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Ploidy variation as an adaptive mechanism in human pathogenic fungi

Carl A Morrow1, James A Fraser

  • 1Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072, Australia.

Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology
|February 6, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells and fungal pathogens can alter their chromosome number (ploidy) to survive stress. This study explores how these changes occur in fungi, suggesting a shared adaptive strategy with potential therapeutic targets for cancer and fungal infections.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Genetics and Genomics
  • Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Aneuploidy, an abnormal chromosome number, negatively impacts cell viability but is common in cancers.
  • Fungal pathogens also exhibit aneuploidies during infection, exceeding natural rates.
  • The role of ploidy changes in cancer and infection as an adaptive mechanism is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanisms of aneuploidy and polyploidy generation in Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans.
  • To determine if these ploidy changes represent an adaptive strategy for fungal pathogens under stress.
  • To explore potential therapeutic targets for antifungal and anticancer therapies based on ploidy regulation.

Main Methods:

  • Examination of aneuploidy and polyploidy generation mechanisms in fungal pathogens.
  • Analysis of ploidy changes as a response to severe stress.
  • Investigation of large-scale mutation generation through altered chromosome numbers.

Main Results:

  • Fungal pathogens like Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans actively generate aneuploidies and polyploidies.
  • These changes appear to be a strategy for rapid adaptation to hostile host environments.
  • The study highlights similarities between cancer and fungal ploidy dynamics under selective pressures.

Conclusions:

  • Altered chromosome number (ploidy) is a significant adaptive mechanism in fungal pathogens.
  • Understanding fungal ploidy strategies may reveal novel therapeutic targets for both fungal infections and cancer.
  • Genomic plasticity through aneuploidy could be a conserved evolutionary response to stress.

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