Molecular Biological Characterization of an Azole-resistant Candida Glabrata Isolate

Two isolates of Candida glabrata, one susceptible and one resistant to azole antifungals, were previously shown to differ in quantity and activity of the cytochrome P-450 14alpha-lanosterol demethylase which is the target for azole antifungals. The resistant isolate also had a lower intracellular level of fluconazole, but not of ketoconazole or itraconazole, than the susceptible isolate. In the present study a 3.7-fold increase in the copy number of the CYP51 gene, encoding the 14alpha-lanosterol demethylase, was found. The amount of CYP51 mRNA transcript in the resistant isolate was eight times greater than it was in the susceptible isolate. Hybridization experiments on chromosomal blots indicated that this increase in copy number was due to duplication of the entire chromosome containing the CYP51 gene. The phenotypic instability of the resistant isolate was demonstrated genotypically: a gradual loss of the duplicated chromosome was seen in successive subcultures of the isolate in fluconazole-free medium and correlated with reversion to susceptibility. The greater abundance of the amplified chromosome induced pronounced differences in the protein patterns of the susceptible and revertant isolates versus that of the resistant isolate, as demonstrated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE). Densitometry of the 2D-GE product indicated upregulation of at least 25 proteins and downregulation of at least 76 proteins in the resistant isolate.