Genomic insights into multidrug-resistance, mating and virulence in Candida auris and related emerging species.

Nat Commun
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Candida auris is an emergent multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen causing increasing reports of outbreaks. While distantly related to C. albicans and C. glabrata, C. auris is closely related to rarely observed and often multidrug-resistant species from the C. haemulonii clade. Here, we analyze near complete genome assemblies for the four C. auris clades and three related species, and map intra- and inter-species rearrangements across the seven chromosomes. Using RNA-Seq-guided gene predictions, we find that most mating and meiosis genes are conserved and that clades contain either the MTLa or MTLα mating loci. Comparing the genomes of these emerging species to those of other Candida species identifies genes linked to drug resistance and virulence, including expanded families of transporters and lipases, as well as mutations and copy number variants in ERG11. Gene expression analysis identifies transporters and metabolic regulators specific to C. auris and those conserved with related species which may contribute to differences in drug response in this emerging fungal clade.

Year of Publication
2018
Journal
Nat Commun
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
5346
Date Published
2018 12 17
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-018-07779-6
PubMed ID
30559369
PubMed Central ID
PMC6297351
Links
Grant list
U19 AI110818 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States