GSH2, a gene encoding gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase in the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha

Abstract

The GSH2 gene, encoding Hansenula polymorpha, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase, was cloned by functional complementation of a glutathione (GSH)-deficient gsh2 mutant of H. polymorpha. The gene was isolated as a 4.3-kb XbaI fragment that was capable of restoring GSH synthesis, heavy-metal resistance and cell proliferation when introduced into gsh2 mutant cells. It possesses 53% identical and 69% similar amino acids compared with the Candida albicans homologue (Gcs1p). In comparison to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologue (Gsh1p), it possesses 47% identical and 61% similar amino acids. The GSH2 sequence appears in the GenBank database under accession No. AF435121. (C) 2002 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.