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AFRbase: a database of protein mutations responsible for antifungal resistance

Aakriti Jain1, Neelja Singhal1, Manish Kumar1

  • 1Department of Biophysics, University of Delhi South Campus, New Delhi 110021, India.

Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)
|November 10, 2023
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

A new database, AFRbase, catalogs mutations causing antifungal resistance in fungi. This resource aids in understanding resistance mechanisms and supports genotypic susceptibility testing for improved clinical and agricultural antifungal strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Genetics
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Fungal infections cause significant mortality globally.
  • Antifungal drug resistance is increasing due to clinical and agricultural use.
  • Point mutations in key proteins are a primary driver of fungal drug resistance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a comprehensive database of mutations conferring antifungal resistance.
  • To provide a resource for understanding antifungal resistance mechanisms.
  • To facilitate genotypic susceptibility testing and predict resistance evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Data collection through text mining and manual curation.
  • Development of the Antifungal Resistance Database (AFRbase).
  • Inclusion of mutation visualization in 2D and 3D formats.

Main Results:

  • AFRbase contains 3691 unique mutations in 29 proteins across 32 fungal species.
  • The database details drug resistance conferred by each mutation.
  • AFRbase offers enhanced data scope and information compared to existing databases (FunResDB, MARDy).

Conclusions:

  • AFRbase is a valuable, open-access resource for researchers and clinicians.
  • The database supports the study and prediction of antifungal resistance evolution.
  • AFRbase can aid in genotypic susceptibility testing for fungal pathogens.

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