Molecular cloning of a second phospholipase B gene, caPLB2 from Candida albicans

Y. Sugiyama, S. Nakashima, F. Mirbod, H. Kanoh, Y. Kitajima, M. A. Ghannoum, Y. Nozawa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that phospholipase B, secreted by pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus fumigatus, functions as one of the virulence factors. In the present study, we have attempted to clone phospholipase B gene from C. albicans. By RT-PCR analysis with degenerate primers based on conserved regions of phospholipase B from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Penicillium notatum and Torulaspora two similar but different cDNA fragments were obtained. One corresponded to the partial sequence of caPLB1, recently cloned phospholipase B gene from C. albicans by a different approach. The other fragments contained sequences similar to the corresponding sequences of phospholipase B from other fungi. The presence of two related genes was confirmed by Southern and Northern blot analyses. The full length of the second C. albicans phospholipase B gene (caPLB2) encoded a putative protein with 608 amino acids and contained a potential signal peptide sequence and a putative catalytic region, which are found in phospholipase B from other fungi. Consistent with the findings of caPLB1, caPLB2 also lacks a cluster of hydrophobic amino acids at the COOH-terminal, which may function as a signal of glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)61-67
Number of pages7
JournalMedical mycology
Volume37
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Candida albicans
  • Molecular cloning
  • Pathogenicity
  • Phospholipase B

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Infectious Diseases

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