[Investigation of a Candida albicans-specific DNA fragment used for nucleic acid hybridization]

A 2.5 kb fragment from Candida albicans Cli EcoRI-digested was labeled with 32P and used to probe blots of DNA from various organisms. DNA from all strains of C. albicans gave evidence of strong sequence homology with the 2.5 kb fragment. With the exception of weak hybridization signals from strains of C. parapsilosis and a strain of C. tropicalis, DNA from other Candida species, Cryptococcus as well as bacteria did not hybridize with the probe. The results indicate that the 2.5 kb fragment might contain sequence unique to C. albicans. After this is confirmed by cloning, a specific probe for the identification of C. albicans will be made.