Molecular cloning and functional characterization of UBC13 and MMS2 from Candida albicans

•Candida albican UBC13 and MMS2 genes are identified, cloned and functionally characterized.•Candida Ubc13s and Mms2 form stable complexes.•CaUBC13 and CaMMS2 can functionally complement the corresponding budding yeast null mutants.•Homozygous Candida ubc13 and mms2 mutants were created, which displayed increased sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents.•The CaUbc13 activity may be self-regulated. To maintain genome stability, eukaryotes have evolved a powerful DNA damage response system called DNA-damage tolerance (DDT) to deal with replication-blocking lesions. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, K63-linked polyubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is mediated by a Ubc13-Mms2 heterodimer, leading to error-free DDT. Candida albicans is one of the most studied fungal pathogens and to date no data regarding K63-linked ubiquitination or error-free DDT has been available. Here we report the identification and functional characterization of UBC13 and MMS2 genes from C. albicans. Both genes are highly conserved between S. cerevisiae and C. albicans. However, CaUbc13 differs from all other eukaryotes in that it contains a 21-amino acid tail that appears to attenuate its interaction with CaMms2, suggesting a possible regulatory mechanism in C. albicans. Both CaUBC13 and CaMMS2 genes can functionally rescue the corresponding budding yeast mutants from increased spontaneous mutagenesis and killing by DNA-damaging agents, indicating an error-free DDT pathway in C. albicans. Indeed Caubc13Δ/Δ and Camms2Δ/Δ null mutants were constructed and displayed characteristic sensitivity to DNA-damaging agents.