Research lead
An international research collaboration led by University College Dublin, Ireland, and involving 21 other institutes, has defined six new genome sequences in the Candida fungus family and identified genetic differences in species that cause disease.
The research demonstrates how Candida strains have evolved and ensured their survival by adapting their genetic makeup to respond to changes in their environment. Candida species are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infection worldwide.
Candida parapsilosis in particular poses the greatest threat to transplant patients and premature babies, as it forms a film that coats the inside of medical devices such as implants, catheters or feeding tubes. The fungus is drug resistant, and the only effective treatment involves the removal of the medical device. Before this work little was known about this species.
Research sheds new light on how the fungi reproduce and survive. It was also found that in general, disease-causing Candida species have many more copies of genes involved in adhesion, and in the cell wall. The stickiness of the proteins in the cell wall makes it easier for the fungi to adhere to the human host.
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