Strategies for cloning the glucan synthase gene of candida albicans

The goal of this study was to clone the Candida albicans glucan synthase gene. Two approaches were implemented: selection of drug resistant transformants and cross-hybridization with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae DNA fragment. Drug resistant transformants were selected, but based on plasmid curing experiments, resistance did not appear to be plasmid borne. Southern blots of genomic digests of C. albicans DNA probed with a S. cerevisiae DNA fragment which was thought to contain the glucan synthase gene, did not reveal nucleotide similarity with a C. albicans fragment. Plaque hybridization of a C. albicans cDNA library in λgt11 failed to identify a DNA fragment similar to the same S. cerevisiae probe. Although the glucan synthase gene was not cloned, selection methods have been improved.