Perspective of the Application of Molecular Biology Techniques in the Study of Candida

  • F. C. Odds
Chapter
Part of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies Symposium Series book series (FEMS, volume 50)

Abstract

Candida alhicans has proved to be a difficult organism to study in terms of its genetics and molecular biology; which is a pity, since the power of molecular genetic methods can greatly enhance the scientific quality of many experiments with the fungus. Because C.alhicans is diploid and has no natural sexual cycle, traditional approaches to mutation and genetic mapping have yielded few insights into the properties of its DNA. However, this position is at last beginning to change rapidly. Genes that code for products of importance in the study of C.albicans morphogenesis, responses to antifungal chemotherapy and the pathogenesis of candidosis are now being successfully cloned, and methods of DNA typing have been applied to epidemiological studies of candidosis. The future for molecular genetic approaches to Candida-related problems is a bright one. This brief overview will amount to a summary of the present state of the molecular genetic art in the context of Candida and Candida infections, with consideration of the problems where DNA-manipulative experimentation can be most usefully applied.

Keywords

Candida Albicans Candida Species Candida Infection Aspartyl Proteinase Molecular Genetic Method 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Plenum Press, New York 1991

Authors and Affiliations

  • F. C. Odds
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of MicrobiologyUniversity of LeicesterLeicesterUK

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