Cloning and Functional
Analysis of ALS Family Genes from Candida
albicans
CHEN Xi, CHEN Jiang-Ye*
( State Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Shanghai Institute of
Biochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
)
Abstract With a 0.5
kb probe of CX2, distribution of CX2 tandem repeats was
studied in different C.albicans strains. Results suggest that all the C.albicans
strains tested contained the tandem repeat. In order to verify if the
expression of CX2 was hyphal specific, its expression was analyzed
under various inductive and non-inductive conditions. With CX2 0.5 kb
probe, Northern hybridization analysis confirmed that it was specifically in
hyphae. The result of chromosomal localizationtion and genomic Southern blot
analysis suggested that there were other genes containing the tandem repeat
besides of ALS1. A C.albicans′s genomic DNA library was
screened with the CX2 0.5 kb probe and several positive recombinant λ
phages were obtained. After endonuclease identification, subcloning, and
sequence analysis, several ALS family genes were cloned. No.1 λ phage
DNA contained ALS4, No.4 λ phage DNA contained ALS1, No.6 λ
phage DNA contained ALS3. To study the role of ALS family
genes in yeast-hyphal transition, als1/ALS1 mutant was
constructed by homologous recombination. The ability to form hyphae was tested
in different inductive culturing conditions. Defective hyphal growth were
observed in some solid media. �お�
Key words Candida albicans；morphogenesis；tandem repeat sequence；ALS gene family
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