Cloning and sequence analysis of a Candida maltosa gene which confers resistance to cycloheximide

Abstract

A CYHR gene from Candida maltosa, which confers resistance to cycloheximide, was cloned in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A 2.3-kb DNA fragment carrying this gene was sequenced, and an open reading frame able to encode 553 amino acids (aa) was found in the sequence. Computer searches of the GenBank, EMBL, SWIS-PROT and Gen-Pept databases using the FASTA program failed to detect any proteins with extensive similarities to the deduced aa sequence for CYHR. The cloned gene transforms S. cerevisiae at a frequency similar to auxotrophic markers and can be used as a dominant selectable marker for introducing recombinant plasmids into wild-type strains of S. cerevisiae, as well as for gene disruption experiments.