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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.

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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.

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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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