Pathogenic yeasts Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis possess a ß-type carbonic anhydrase Nce103p, which is involved in CO2 hydration and signaling. C. albicans lacking Nce103p cannot survive in low CO2 concentrations, e.g., in atmospheric growth conditions. Candida carbonic anhydrases are orthologous to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae enzyme, which had originally been detected as a substrate of a non-classical export pathway. However, experimental evidence on localization of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis carbonic anhydrases has not been reported to date. Immunogold labeling and electron microscopy used in the present study showed that carbonic anhydrases are localized in the cell wall and plasmatic membrane of both Candida species. This localization was confirmed by Western blot and mass spectrometry analyses of isolated cell wall and plasma membrane fractions. Further analysis of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis subcellular fractions revealed presence of carbonic anhydrases also in the cytosolic and mitochondrial fractions of Candida cells cultivated in shaken liquid cultures, under the atmospheric conditions.
Keywords: Candida albicans; Candida parapsilosis; Nce103p; carbonic anhydrase; cell wall; electron microscopy; localization; mass spectrometry.