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08:45
Whole Genome Sequencing of Candida glabrata for Detection of Markers of Antifungal Drug Resistance
Published on: December 28, 2017
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Candida glabrata: a deadly companion?
Monique Bolotin-Fukuhara1, Cécile Fairhead
1Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie, UMR 8621 CNRS/Université Paris Sud, France.
Yeast (Chichester, England)
|May 28, 2014
Summary
Candida glabrata, a yeast, is a significant opportunistic pathogen. Its genetic similarity to Saccharomyces cerevisiae aids research into its evolution and adaptation to the human host.
Area of Science:
- Medical Mycology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Yeast Genetics
Background:
- Candida glabrata has emerged as a major opportunistic fungal pathogen in humans since the 1980s.
- Phylogenetically, C. glabrata is closely related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, not Candida albicans, facilitating molecular genetic studies.
- C. glabrata belongs to the Nakaseomyces clade, which includes emerging pathogens and environmental species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary adaptations of Candida glabrata to the human host.
- To understand the genomic evolution and adaptation mechanisms in Saccharomycetaceae, using C. glabrata as a model.
- To explore the implications of C. glabrata's asexual reproduction on its evolutionary trajectory.
Main Methods:
- Comparative genomics analysis between C. glabrata and S. cerevisiae.
- Phylogenetic analysis to determine evolutionary relationships.
- Molecular genetics techniques to study C. glabrata's adaptation.
Main Results:
- C. glabrata has undergone significant gene and intron loss compared to S. cerevisiae.
- The species is apparently asexual, raising questions about its evolutionary history and future.
- C. glabrata is a commensal of the human digestive tract but can cause fatal systemic infections in immunocompromised individuals.
Conclusions:
- C. glabrata serves as a crucial model organism for studying yeast evolution and adaptation to the human host.
- Understanding C. glabrata's adaptation mechanisms is vital for combating its increasing prevalence as a pathogen.
- Ongoing research continues to unravel the evolutionary dynamics of this significant fungal species.
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