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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, February 2006, p. 453-460, Vol. 50, No. 2
0066-4804/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.50.2.453-460.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Aspergillus fumigatus C-5 Sterol Desaturases Erg3A and Erg3B: Role in Sterol Biosynthesis and Antifungal Drug Susceptibility

Servicio de Micologia, Centro Nacional de Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain,¹ Department of Environmental Chemistry, I.C.E.R.-C.S.I.C., Jordi Girona, 18, 08034 Barcelona, Spain²

Received 22 September 2005/ Returned for modification 23 September 2005/ Accepted 12 November 2005

Two erg3 genes encoding C-5 sterol desaturase enzymes (Erg3A and Erg3B) in Aspergillus fumigatus were characterized with respect to their nucleotide sequences and null mutant phenotypes. Targeted disruption of the erg3A and erg3B genes and a double gene knockout, erg3A^– erg3B^–, showed that they are not essential for A. fumigatus viability. Mutant phenotypes clearly showed that Erg3B is a C-5 sterol desaturase, but no apparent role for Erg3A in A. fumigatus ergosterol biosynthesis was found. Susceptibility to amphotericin B, itraconazole, fluconazole, voriconazole, and ketoconazole was not altered in isolates in which erg3A and erg3B were knocked out alone and in combination.

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