Genome-wide synthetic genetic screening by transposon mutagenesis in Candida albicans

Transposon-based mutagenesis is an effective method for genetic screening on a genome-wide scale, with particular applicability in organisms possessing compact genomes where transforming DNA tends to integrate by homologous recombination. Methods for transposon mutagenesis have been applied with great success in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in the related pathogenic yeast Candida albicans. In C. albicans, we have implemented transposon mutagenesis to generate heterozygous mutations for the analysis of complex haploinsufficiency, a type of synthetic genetic interaction wherein a pair of non-complementing heterozygous mutations results in a stronger phenotype then either individual mutation in isolation. Genes exhibiting complex haploinsufficiency typically function within a regulatory pathway, in parallel pathways, or in parallel branches within a single pathway. Here, we present protocols to implement transposon mutagenesis for complex haploinsufficiency screening in C. albicans, indicating methods for transposon construction, mutagenesis, phenotypic screening, and identification of insertion sites in strains of interest. In total, the approach is a useful means to implement large-scale synthetic genetic screening in the diploid C. albicans.