Abstract

Candida albicans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that is found in the normal gastrointestinal flora of most healthy humans. However, in immunocompromised patients, blood-stream infections often cause death, despite the use of anti-fungal therapies. The recent completion of the C. albicans genome sequence, the availability of whole-genome microarrays and the development of tools for rapid molecular-genetic manipulations of the C. albicans genome are generating an explosion of information about the intriguing biology of this pathogen and about its mechanisms of virulence. They also reveal the extent of similarities and differences between C. albicans and its benign relative, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Author affiliations

1. Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, and Department of Microbiology, 6–160 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.
2. Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.

Correspondence to: Judith Berman¹ Email: judith@cbs.umn.edu