Abstract:The mating type locus (MTL) of Candida albicans contains the mating type genes and has, therefore, been assumed to play an exclusive role in the mating process. In mating-incompetent a/alpha cells, two of the mating type genes, MTLa1 and MTLalpha2, encode components of the a1-alpha2 corepressor that suppresses mating and switching. But the MTL locus of C. albicans also contains three apparently unrelated "nonsex" genes (NSGs), PIK, PAP and OBP, the first two essential for growth. Since it had been previously demonstrated that deleting either the a/alpha copy of the entire MTL locus, or either MTLa1 or MTLalpha2, affected virulence, we hypothesized that the NSGs in the MTL locus may also play a role in pathogenesis. Here by mutational analysis, it is demonstrated that both the mating type and nonsex genes in the MTL locus play roles in a/alpha biofilm formation, and that OBP is essential for impermeability and fluconazole resistance.

Status: Published Type: Journal Article PubMed ID: 22253594

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