Candida albicans- and Candida stellatoidea-specific DNA fragment

DNA was isolated from whole cells of Candida albicans and digested with MspI restriction enzyme. In addition to the expected large number of low-molecular-weight DNA pieces resulting from the digestion, multiple high-molecular-weight (greater than 3.0 kilobase pairs) fragments were generated by this enzyme, which cleaves DNA at CCGG sequences. Some of these fragments appeared highly repeated. An MspI fragment which was similar in size to one of the repeat elements (2.9 kilobase pairs) was cloned into the ClaI site of the plasmid vector pBR322 and replicated in a suitable Escherichia coli host strain. The candidal fragment was radiolabeled and used to probe Southern blots of DNA from several Candida species, various other fungi, and mouse and human cells. Only DNA from C. albicans and a strain of Candida stellatoidea was found to contain sequences of significant homology for hybridization. The cloned fragment may possibly be of use as a DNA probe for detection of the presence of C. albicans.