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A developmental program for Candida commensalism

Nature Genetics volume 45, pages 967–968 (2013)Cite this article

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Candida albicans is a frequent pathogen of immunologically compromised individuals, but it is an even more common commensal of healthy humans, where it resides in the gut in a benign state. A new study shows that a specific commensal form of the fungus is induced in the gut through a developmental program that downregulates virulence factors and induces metabolic functions, enabling it to thrive on the nutrients that are available in the large intestine without damaging its host.

To ensure that the genome of a microbial pathogen survives into the future, the pathogen has to balance the advantages of parasitizing the host for its own needs with the dangers of killing the supply of resources that are required for its replication. Highly virulent pathogens that inflict lethal damage on their hosts have also had to evolve efficient escape, dispersal and re-infection strategies to avoid being eliminated after the death of their victims. On page 1088 of this issue, Suzanne Noble and colleagues1 show that the opportunistic pathogen C. albicans can enter a specific, regulated commensal state called GUT (gastrointestinally induced transition) in the host intestine. GUT cells have a unique phenotype that promotes carriage in the gut in a benign state in which virulence-associated genes are downregulated. This enables the fungus to adapt for long-term survival in the large intestine of a healthy host without causing collateral damage. Nevertheless, even in the GUT state, the fungus remains poised to convert to other cell types that can promote pathogenesis when host immunity is impaired.

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Figure 1: The various cell types of C. albicans, each with different roles in growth and disease in the human host.

References

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  1. Neil A.R. Gow is in the Aberdeen Fungal Group, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.,

    Neil A R Gow

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  1. Neil A R Gow
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Correspondence to Neil A R Gow.

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The author declares no competing financial interests.

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Gow, N. A developmental program for Candida commensalism. Nat Genet 45, 967–968 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.2737

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