Candida
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyMultiple Alternative Carbon Pathways Combine To Promote Candida albicans Stress Resistance, Immune Interactions, and VirulenceCandida albicans is a fungal pathogen and a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in people with defects, sometimes minor ones, in innate immunity. The phagocytes of the innate immune system, particularly macrophages and neutrophils, generally restrict this organism to its normal commensal niches, but...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyComparative Genomics for the Elucidation of Multidrug Resistance in Candida lusitaniaeAntifungal resistance is an inevitable phenomenon when fungal pathogens are exposed to antifungal drugs. These drugs can be grouped in four distinct classes (azoles, candins, polyenes, and pyrimidine analogs) and are used in different clinical settings. Failures in therapy implicate the sequential or combined use of these different drug classes, which can result in some cases in the development of multidrug resistance (MDR). MDR is...
Opinion/Hypothesis | Host-Microbe BiologyOn the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and BirdsThe most enigmatic aspect of the rise of Candida auris as a human pathogen is that it emerged simultaneously on three continents, with each clade being genetically distinct. Although new pathogenic fungal species are described regularly, these are mostly species associated with single cases in individuals who are immunosuppressed.
Editor's Pick Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionAntifungal Activity of the Enterococcus faecalis Peptide EntV Requires Protease Cleavage and Disulfide Bond FormationEnterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans are among the most important and problematic pathobionts, organisms that normally are harmless commensals but can cause dangerous infections in immunocompromised hosts. In fact, both organisms are listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as...
Commentary | Host-Microbe BiologyIn Fungal Intracellular Pathogenesis, Form Determines FateFor pathogenic microbes to survive ingestion by macrophages, they must subvert powerful microbicidal mechanisms within the phagolysosome. After ingestion, Candida albicans undergoes a morphological transition producing hyphae, while the surrounding phagosome exhibits a loss of phagosomal acidity.
- Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Genome of the Human Pathogen Candida albicans Is Shaped by Mutation and Cryptic Sexual Recombination
Mutations introduce variation into the genome upon which selection can act. Defining the nature of these changes is critical for determining species evolution, as well as for understanding the genetic changes driving important cellular processes. The heterozygous diploid fungus Candida albicans is both a frequent commensal organism and a prevalent opportunistic...
- Research ArticleConservation and Divergence in the Candida Species Biofilm Matrix Mannan-Glucan Complex Structure, Function, and Genetic Control
Candida species, the most common fungal pathogens, frequently grow as a biofilm. These adherent communities tolerate extremely high concentrations of antifungal agents, due in large part, to a protective extracellular matrix. The present studies define the structural, functional, and genetic similarities and differences in the biofilm matrix from the four most common Candida species. Each species synthesizes an...