Promoter regulation in Candida albicans and related species

Abstract

Regulation of gene expression has been studied extensively in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Some, but by far not all, of the findings are also applicable to Candida albicans, an important ascomycete fungal pathogen of humans. Areas of research in C. albicans include the influence of key signal transduction cascades on morphology, and the response to host-generated influences, such as host immune effector cells, blood, pH or elevated carbon dioxide. The resistance to antifungal agents and response to stress are also well researched. Conditional gene expression and reporter genes adapted to the codon usage of C. albicans are now widely used in C. albicans. Here we present a comprehensive overview of the current techniques used to investigate regulation mechanisms for promoters in C. albicans and other Candida species. In addition, we discuss reporter genes used for the study of gene expression. © 2008 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.