Lipidomics and in vitro azole resistance in Candida albicans

We have shown earlier that fluconazole (FLC) stress induces global changes in the lipidome of Candida albicans in clinically adapted isolates. However, several laboratories have developed adapted in vitro FLC resistant strains of C. albicans to study azole resistance mechanisms. This study aimed to identify the lipid changes associated with FLC resistance in these in vitro adapted isolates. Using comparative lipidomics and principal component and discriminant analyses, we observed gradual changes in several lipid classes and molecular species upon FLC exposure of in vitro resistant C. albicans strains. Although the lipid imprint of FLC in vitro resistant isolates was very distinct from that of clinical isolates of C. albicans, the overall changes in lipid class compositions were similar in both cases. For example, an increased sterol content and depleted sphingolipid levels were the salient features of FLC resistance in both conditions. Taken together, it appears that the overall cellular lipid homeostasis is a critical factor in the observed FLC resistance and in handling FLC stress in both clinical and laboratory situations. The new observations reported herein have implications for more efficacious antifungal drug development as well as understanding host-infectious agent interactions in postgenomics microbiology practice.