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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Candida albicans Biofilm Development on Medically-relevant Foreign Bodies in a Mouse Subcutaneous Model Followed by Bioluminescence Imaging
Published on: January 27, 2015
Evidence for mating of the "asexual" yeast Candida albicans in a mammalian host
C M Hull1, R M Raisner, A D Johnson
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Abstract:
Since its classification nearly 80 years ago, the human pathogen Candida albicans has been designated as an asexual yeast. In this report, we describe the construction of C. albicans strains that were subtly altered at the mating-type-like (MTL) locus, a cluster of genes that resembles the mating-type loci of other fungi. These derivatives were capable of mating after inoculation into a mammalian host. C. albicans is a diploid organism, but most of the mating products isolated from a mouse host were tetrasomic for the two chromosomes that could be rigorously monitored and, overall, exhibited substantially higher than 2n DNA content. These observations demonstrated that C. albicans can recombine sexually.
Insights
Candida albicans, a human pathogen, was engineered to enable mating within a mammalian host. This study demonstrates sexual recombination in this previously asexual yeast.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Mycology
Background:
- Candida albicans is a diploid human pathogen.
- It has been classified as an asexual yeast for nearly 80 years.
- The mating-type-like (MTL) locus regulates mating in other fungi.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential for sexual reproduction in Candida albicans.
- To engineer C. albicans strains capable of mating within a mammalian host.
Main Methods:
- Construction of C. albicans strains with altered mating-type-like (MTL) loci.
- Inoculation of engineered strains into a mammalian host (mouse).
- Analysis of mating products for ploidy and DNA content.
Main Results:
- Engineered C. albicans strains exhibited mating capabilities within a mouse host.
- Most mating products were tetrasomic (4n DNA content), not diploid (2n).
- Demonstrated sexual recombination in Candida albicans.
Conclusions:
- Candida albicans can undergo sexual recombination.
- The mating-type-like (MTL) locus plays a role in C. albicans mating.
- Sexual reproduction may occur in vivo in mammalian hosts.
