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Fungal genomics

Invasive Candida hidden in plain sight

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 21, page 483 (2023)Cite this article

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Candida albicans is a commensal that frequently colonizes mucosal surfaces such as the mouth and gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans. In some cases, this opportunistic pathogen can cause minor mucosal infections or even invasive and severe systemic infections, with the host immune status having an impact on disease outcome. In addition, previous studies have suggested that intraspecies variation may have a role in the shift towards pathogenicity and disease severity. However, the underlying genetic determinants that can influence pathogenicity are not well understood. In this study, O’Meara and colleagues show that healthy individuals are reservoirs for genotypically and phenotypically diverse C. albicans strains that retain their capacity to cause disease.

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References

Original article

  • Anderson, F. M. et al. Candida albicans selection for human commensalism results in substantial within-host diversity without decreasing fitness for invasive disease. PLoS Biol. 21, e3001822 (2023)

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  1. Nature Reviews Microbiology http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/

    Andrea Du Toit

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  1. Andrea Du Toit
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Correspondence to Andrea Du Toit.

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Cite this article

Du Toit, A. Invasive Candida hidden in plain sight. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 483 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00923-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-023-00923-0

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