The evolution of drug resistance in clinical isolates of Candida albicans.

Elife
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Candida albicans is both a member of the healthy human microbiome and a major pathogen in immunocompromised individuals. Infections are typically treated with azole inhibitors of ergosterol biosynthesis often leading to drug resistance. Studies in clinical isolates have implicated multiple mechanisms in resistance, but have focused on large-scale aberrations or candidate genes, and do not comprehensively chart the genetic basis of adaptation. Here, we leveraged next-generation sequencing to analyze 43 isolates from 11 oral candidiasis patients. We detected newly selected mutations, including single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), copy-number variations and loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) events. LOH events were commonly associated with acquired resistance, and SNPs in 240 genes may be related to host adaptation. Conversely, most aneuploidies were transient and did not correlate with drug resistance. Our analysis also shows that isolates also varied in adherence, filamentation, and virulence. Our work reveals new molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of drug resistance and host adaptation.

Year of Publication
2015
Journal
Elife
Volume
4
Pages
e00662
Date Published
2015 Feb 03
ISSN
2050-084X
URL
DOI
10.7554/eLife.00662
PubMed ID
25646566
PubMed Central ID
PMC4383195
Links
Grant list
R01 CA119176 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
DP1 CA174427 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States
2R01CA119176-01 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
8DP1CA174427 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States