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Complete DNA sequence of the linear mitochondrial genome of the pathogenic yeast Candida parapsilosis

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Abstract

The complete sequence of the mitochondrial DNA of the opportunistic yeast pathogen Candida parapsilosis was determined. The mitochondrial genome is represented by linear DNA molecules terminating with tandem repeats of a 738-bp unit. The number of repeats varies, thus generating a population of linear DNA molecules that are heterogeneous in size. The length of the shortest molecules is 30,922 bp, whereas the longer molecules have expanded terminal tandem arrays (n×738 bp). The mitochondrial genome is highly compact, with less than 8% of the sequence corresponding to non-coding intergenic spacers. In silico analysis predicted genes encoding fourteen protein subunits of complexes of the respiratory chain and ATP synthase, rRNAs of the large and small subunits of the mitochondrial ribosome, and twenty-four transfer RNAs. These genes are organized into two transcription units. In addition, six intronic ORFs coding for homologues of RNA maturase, reverse transcriptase and DNA endonucleases were identified. In contrast to its overall molecular architecture, the coding sequences of the linear mitochondrial DNA of C. parapsilosis are highly similar to their counterparts in the circular mitochondrial genome of its close relative C. albicans. The complete sequence has implications for both mitochondrial DNA replication and the evolution of linear DNA genomes.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank L. Kovac (Comenius University, Bratislava) and H. Fukuhara (Institute Curie, Orsay, France) for continuous support and helpful comments; J. Piskur (Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark), G. Minarik (Comenius University, Bratislava) and members of our laboratories for discussions and/or technical assistance. B. F. Lang (University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada), D. Subramanian (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) and R. J. Resnick (Cornell University, Ithaca) are acknowledged for reading the manuscript and for valuable editorial advice. This work was supported by grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (55000327), the Slovak Grant Agencies VEGA (1/9153/02 and 1/0006/03) and APVT (20-003902), the Fogarty International Research Collaboration Award (1-R03-TW05654-01), by institutional support (AV0Z5004920 and MSM143100008) and by the Danish Research Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynska dolina CH-1, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    J. Nosek & Z. Hlavatovicova

  2. Institute of Biophysics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Kralovopolska 135, 612 65, Brno, Czech Republic

    M. Novotna & J. Fajkus

  3. Laboratory of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    M. Novotna & J. Fajkus

  4. Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, BioCentrum, Technical University of Denmark, Kgl. Lyngby, Denmark

    D. W. Ussery

  5. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynska dolina B-1, 842 15, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

    L. Tomaska

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  1. J. Nosek
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Communicated by C. P. Hollenberg

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Nosek, J., Novotna, M., Hlavatovicova, Z. et al. Complete DNA sequence of the linear mitochondrial genome of the pathogenic yeast Candida parapsilosis. Mol Genet Genomics 272, 173–180 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-004-1046-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-004-1046-0

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