A Candida albicans CRISPR system permits genetic engineering of essential genes and gene families
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Author(s)
Vyas, Valmik K.
Barrasa, M. Inmaculada
Fink, Gerald R
Date Issued
April 2015
Journal
Science Advances
Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Citation
Vyas, Valmik K., M. Inmaculada Barrasa, and Gerald R. Fink. “A Candida Albicans CRISPR System Permits Genetic Engineering of Essential Genes and Gene Families.” Science Advances 1, no. 3 (April 1, 2015): e1500248–e1500248.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Candida albicans is a pathogenic yeast that causes mucosal and systematic infections with high mortality. The absence of facile molecular genetics has been a major impediment to analysis of pathogenesis. The lack of meiosis coupled with the absence of plasmids makes genetic engineering cumbersome, especially for essential functions and gene families. We describe a C. albicans CRISPR system that overcomes many of the obstacles to genetic engineering in this organism. The high frequency with which CRISPR-induced mutations can be directed to target genes enables easy isolation of homozygous gene knockouts, even without selection. Moreover, the system permits the creation of strains with mutations in multiple genes, gene families, and genes that encode essential functions. This CRISPR system is also effective in a fresh clinical isolate of undetermined ploidy. Our method transforms the ability to manipulate the genome of Candida and provides a new window into the biology of this pathogen.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500248
