| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立交通大學 === 分子醫學與生物工程研究所 === 103 === Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogens. It is a commensal microorganism in human. When the host is immunocompromised, it could cause oral and vaginal mucosal infection. In bacteria and yeasts, FLO encodes cell wall proteins containing repeat sequence. The FLO gene is associated with alterations in immunogenicity, adhesion, and pathogenesis. Hence, it was suggested that repeat sequences may be associated with pathogenesis. CaORF19.3360, CaORF19.4965 and CaORF19.6268 genes of Candida albicans also contains repeat sequences in the coding region. Hence, I am interested to know whether those genes may affect pathogenesis. I used the SAT1 flipper cassette, containing a drug resistance marker, to disrupt the coding sequences of CaORF19.3360, CaORF19.4965 and CaORF19.6268 genes, separately. Then, I determined the effect on their morphogenesis, growth rates and biofilm formation. In conclusion, there is no significant difference between the homozygous knock-out strains and the wild-type strain in their morphogenesis and growth rates under the tested conditions. In biofilm formation test, CaORF19.3360 heterozygous knock-out strain is worse than the homozygous strain and the wild-type, CaORF19.4965 homozygous knock-out strain is worse than the heterozygous knock-out strain and the wild-type and CaORF19.6268 homozygous knock-out strain is evidently worse than the heterozygous knock-out strain and the wild-type.
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