Candida albicans
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSusceptibility to Medium-Chain Fatty Acids Is Associated with Trisomy of Chromosome 7 in Candida albicansAneuploidy (changes in chromosome number) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occur frequently in the human-pathogenic yeast Candida albicans and are associated with adaptation to stress and to antifungal drugs. Aneuploidy and LOH can also be induced during laboratory manipulations, such as during genetic transformation. We find that...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologymSphere of Influence: Start with an Interesting Biological PhenomenonTeresa O'Meara works in the field of functional genomics of Candida albicans, with a focus on host-pathogen interactions. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how papers entitled "Systematic Screens of a Candida albicans Homozygous Deletion Library Decouple Morphogenetic Switching...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologymSphere of Influence: a Systematic Approach To Dissect Virulence Traits in Candida albicansJ. Christian Pérez studies the interplay between Candida albicans and the mammalian host. In this mSphere of Influence article, he reflects on how “Systematic screens of a Candida albicans homozygous deletion library decouple morphogenetic switching and pathogenicity” (S. M. Noble, S. French, L. A....
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAn Intragenic Recombination Event Generates a Snf4-Independent Form of the Essential Protein Kinase Snf1 in Candida albicansGenomic alterations, including different types of recombination events, facilitate the generation of genetically altered variants and enable the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans to adapt to stressful conditions encountered in its human host. Here, we show that a specific recombination event between two 8-bp direct repeats within the coding sequence of the SNF1...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRoles of the Transcription Factors Sfl2 and Efg1 in White-Opaque Switching in a/α Strains of Candida albicansMore than 95% of Candida albicans strains isolated from humans are MTLa/α, and approximately a third of these can undergo the white-to-opaque transition. Therefore, besides being a requirement for MTL-homozygous strains to mate, the opaque phenotype very likely plays a role in the commensalism and pathogenesis of nonmating, a...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Novel Virulence Phenotype Rapidly Assesses Candida Fungal Pathogenesis in Healthy and Immunocompromised Caenorhabditis elegans HostsOpportunistic pathogens are commensals capable of causing disease and are serious threats to human health. It is critical to understand the mechanisms and host contexts under which opportunistic pathogens become virulent. In this work, we present a novel assay to quickly and quantitatively measure pathogen virulence in healthy and immunocompromised nematode hosts. We found that Candida species, one of the most prominent fungal...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyCandida glabrata Has No Enhancing Role in the Pathogenesis of Candida-Associated Denture Stomatitis in a Rat ModelMany denture wearers suffer from Candida-associated denture stomatitis (DS), a fungal infection of the hard palate in contact with dentures. Biofilm formation by Candida albicans on denture/palate surfaces is considered a central process in the infection onset. Although Candida glabrata is...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMAP Kinase Regulation of the Candida albicans Pheromone PathwayMAP kinases and their regulators are critical components of eukaryotic signaling pathways implicated in normal cell behavior as well as abnormal behaviors linked to diseases such as cancer. The mating pathway of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was central in establishing the MAP kinase paradigm....
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyIdentification of Recessive Lethal Alleles in the Diploid Genome of a Candida albicans Laboratory Strain Unveils a Potential Role of Repetitive Sequences in Buffering Their Deleterious ImpactCandida albicans is a major fungal pathogen, whose mode of reproduction is mainly clonal. Its genome is highly tolerant to rearrangements, in particular loss of heterozygosity events, known to unmask recessive lethal and deleterious alleles in heterozygous diploid organisms such as C. albicans. By...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Synthetic BiologyA CRISPR Interference Platform for Efficient Genetic Repression in Candida albicansFungal pathogens are an increasingly important cause of human disease and mortality, and Candida albicans is among the most common causes of fungal disease. Studying this important fungal pathogen requires a comprehensive genetic toolkit to establish how different genetic factors play roles in the biology and virulence of this pathogen. Here, we developed a CRISPR-...