Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of STE12α-gene on the morphology of Cryptococcus neoformans.Method The STE12α-gene was disrupted from Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A and serotype B to set up deficient strain.Then the gene was reconstituted into the allele locus of deficient strain.Morphological differences were studied in vitro and in vivo.Results Ste12α mutant strain exhibited an obvious defect in colony quantity,colony diameter and capsular size but recovered by reconstitution.Conclusion STE12α-gene play an important role in the morphology and virulence of Cryptococcus neoformans.

Key words: Cryptococcus neoformans, STE12αgene, morphology, virulence