Intracellular pH homeostasis in Candida glabrata in infection-associated conditions

Candida glabrata is an opportunistic fungal pathogen which is a growing concern for immunocompromised patients. It is ranked as the second most common cause of candidiasis after Candida albicans. For pathogenic yeasts, intracellular pH (pHi) has been implicated in proliferation, dimorphic switching and virulence. We expressed the pH-sensitive green fluorescent protein variant ratiometric pHluorin in the cytosol of C. glabrata to study pHi dynamics in living cells. We evaluated the response of pHi to the various growth and stress conditions encountered during interaction with the host and during antifungal treatment. C. glabrata maintained a pHi higher than that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in all growth conditions. The pHi of S. cerevisiae cells appeared better controlled than the pHi in C. glabrata when the cells were exposed to food and fermentation-associated conditions. C. glabrata in turn maintained its pHi better when exposed to host-associated conditions.