Variation of isoenzyme and RAPD patterns in Candida albicans morphologicalmutants with altered colony ultrastructure

Molecular typing methods were applied to characterize four stable morpholog ical mutants [1] isolated from a UV-induced unstable mutant colony of Candi da albicans. The wild-type strain (ATCC 64385), the intermediate unstable m utant and its four morphologically altered derivatives revealed the same el ectrophoretic karyotypes. Of the five isoenzymes tested (catalase, malate d ehydrogenase, glutamate dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and P-glucosidase), glutamate dehydrogenase displayed a different enzyme pattern (with an extr a band of lower mobility) in the morphological mutants. In contrast, the ra ndom amplification DNA polymorphism patterns of the mutant strains differed in all cases from that of the parental strain. Different primers revealed various degrees of DNA polymorphism; one of them (OPC-8) proved to be usefu l for differentiation between all examined strains. Differences in genetic alterations between spontaneous and induced mutants, and the applicability of different molecular markers to analyse the consequences of induced mutag enesis in C. albicans are discussed.