| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 生物科技系所 === 101 === Candida albicans is a major opportunistic pathogen in human. Furthermore, the pathogenicity of C. albicans is related to their morphogenesis, the ability to switch between yeast form and hyphal form.
The presence of glucose triggers C.albicans yeast-to-hyphal transition, a vital determinant of virulence. Two genes, CaHGT1 and CaHGT7, members of HGT family (High-affinity Glucose Transporter), may be linked to the formation of filamentous growth. Furthermore, it may also be linked to the drug resistance phenomenon in C. albicans, since previous researches have shown an association between filamentous growth and drug resistance.
C. albicans can cause infections in immunocompromised individuals. Azole derivatives are often used for clinical treatments, but the resistance to this class of drugs is becoming common. Two genes, CaCDR1 and CaCDR2, are known to increase the resistance when overexpressed. Orf19.1313 (CaCDR3) possesses high level of homology to Cdr1p and Cdr2p. It is also considered to be potential of drug resistance gene of C. albicans.
In this study, I use SAT1 flipper cassette containing a drug selection marker to construct null mutations of CaCDR3, CaHGT1 and CaHGT7 to study the effects on morphology and drug resistance of homologous strain to understand the physiological functions of these genes in C.albicans. The results indicated that CaCDR3, CaHGT1 and CaHGT7 null mutants did not have significant difference than the wild-type on the morphogenesis and drug susceptibilities of C. albicans.
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