EXPRESSION OF CHITIN SYNTHASE GENES DURING YEAST AND HYPHAL GROWTH PHASES OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS

Chitin, the beta-1,4-linked polymer of N-acetylglucosamine, is a fibrous polysaccharide that in many yeasts helps to maintain the structure of the mother-bud junction and in filamentous fungi is often the major supporting component of the cell wall. We have previously described a Candida albicans chitin synthase, CHS1. The DNA and derived protein sequences of a second gene, CHS2, are presented and compared with previously published gene sequences. Northern blot analysis shows that strikingly different levels of synthase 1 and 2 expression occur during yeast and hyphal phases of Candida growth.