Aspartyl proteases are a class of enzymes that include the yeast aspartyl proteases and secreted aspartyl protease (Sap) superfamilies. Several Sap superfamily members have been demonstrated or suggested as virulence factors in opportunistic pathogens of the genus
Candida
.
Candida albicans
,
Candida tropicalis
,
Candida dubliniensis
and
Candida parapsilosis
harbour 10, four, eight and three SAP genes, respectively. In this work, genome mining and phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of new members of the Sap superfamily in
C. tropicalis (8),
Candida guilliermondii
(8),
C. parapsilosis(11) and
Candida lusitaniae
(3). A total of 12 Sap families, containing proteins with at least 50% similarity, were discovered in opportunistic, pathogenic
Candida spp. In several Sap families, at least two subfamilies or orthologous groups were identified, each defined by > 90% sequence similitude, functional similarity and synteny among its members. No new members of previously described Sap families were found in a
Candida spp. clinical strain collection; however, the universality of SAPT gene distribution among
C. tropicalis strains was demonstrated. In addition, several features of opportunistic pathogenic
Candida species, such as gene duplications and inversions, similitude, synteny, putative transcription factor binding sites and genome traits of SAP gene superfamily were described in a molecular evolutionary context.
