Long-Chain Acyl-CoA Synthetase is Associated with the Growth of spp.

The lipophilic fungal pathogen spp. must acquire long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) from outside the cell. To clarify the mechanism of LCFA acquisition, we investigated fatty acid uptake by this fungus and identified the long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) gene in three spp.: . , , and These genes could compensate for the double mutation of and in , suggesting that Faa1 protein recognizes exogenous LCFAs. Faa1p and Faa1p utilized a medium-chain fatty acid, lauric acid (C12:0). Interestingly, the ACS inhibitor, triacsin C, affected the activity of the Faa1 proteins but not that of . Triacsin C also reduced the growth of , , and . These results suggest that triacsin C and its derivatives are potential compounds for the development of new anti- drugs.