Abstract
The extensive biochemical and genetic analysis of several nonpathogenic fungal species, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus nidulans, and Neurospora crassa, has led to extensive understanding of various aspects of the biology and genetic regulation of cellular processes in these lower eukaryotes. The cloning and analysis of genes and their products has led to a large body of data that allows comparison of key molecules in fungi with their counterparts in vertebrate species. To a great extent, a surprising conservation of functionalities in all eukaryotic organisms has been observed. On the other hand, such studies have also given nsights into processes that are unique to fungi or differ significantly from those found in mammalian cells. Within the last decade, the application of recombinant DNA technology has been extended to the study of pathogenic fungi of both plants and animals. A variety of unique aspects of fungal biology such as mechanisms of pathogenesis, the basis of resistance to antifungal toxins, and the biosynthesis of factors associated with virulence are being investigated by genetic methodologies. Considerable progress has been made in the molecular analysis of the opportunistic human pathogen Candida albicans and related species such as C. tropicalis, despite the inherent difficulties of working with a diploid, asexual organism.
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Gorman, J.A. (1992). Genetic Approaches to Antifungal Drug Discovery. In: Fernandes, P.B. (eds) New Approaches for Antifungal Drugs. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6729-9_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6729-9_8
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
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