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Molecular cloning and characterization of a glucan synthase gene from the human pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis
Author(s) -
Pereira Maristela,
Felipe M. Sueli S.,
Brígido Marcelo M.,
Soares Célia M. A.,
Azevedo Maristella O.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
yeast
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.923
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1097-0061
pISSN - 0749-503X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0061(20000330)16:5<451::aid-yea540>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - biology , molecular cloning , cloning (programming) , gene , genetics , atp synthase , computational biology , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide sequence , computer science , programming language
1,3‐β‐ D ‐glucan is a fungal cell wall polymer synthesized by the multi‐subunit enzyme 1,3‐β‐ D ‐glucan synthase. A subunit of this integral membrane protein was first described as the product of the FKS1 gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae using echinocandin mutants. Other FKS1 genes were also reported for Candida albicans, Aspergillus nidulans and Cryptococcus neoformans . Here, we report the nucleotide sequence of the first homologous FKS gene cloned from the pathogenic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. An open reading frame of 5942 bp was identified in the complete sequence, interrupted by two putative introns, the first close to the 5′ end and the second close to the 3′ end of the gene. A promoter region is also described containing consensus sequences such as canonical TATA and CAAT boxes and, possibly, multiple sites for glucose regulation by creA protein. The deduced sequence of 1926 amino acid show more than 85% similarity to FksAp from A. nidulans , and 71% to Fks1p and Fks2p from S. cerevisiae . Computational analysis of P. brasiliensis Fks1p suggests a similar structure to transmembrane proteins, such as FksAp, with the presence of two domains composed by hydrophobic helices that limit the putative highly hydrophilic catalytic domain within the cytoplasm. The complete nucleotide sequence of PbFKS1 and its flanking regions have been submitted to GenBank under Accession No. AF148715. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.