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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America logoLink to Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
. 1992 Jan 15;89(2):519–523. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.2.519

Classification of fungal chitin synthases.

A R Bowen 1, J L Chen-Wu 1, M Momany 1, R Young 1, P J Szaniszlo 1, P W Robbins 1
PMCID: PMC48270  PMID: 1731323

Abstract

Comparison of the chitin synthase genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CHS1 and CHS2 with the Candida albicans CHS1 gene (UDP-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine:chitin 4-beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.16) revealed two small regions of complete amino acid sequence conservation that were used to design PCR primers. Fragments homologous to chitin synthase (approximately 600 base pairs) were amplified from the genomic DNA of 14 fungal species. These fragments were sequenced, and their deduced amino acid sequences were aligned. With the exception of S. cerevisiae CHS1, the sequences fell into three distinct classes, which could represent separate functional groups. Within each class phylogenetic analysis was performed. Although not the major purpose of the investigation, this analysis tends to confirm some relationships consistent with current taxonomic groupings.

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Selected References

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