Signaling through adenylyl cyclase is essential for hyphal growth and virulence in the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: The human fungal pathogen Candida albicans switches from a budding yeast form to a polarized hyphal form in response to various external signals. This morphogenetic switching has been implicated in the development of pathogenicity. We have cloned the CaCDC35 gene encoding C. albicans adenylyl cyclase by functional complementation of the conditional growth defect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with mutations in Ras1p and Ras2p. It has previously been shown that these Ras homologues regulate adenylyl cyclase in yeast. The C. albicans adenylyl cyclase is highly homologous to other fungal adenylyl cyclases but has less sequence similarity with the mammalian enzymes. C. albicans cells deleted for both alleles of CaCDC35 had no detectable cAMP levels, suggesting that this gene encodes the onl

SUBMITTER: Rocha CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC60281 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature