Chromosomal localization of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) gene in Candida albicans using a heterologous probe

The glycolytic enzyme phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) is highly conserved throughout the evolutionary ladder. Using a previously cloned Saccharomyces cerevisiae PGK gene as hybridization probe, chromosomal localization and strain-specific variation of PGK gene in C. albicans have been examined. Separation of chromosome-size DNA fragments by pulse field gel electrophoresis followed by DNA- DNA hybridization analysis revealed that the PGK is encoded by a single copy gene located on the large chromosome of the commonly used laboratory strain ATCC 32354, as well as of several clinical isolates of C. albicans. Restriction fragment length analysis indicated that the PGK gene locus is highly polymorphic, and this strain-specific variation could be exploited to study intra-specific relatedness of clinical isolates.