Free amino acid pool in Candida albicans contains higher levels of glycine and methionine than in non-pathogenic Candida species

The intracellular pools of free amino acids were extracted from the pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans and from two non-pathogenic yeasts, Candida guilliermondii and Candida intermedia by boiling with ethanol, and then analysed in an automatic amino acid analyser. Of the sixteen amino acids detected, glycine and methionine occurred in the cell pool of C. albicans only, while the qualitative profile of the rest of the amino acids in the pools of all three yeasts, including the relatively high level of glutamic acid in C. albicans was very similar. The occurrence of high levels of glycine and methionine uniquely in C. albicans suggests a possible important role for methionine-forming enzymes in controlling the morphogenetic switch and pathogenecity of C. albicans.