WdChs4p, a homolog of chitin synthase 3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, alone cannot support growth of Wangiella (Exophiala) dermatitidis at the temperature of infection.

ABSTRACT: By using improved transformation methods for Wangiella dermatitidis, and a cloned fragment of its chitin synthase 4 structural gene (WdCHS4) as a marking sequence, the full-length gene was rescued from the genome of this human pathogenic fungus. The encoded chitin synthase product (WdChs4p) showed high homology with Chs3p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other class IV chitin synthases, and Northern blotting showed that WdCHS4 was expressed at constitutive levels under all conditions tested. Reduced chitin content, abnormal yeast clumpiness and budding kinetics, and increased melanin secretion resulted from the disruption of WdCHS4 suggesting that WdChs4p influences cell wall structure, cellular reproduction, and melanin deposition, respectively. However, no significant loss of virulence wa

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC97075 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature