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Journal of Bacteriology, August 1998, p. 3771-3778, Vol. 180, No. 15
Department of Medical Microbiology,
Received 4 February 1998/Accepted 26 May 1998
Short sequence repeats (SSRs), potentially representing variable
numbers of tandem repeat (VNTR) loci, were identified for the
human-pathogenic yeast species Candida albicans by
computerized DNA sequence scanning. The individual SSR regions were
investigated in different clinical isolates of C. albicans.
Most of the C. albicans SSRs were identified as genuine
VNTRs. They appeared to be present in multiple allelic variants and
were demonstrated to be diverse in length among nonrelated strains. As
such, these loci provide adequate targets for the molecular typing of
C. albicans strains. VNTRs encountered in other microbial
species sometimes participate in regulation of gene expression and
function as molecular switches at the transcriptional or translational
level. Interestingly, the VNTRs identified here often encode
polyglutamine stretches and are frequently located within genes
potentially involved in the regulation of transcription. DNA sequencing
of these VNTRs demonstrated that the length variability was restricted
to the CAA/CAG repeats encoding the polyglutamine stretches. For these reasons, paired C. albicans isolates of similar genotype,
either found as noninvasive colonizers or encountered in an invasive state in the same individual, were studied with respect to potentially invasion-related alterations in the VNTR profiles. However, none of the
VNTRs analyzed thus far varied systematically with the transition from
colonization to invasion. In contrast to the situation described for
some prokaryotic species, this finding suggests that VNTRs of C. albicans may not simply function as contingency loci related to
straightforward on/off regulation of invasion-related gene expression.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Lack of Consistent Short Sequence Repeat
Polymorphisms in Genetically Homologous Colonizing and Invasive
Candida albicans Strains
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Erasmus Medical
Center Rotterdam, Department of Medical Microbiology & Infectious
Diseases, Dr. Molewaterplein 40, 3015 GD Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Phone: 31-10-4635813. Fax: 31-10-4633875. E-mail:
vanbelkum{at}bacl.azr.nl.
Journal of Bacteriology, August 1998, p. 3771-3778, Vol. 180, No. 15
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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