title: The GCA1 gene encodes a glycosidase-like protein in the cell wall of Candida albicans.
abstract: Candida albicans Gca1p is a putative glucoamylase enzyme which contains 946 amino acids, 11 putative sites for N-glycosylation and 9 for O-glycosylation. Gca1p was identified in β-mercaptoethanol extracts from isolated cell walls of strain C. albicans SC5314 and it is involved in carbohydrate metabolism. The significance and the role of this protein within the cell wall structure were studied in the corresponding mutants. The homozygous mutant showed that GCA1 was not an essential gene for cell viability. Subsequent phenotypic analysis performed in the mutants obtained did not show significant difference in the behavior of mutant when compared with the wild strain SC5314. Zymoliase, Calcofluor White, Congo red, SDS, caffeine or inorganic compounds did not affect the integrity of the cell wall. No differences were observed when hyphal formation assays were carried out. However, an enzyme assay in the presence of substrate p-nitrophenyl-α-D-glucopyranoside enabled us to detect a significant decrease in glycosidase activity in the mutants compared with the parental strain, revealing the function of Gca1.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia i Ecologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de València, 46100-E, Burjassot, Spain sergi.maicas@uv.es.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maicas
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia i Ecologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, 46100-E, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Caminero
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia i Ecologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, 46100-E, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: José Pedro
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia i Ecologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, 46100-E, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sentandreu
authors.affiliation: Departament de Microbiologia i Ecologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, 46100-E, Burjassot, Spain.
authors.forename: Eulogio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valentín
mesh_terms: D002176:Candida albicans / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000201:enzymology*; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D005960:Glucosides / Q000378:metabolism; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D050296:Microbial Viability
chemical_list: D005960:Glucosides; C019502:4-nitrophenyl alpha-glucoside; D006026:Glycoside Hydrolases
keywords: Candida albicans; cell wall; gene disruption; glucoamylase