Candida albicans
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Candida albicans TOR-Activating GTPases Gtr1 and Rhb1 Coregulate Starvation Responses and Biofilm FormationCandida albicans is the major fungal pathogen of humans and is responsible for a wide range of infections, including life-threatening systemic infections in susceptible hosts. Target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) is an essential regulator of metabolism in this fungus, and components of this complex are under increased investigation as targets for new antifungal...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyThe Genomic Landscape of the Fungus-Specific SWI/SNF Complex Subunit, Snf6, in Candida albicansCandida albicans is a natural component of the human microbiota but also an opportunistic pathogen that causes life-threatening infections in immunosuppressed patients. Current therapeutics include a limited number of molecules that suffer from limitations, including growing clinical resistance and toxicity. New molecules are being clinically investigated; however,...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTarget Abundance-Based Fitness Screening (TAFiS) Facilitates Rapid Identification of Target-Specific and Physiologically Active Chemical ProbesConventional drug screening typically employs either target-based or cell-based approaches. The first group rely on biochemical assays to detect modulators of a purified target. However, hits frequently lack drug-like characteristics such as membrane permeability and target specificity. Cell-based screens identify compounds that induce a desired phenotype, but the target is unknown, which severely restricts further development and...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyN-Acetylglucosamine Metabolism Promotes Survival of Candida albicans in the PhagosomeCandida albicans is the most important medically relevant fungal pathogen, with disseminated candidiasis being the fourth most common hospital-associated bloodstream infection. Macrophages and neutrophils are innate immune cells that play a key role in host defense by phagocytosing and destroying C....
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionAdaptive Mistranslation Accelerates the Evolution of Fluconazole Resistance and Induces Major Genomic and Gene Expression Alterations in Candida albicansInfectious diseases caused by drug-resistant fungi are an increasing threat to public health because of the high mortality rates and high costs associated with treatment. Thus, understanding of the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance is of crucial interest for the medical community. Here we investigated the role of regulated protein mistranslation, a characteristic mechanism used by...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGrf10 and Bas1 Regulate Transcription of Adenylate and One-Carbon Biosynthesis Genes and Affect Virulence in the Human Fungal Pathogen Candida albicansCandida albicans is a commensal and a common constituent of the human microbiota; however, it can become pathogenic and cause infections in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised people. C. albicans exhibits remarkable metabolic versatility as it can colonize multiple body sites as a commensal...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIn Vivo Indicators of Cytoplasmic, Vacuolar, and Extracellular pH Using pHluorin2 in Candida albicansCandida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that colonizes the reproductive and gastrointestinal tracts of its human host. It can also invade the bloodstream and deeper organs of immunosuppressed individuals, and thus it encounters enormous variations in external pH in vivo. Accordingly, survival within such diverse niches necessitates robust...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyAn Efficient, Rapid, and Recyclable System for CRISPR-Mediated Genome Editing in Candida albicansCandida albicans is the major fungal pathogen of humans and is the subject of intense biomedical and discovery research. Until recently, the pace of research in this field has been hampered by the lack of efficient methods for genome editing. We report the development of a highly efficient and flexible genome editing system for use with...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyDramatic Improvement of CRISPR/Cas9 Editing in Candida albicans by Increased Single Guide RNA ExpressionCandida albicans is an important human fungal pathogen. An understanding of fungal virulence factors has been slow because C. albicans is genetically intractable. The recent development of CRISPR/Cas in C. albicans (V. K. Vyas, M...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionDiscovery of a Novel Antifungal Agent in the Pathogen BoxCryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans are two major human fungal pathogens and together account for over 1.4 million infections annually, with very high mortality rates. These fungi often infect immunocompromised individuals, such as HIV/AIDS patients. In an effort to identify novel drugs...