 as belonging to a new class, which we propose as class VII.
Niño-Vega
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Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular Apartado 21827, Caracas 1020A, Venezuela. gnino@ivic.ve
Carrero
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San-Blas
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002687:Chitin Synthase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010228:Paracoccidioides / Q000145:classification / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D010802:Phylogeny
C487870:CHS4, Paracoccidioides; D002687:Chitin Synthase