A Candida albicans mutant conditionally defective in sterol 14 alpha-demethylation

A conditional sterol 14 alpha-demethylation mutant of Candida albicans was isolated whose defect was dependent both on the growth temperature and on the culture medium used. Under restrictive conditions, this mutant showed a deficiency in hyphal growth and an increased susceptibility to diverse chemicals, in accordance with the phenotypes of the already known non-conditional mutants of 14 alpha-demethylation. In addition, the mutant was shown to have a conditional defect in respiration. The impaired respiration was also seen in the non-conditional mutants.