Opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida glabrata circulates between humans and yellow-legged gulls

Candida glabrata: A Tale of Stealth and Endurance

Candida (Nakaseomyces) glabrata, an opportunistic human fungal pathogen, causes mucosal and deep-seated infections in immunocompromised individuals. Recently designated as a high-priority fungal pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO), C. glabrata exhibits low inherent susceptibility to azole antifungals. In addition, about 10% clinical isolates of C. glabrata display co-resistance to both azole and echinocandin drugs. Molecular mechanisms of antifungal resistance and virulence in C. glabrata are currently being delineated in-depth. This Review provides an overview of the epidemiology, biology, drug resistance, tools and host model systems for C. glabrata. Additionally, we discuss the immune evasion strategies that aid C. glabrata in establishing infections in the host. Overall, this Review aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to raise awareness of human pathogenic fungi, the growing threat of antifungal drug resistance and the unmet need for novel antifungal therapies, with an ultimate goal of improving clinical outcomes of affected individuals.

Microbe Profile: Candida glabrata - a master of deception

Candida glabrata is a fungal microbe associated with multiple vertebrate microbiomes and their terrestrial environments. In humans, the species has emerged as an opportunistic pathogen that now ranks as the second-leading cause of candidiasis in Europe and North America (Beardsley et al. Med Mycol 2024, 62). People at highest risk of infection include the elderly, immunocompromised individuals and/or long-term residents of hospital and assisted-living facilities. C. glabrata is intrinsically drug-resistant, metabolically versatile and able to avoid detection by the immune system. Analyses of its 12.3 Mb genome indicate a stable pangenome Marcet-Houben et al. (BMC Biol 2022, 20) and phylogenetic affinity with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Recent phylogenetic analyses suggest reclassifying C. glabrata as Nakaseomyces glabratus Lakashima and Sugita (Med Mycol J 2022, 63: 119-132).

Beyond the incubator: applying a "one health" approach in the NICU

A "one health" approach recognises that human health, animal health and planetary health are closely interlinked and that a transdisciplinary approach is required to fully understand and maintain global health. While, by necessity, Neonatal Intensive Care has traditionally focused on the acutely unwell newborn, the avoidance of long-term harm is core to many management decisions. The COVID 19 pandemic and climate crisis have brought into sharp relief the importance of a "one health" approach as part of long-term health promotion in the holistic care of neonates, who may survive to experience the burden of future environmental crises. This narrative review seeks to integrate what we know about "one health" issues in the neonatal intensive care unit, notably antimicrobial resistance and climate change, and suggest "everyday changes" which can be utilised by practitioners to minimise the impact of neonatal intensive care on these global health issues. Many of the changes suggested not only represent important improvements for planetary health but are also core to good neonatal practice. IMPACT: Neonatal patients are likely to bear the burden of future environmental crises including pandemics and climate related disasters. While the focus of intensive care practitioners is acute illness, awareness of "one health" problems are important for our smallest patients as part of preventing long-term harm. High quality neonatal care can benefit both the planet and our patients.

Candida albicans and Candida glabrata: global priority pathogens

SUMMARYA significant increase in the incidence of Candida-mediated infections has been observed in the last decade, mainly due to rising numbers of susceptible individuals. Recently, the World Health Organization published its first fungal pathogen priority list, with Candida species listed in medium, high, and critical priority categories. This review is a synthesis of information and recent advances in our understanding of two of these species-Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. Of these, C. albicans is the most common cause of candidemia around the world and is categorized as a critical priority pathogen. C. glabrata is considered a high-priority pathogen and has become an increasingly important cause of candidemia in recent years. It is now the second most common causative agent of candidemia in many geographical regions. Despite their differences and phylogenetic divergence, they are successful as pathogens and commensals of humans. Both species can cause a broad variety of infections, ranging from superficial to potentially lethal systemic infections. While they share similarities in certain infection strategies, including tissue adhesion and invasion, they differ significantly in key aspects of their biology, interaction with immune cells, host damage strategies, and metabolic adaptations. Here we provide insights on key aspects of their biology, epidemiology, commensal and pathogenic lifestyles, interactions with the immune system, and antifungal resistance.

Prevalence and drug susceptibility of clinical Candida species in nasopharyngeal cancer patients in Vietnam

In the nature, Candida species are normal inhabitants and can be observed in a wide variety of vertebrates. In humans, especially for cancer patients who fall prey to opportunistic pathogens, this group of susceptible multi-drug resistant and biofilm-forming yeasts, are among the commonest ones. In this study, Candida species in 76 oral lesion samples from Vietnamese nasopharyngeal-cancer patients were isolated, morphologically identified using CHROMagar™, germ tube formation, and chlamydospore formation tests, and molecularly confirmed by PCR-RFLP. The drug susceptibility of these isolates was then tested, and the gene ERG11 was DNA sequenced to investigate the mechanism of resistance. The results showed that Candida albicans remained the most prevalent species (63.16% of the cases), followed by Candida glabrata, Candida tropicalis, and Candida krusei. The rates of resistance of non-albicans Candida for tested drugs were 85.71%, 53.57%, and 57.14% to fluconazole, clotrimazole, and miconazole, respectively. Although the drug-resistance rate of Candida albicans was lower than that of non-albicans Candida, it was higher than expected, suggesting an emerging drug-resistance phenomenon. Furthermore, ERG11 DNA sequencing revealed different mutations (especially K128T), implying the presence of multiple resistance mechanisms. Altogether, the results indicate an alarming drug-resistance situation in Candida species in Vietnamese cancer patients and emphasize the importance of species identification and their drug susceptibility prior to treatment.

Rapid loss of maternal immunity and increase in environmentally mediated antibody generation in urban gulls

Monitoring pathogen circulation in wildlife sentinel populations can help to understand and predict the spread of disease at the wildlife-livestock-human interface. Immobile young provide a useful target population for disease surveillance, since they can be easily captured for sampling and their levels of antibodies against infectious agents can provide an index of localized circulation. However, early-life immune responses include both maternally-derived antibodies and antibodies resulting from exposure to pathogens, and disentangling these two processes requires understanding their individual dynamics. We conducted an egg-swapping experiment in an urban-nesting sentinel seabird, the yellow-legged gull, and measured antibody levels against three pathogens of interest (avian influenza virus AIV, Toxoplasma gondii TOX, and infectious bronchitis virus IBV) across various life stages, throughout chick growth, and between nestlings raised by biological or non-biological parents. We found that levels of background circulation differed among pathogens, with AIV antibodies widely present across all life stages, TOX antibodies rarer, and IBV antibodies absent. Antibody titers declined steadily from adult through egg, nestling, and chick stages. For the two circulating pathogens, maternal antibodies declined exponentially after hatching at similar rates, but the rate of linear increase due to environmental exposure was significantly higher in the more prevalent pathogen (AIV). Differences in nestling antibody levels due to parental effects also persisted longer for AIV (25 days, vs. 14 days for TOX). Our results suggest that yellow-legged gulls can be a useful sentinel population of locally transmitted infectious agents, provided that chicks are sampled at ages when environmental exposure outweighs maternal effects.

Theromyzon maculosum (Rathke, 1862) as a vector of potentially pathogenic fungi in aquatic ecosystems

The aim of the study was to check the integument and alimentary tract of Theromyzon for the occurrence of fungi. Moreover, the mycological purity of water sources from which leeches were collected was analyzed. The potential role of the duck leech Theromyzon maculosum in transmitting pathogenic fungi has not been studied until now. Mycological analyses were performed according to the procedure approved in mycological diagnostic laboratories, using classical diagnostic methods (macro- and microcultures, microscopic observations). In total, 22 species of yeasts were detected. The specimens belong to eight genera: Candida, Citeromyces, Debaryomyces, Kluyveromyces, Lodderomyces, Pichia, Saccharomyces and Saccharomycodes. Overall, 18 species of fungi were isolated from leeches Theromyzon maculosum, including seven species from the integument and 11 species from the gastrointestinal system. Among fungi isolated from body integument, fungi of the genus Candida were dominant, whereas in the gastrointestinal system, the genus Saccharomyces dominated. From the river waters, nine fungi species were isolated, and yeasts of the genera Candida and Kluyveromyces dominated. Isolation of the same species of microfungi from the integument of leeches and the river water suggests that Theromyzon maculosum may be a potential vector of pathogenic yeasts for vertebrates living in the same ecosystems and for humans.

Population genetics and microevolution of clinical Candida glabrata reveals recombinant sequence types and hyper-variation within mitochondrial genomes, virulence genes, and drug targets

Candida glabrata is the second most common etiological cause of worldwide systemic candidiasis in adult patients. Genome analysis of 68 isolates from 8 hospitals across Scotland, together with 83 global isolates, revealed insights into the population genetics and evolution of C. glabrata. Clinical isolates of C. glabrata from across Scotland are highly genetically diverse, including at least 19 separate sequence types that have been recovered previously in globally diverse locations, and 1 newly discovered sequence type. Several sequence types had evidence for ancestral recombination, suggesting transmission between distinct geographical regions has coincided with genetic exchange arising in new clades. Three isolates were missing MATα1, potentially representing a second mating type. Signatures of positive selection were identified in every sequence type including enrichment for epithelial adhesins thought to facilitate fungal adhesin to human epithelial cells. In patent microevolution was identified from 7 sets of recurrent cases of candidiasis, revealing an enrichment for nonsynonymous and frameshift indels in cell surface proteins. Microevolution within patients also affected epithelial adhesins genes, and several genes involved in drug resistance including the ergosterol synthesis gene ERG4 and the echinocandin target FKS1/2, the latter coinciding with a marked drop in fluconazole minimum inhibitory concentration. In addition to nuclear genome diversity, the C. glabrata mitochondrial genome was particularly diverse, with reduced conserved sequence and conserved protein-encoding genes in all nonreference ST15 isolates. Together, this study highlights the genetic diversity within the C. glabrata population that may impact virulence and drug resistance, and 2 major mechanisms generating this diversity: microevolution and genetic exchange/recombination.

Collateral consequences of agricultural fungicides on pathogenic yeasts: A One Health perspective to tackle azole resistance

Candida and Cryptococcus affect millions of people yearly, being responsible for a wide array of clinical presentations, including life-threatening diseases. Interestingly, most human pathogenic yeasts are not restricted to the clinical setting, as they are also ubiquitous in the environment. Recent studies raise concern regarding the potential impact of agricultural use of azoles on resistance to medical antifungals in yeasts, as previously outlined with Aspergillus fumigatus. Thus, we undertook a narrative review of the literature and provide lines of evidence suggesting that an alternative, environmental route of azole resistance, may develop in pathogenic yeasts, in addition to patient route. However, it warrants sound evidence to support that pathogenic yeasts cross border between plants, animals and humans and that environmental reservoirs may contribute to azole resistance in Candida or other yeasts for humans. As these possibilities could concern public health, we propose a road map for future studies under the One Health perspective.

Search for Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii Complexes and Related Genera (Filobasidium, Holtermanniella, Naganishia, Papiliotrema, Solicoccozyma, Vishniacozyma) spp. Biotope: Two Years Surveillance of Wild Avian Fauna in Southern France

Fungi belonging to the Cryptococcus genus and related genera (Filobasidium, Holtermanniella, Naganishia, Papiliotrema, Solicoccozyma, Vishniacozyma) are encapsulated yeasts found in either the environment or animal sources. However, the precise biotopes of most species remain poorly defined. To assess whether wild birds from southern France can carry or spread the most pathogenic species (i.e., species belonging to the C. neoformans and C. gattii complexes), as well as lesser-studied species (non-neoformans/gattii Cryptococcus and former Cryptococcus spp.), 669 birds belonging to 89 species received for care over a two-year period at the Centre de Protection de la Faune Sauvage of Villeveyrac (Bird Protection League nongovernmental organization (NGO) care center) were sampled. Samples were cultured, and Cryptococcus and former Cryptococcus yeasts were identified by PCR sequencing. The purpose was to evaluate whether there was any health risk to local populations or care personnel in aviaries and gather new data on the ecological niches of lesser-known species. One hundred and seven birds (16%) were found to be positive for at least one Cryptococcus or former Cryptococcus species. No yeasts belonging to the highly pathogenic C. neoformans or C. gattii complexes were isolated. However, diversity was notable, with 20 different Cryptococcus or former Cryptococcus species identified. Furthermore, most bird–yeast species associations found in this study have never been described before.

Investigation of culturable human gut mycobiota from the segamat community in Johor, Malaysia

Although several studies have already been carried out in investigating the general profile of the gut mycobiome across several countries, there has yet to be an officially established baseline of a healthy human gut mycobiome, to the best of our knowledge. Microbial composition within the gastrointestinal tract differ across individuals worldwide, and most human gut fungi studies concentrate specifically on individuals from developed countries or diseased cohorts. The present study is the first culture-dependent community study assessing the prevalence and diversity of gut fungi among different ethnic groups from South East Asia. Samples were obtained from a multi-ethnic semi-rural community from Segamat in southern Malaysia. Faecal samples were screened for culturable fungi and questionnaire data analysis was performed. Culturable fungi were present in 45% of the participants' stool samples. Ethnicity had an impact on fungal prevalence and density in stool samples. The prevalence of resistance to fluconazole, itraconazole, voriconazole and 5-fluorocytosine, from the Segamat community, were 14%, 14%, 11% and 7% respectively. It was found that Jakun individuals had lower levels of antifungal resistance irrespective of the drug tested, and male participants had more fluconazole resistant yeast in their stool samples. Two novel point mutations were identified in the ERG11 gene from one azole resistant Candida glabrata, suggesting a possible cause of the occurrence of antifungal resistant isolates in the participant's faecal sample.

Fresh Molecular Concepts to Extend the Lifetimes of Old Antimicrobial Drugs

Antimicrobial drug development generally initiates with target identification and mode of action studies. Often, emergence of resistance and/or undesired side effects that are discovered only after prolonged clinical use, result in discontinuation of clinical use. Since the cost and time required for improvement of existing drugs are considerably lower than those required for the development of novel drugs, academic and pharmaceutical company researchers pursue this direction. In this account we describe selected examples of how chemical probes generated from antimicrobial drugs and chemical and enzymatic modifications of these drugs have been used to modify modes of action, block mechanisms of resistance, or reduce side effects, improving performance. These examples demonstrate how new and comprehensive mechanistic insights can be translated into fresh concepts for development of next-generation antimicrobial agents.

Aspergillosis, Avian Species and the One Health Perspective: The Possible Importance of Birds in Azole Resistance

The One Health context considers health based on three pillars: humans, animals, and environment. This approach is a strong ally in the surveillance of infectious diseases and in the development of prevention strategies. Aspergillus spp. are fungi that fit substantially in this context, in view of their ubiquity, as well as their importance as plant pathogens, and potentially fatal pathogens for, particularly, humans and avian species. In addition, the emergence of azole resistance, mainly in Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto, and the proven role of fungicides widely used on crops, reinforces the need for a multidisciplinary approach to this problem. Avian species are involved in short and long distance travel between different types of landscapes, such as agricultural fields, natural environments and urban environments. Thus, birds can play an important role in the dispersion of Aspergillus, and of special concern, azole-resistant strains. In addition, some bird species are particularly susceptible to aspergillosis. Therefore, avian aspergillosis could be considered as an environmental health indicator. In this review, aspergillosis in humans and birds will be discussed, with focus on the presence of Aspergillus in the environment. We will relate these issues with the emergence of azole resistance on Aspergillus. These topics will be therefore considered and reviewed from the “One Health” perspective.

On the Origin of Candida auris: Ancestor, Environmental Stresses, and Antiseptics

Candida auris has emerged as a serious threat to the health care settings. Advancements in molecular biology have provided several insights into the evolution of C. auris since it was first described in 2009. However, the simultaneous emergence of four different clades of the fungus at distinct geographical locations remains a mystery. The hypotheses already proposed by researchers fall short of explaining how and why C. auris emerged. In this article, we theorize that C. auris emerged from a common ancestor, subsequently migrated to specific geographical locations, and diversified genetically. This hypothesis is supported by genomic insights, historical events, and indirect scientific facts. C. auris adapted to humans at locations and times coinciding with the divergence from the most recent common ancestor, emerging almost simultaneously as an opportunist pathogen due to antiseptic practices. Future research will support or refute this hypothesis.

Snails as Taxis for a Large Yeast Biodiversity

Yeasts are unicellular fungi that harbour a large biodiversity of thousands of species, of which particularly ascomycetous yeasts are instrumental to human food and beverage production. There is already a large body of evidence showing that insects play an important role for yeast ecology, for their dispersal to new habitats and for breeding and overwintering opportunities. Here, we sought to investigate a potential role of the terrestrial snails Cepaea hortensis and C. nemoralis, which in Europe are often found in association with human settlements and gardens, in yeast ecology. Surprisingly, even in a relatively limited culture-dependent sampling size of over 150 isolates, we found a variety of yeast genera, including species frequently isolated from grape must such as Hanseniaspora, Metschnikowia, Meyerozyma and Pichia in snail excrements. We typed the isolates using standard ITS-PCR-sequencing, sequenced the genomes of three non-conventional yeasts H. uvarum, Meyerozyma guilliermondii and P. kudriavzevii and characterized the fermentation performance of these three strains in grape must highlighting their potential to contribute to novel beverage fermentations. Aggravatingly, however, we also retrieved several human fungal pathogen isolates from snail excrements belonging to the Candida clade, namely Ca. glabrata and Ca. lusitaniae. Overall, our results indicate that diverse yeasts can utilise snails as taxis for dispersal. This courier service may be largely non-selective and thus depend on the diet available to the snails.

Nine Things Genomics Can Tell Us About Candida auris

Candida auris is a recently emerged multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen causing severe illness in hospitalized patients. C. auris is most closely related to a few environmental or rarely observed but cosmopolitan Candida species. However, C. auris is unique in the concern it is generating among public health agencies for its rapid emergence, difficulty to treat, and the likelihood for further and more extensive outbreaks and spread. To date, five geographically distributed and genetically divergent lineages have been identified, none of which includes isolates that were collected prior to 1996. Indeed, C. auris' ecological niche(s) and emergence remain enigmatic, although a number of hypotheses have been proposed. Recent genomic and transcriptomic work has also identified a variety of gene and chromosomal features that may have conferred C. auris with several important clinical phenotypes including its drug-resistance and growth at high temperatures. In this review we discuss nine major lines of enquiry into C. auris that big-data technologies and analytical approaches are beginning to answer.

Dear medical mycologists, it is time to look outside the box

Opulente et al. (Opulente DA, Langdon QK, Buh KV et al. Pathogenic budding yeasts isolated outside of clinical settings. FEMS Yeast Res 2019;19:foz032) published early this year a study aiming to investigate the diversity of wild yeast species, by collecting 1000 environmental samples coming from different substrates across the United States of America. The main finding of this work is the recovery of 54 strains of budding yeasts of which several are having a pathogenic potential in the clinical setting, such as Candida albicans, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis, Nakaseomyces glabrata and Pichia kudriavzevii. These findings, discussed here in light of other recent studies highlighting the role of fungicides in the rise of antifungal resistance in the clinical setting or the emergence of Candida auris, demonstrate that our environment can represent an alternative niche for several opportunistic fungal pathogens that can be a concern for human health.

Genotyping Reveals High Clonal Diversity and Widespread Genotypes of Candida Causing Candidemia at Distant Geographical Areas

The objectives of this study were to gain further insight on Candida genotype distribution and percentage of clustered isolates between hospitals and to identify potential clusters involving different hospitals and cities. We aim to genotype Candida spp. isolates causing candidemia in patients admitted to 16 hospitals in Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Brazil. Eight hundred and eighty-four isolates (Candida albicans, n = 534; C. parapsilosis, n = 282; and C. tropicalis, n = 68) were genotyped using species-specific microsatellite markers. CDC3, EF3, HIS3, CAI, CAIII, and CAVI were used for C. albicans, Ctrm1, Ctrm10, Ctrm12, Ctrm21, Ctrm24, and Ctrm28 for C. tropicalis, and CP1, CP4a, CP6, and B for C. parapsilosis. Genotypes were classified as singletons (genotype only found once) or clusters (same genotype infecting two or more patients). Clusters were defined as intra-hospital (involving patients admitted to a single hospital), intra-ward (involving patients admitted to the same hospital ward) or widespread (involving patients admitted to different hospitals). The percentage of clusters and the proportion of patients involved in clusters among species, genotypic diversity and distribution of genetic diversity were assessed. Seven hundred and twenty-three genotypes were detected, 78 (11%) being clusters, most of which (57.7%; n = 45/78) were intra-hospital clusters including intra-ward ones (42.2%; n = 19/45). The proportion of clusters was not statistically different between species, but the percentage of patients in clusters varied among hospitals. A number of genotypes (7.2%; 52/723) were widespread (found at different hospitals), comprising 66.7% (52/78) of clusters, and involved patients at hospitals in the same city (n = 21) or in different cities (n = 31). Only one C. parapsilosis cluster was a widespread genotype found in all four countries. Around 11% of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis isolates causing candidemia are clusters that may result from patient-to-patient transmission, widespread genotypes commonly found in unrelated patients, or insufficient microsatellite typing genetic discrimination.

Molecular Typing of Candida glabrata

The yeast Candida glabrata has emerged, second only to Candida albicans, to be one of the most frequently isolated fungi in clinical specimen from human. Its frequent resistance towards azole antifungal drugs and the high capacity to form biofilms on indwelling catheters of individual isolates render it an often difficult to treat pathogen. Hence, there is a notably increasing scientific and clinical interest in this species. This has led to the development of a variety of molecular tools for genetic modification, strain collections, and last but not least different approaches to analyse the population structure among isolates of different geographical and clinical contexts. Often, these are used to study correlations (or the absence thereof) with different pathogenicity, virulence, or drug resistance traits. Three molecular methods have been used to type within the C. glabrata population on a genetic level by multiple studies: multi-locus sequence typing, microsatellite length polymorphisms, and clustering of whole-genome sequencing data, and these are subject of this review.

On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds

The most enigmatic aspect of the rise of Candida auris as a human pathogen is that it emerged simultaneously on three continents, with each clade being genetically distinct. Although new pathogenic fungal species are described regularly, these are mostly species associated with single cases in individuals who are immunosuppressed. In this study, we used phylogenetic analysis to compare the temperature susceptibility of C. auris with those of its close relatives and to use these results to argue that it may be the first example of a new fungal disease emerging from climate change, with the caveat that many other factors may have contributed.

Mating genotypes and susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates of Candida glabrata from Turkey

The sexual cycle of Candida glabrata is not known; however, genomic evidence is indicative of recombination among subpopulations and the genome harbours genes necessary for undergoing mating and meiosis, which may increase fitness. The relationship between specific mating type-like (MTL) loci and antifungal susceptibility is not well understood in C. glabrata. We investigated different combinations of clinical C. glabrata isolate mating types and their antifungal susceptibility profiles. Allele profiles of the mating genes of 103 clinical C. glabrata isolates were identified, and their antifungal susceptibility to azoles, echinocandins and amphotericin B were compared. The majority (88.3%) of screened isolates harboured the a allele in the locus. The MTL1, MTL2 and MTL3 loci harboured a (88.3%), a (95.1%), and α (71.8%) alleles, respectively. The C. glabrata isolates were susceptible to echinocandins but displayed high minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for azoles. The MIC ranges and MIC90 values of all isolates were 1.0 to ≥64 and 8.0 μg mL^-1 for fluconazole, 0.06 to ≥16.0 and 0.5 μg mL^-1 for voriconazole, 0.06 to ≥16.0 and 1.0 μg mL^-1 for posaconazole, ≤0.015 to 0.06, and 0.03 μg mL^-1 for caspofungin, ≤0.015 to 0.06 and 0.015 μg mL^-1 for anidulafungin and 0.5-2 and 2.0 μg mL^-1 for amphotericin B, respectively. The mating gene alleles of the clinical C. glabrata isolates were not associated with differences in the MICs of the tested antifungals, except for the MTL3 α-allele and echinocandins. The mating genotypes of the clinical C. glabrata isolates had no recognisable common effect on antifungal susceptibility.

Fungal infections in animals: a patchwork of different situations

The importance of fungal infections in both human and animals has increased over the last decades. This article represents an overview of the different categories of fungal infections that can be encountered in animals originating from environmental sources without transmission to humans. In addition, the endemic infections with indirect transmission from the environment, the zoophilic fungal pathogens with near-direct transmission, the zoonotic fungi that can be directly transmitted from animals to humans, mycotoxicoses and antifungal resistance in animals will also be discussed. Opportunistic mycoses are responsible for a wide range of diseases from localized infections to fatal disseminated diseases, such as aspergillosis, mucormycosis, candidiasis, cryptococcosis and infections caused by melanized fungi. The amphibian fungal disease chytridiomycosis and the Bat White-nose syndrome are due to obligatory fungal pathogens. Zoonotic agents are naturally transmitted from vertebrate animals to humans and vice versa. The list of zoonotic fungal agents is limited but some species, like Microsporum canis and Sporothrix brasiliensis from cats, have a strong public health impact. Mycotoxins are defined as the chemicals of fungal origin being toxic for warm-blooded vertebrates. Intoxications by aflatoxins and ochratoxins represent a threat for both human and animal health. Resistance to antifungals can occur in different animal species that receive these drugs, although the true epidemiology of resistance in animals is unknown, and options to treat infections caused by resistant infections are limited.

Genomes shed light on the secret life of Candida glabrata: not so asexual, not so commensal

Candida glabrata is an opportunistic yeast pathogen, whose incidence has increased over the last decades. Despite its genus name, this species is actually more closely related to the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae than to other Candida pathogens, such as Candida albicans. Hence, C. glabrata and C. albicans must have acquired the ability to infect humans independently, which is reflected in the use of different mechanism for virulence, and survival in the host. Yet, research on C. glabrata suffers from assumptions carried over from the more studied C. albicans. Regarding the adaptation of C. glabrata to the human host, the prejudice was that, just as C. albicans, C. glabrata is a natural human commensal that turns deadly when immune defenses weaken. It was also considered asexual, as no one has observed mating, diploids, or spores, despite great efforts. However, the recent analysis of whole genomes from globally distributed C. glabrata isolates have shaken these assumptions. C. glabrata seems to be only secondarily associated to humans, as indicated by a lack of co-evolution with its host, and genomic footprints of recombination shows compelling evidence that this yeast is able to have sex. Here, we discuss the implications of this and other recent findings and highlight the new questions opened by this change in paradigm.

Investigating Clinical Issues by Genotyping of Medically Important Fungi: Why and How?

Genotyping studies of medically important fungi have addressed elucidation of outbreaks, nosocomial transmissions, infection routes, and genotype-phenotype correlations, of which secondary resistance has been most intensively investigated. Two methods have emerged because of their high discriminatory power and reproducibility: multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and microsatellite length polymorphism (MLP) using short tandem repeat (STR) markers. MLST relies on single-nucleotide polymorphisms within the coding regions of housekeeping genes. STR polymorphisms are based on the number of repeats of short DNA fragments, mostly outside coding regions, and thus are expected to be more polymorphic and more rapidly evolving than MLST markers. There is no consensus on a universal typing system. Either one or both of these approaches are now available for Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., Cryptococcus neoformans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, and endemic mycoses. The choice of the method and the number of loci to be tested depend on the clinical question being addressed. Next-generation sequencing is becoming the most appropriate method for fungi with no MLP or MLST typing available. Whatever the molecular tool used, collection of clinical data (e.g., time of hospitalization and sharing of similar rooms) is mandatory for investigating outbreaks and nosocomial transmission.

Real-Time Imaging of the Azole Class of Antifungal Drugs in Live Candida Cells

Azoles are the most commonly used class of antifungal drugs, yet where they localize within fungal cells and how they are imported remain poorly understood. Azole antifungals target lanosterol 14α-demethylase, a cytochrome P450, encoded by ERG11 in Candida albicans, the most prevalent fungal pathogen. We report the synthesis of fluorescent probes that permit visualization of antifungal azoles within live cells. Probe 1 is a dansyl dye-conjugated azole, and probe 2 is a Cy5-conjugated azole. Docking computations indicated that each of the probes can occupy the active site of the target cytochrome P450. Like the azole drug fluconazole, probe 1 is not effective against a mutant that lacks the target cytochrome P450. In contrast, the azole drug ketoconazole and probe 2 retained some antifungal activity against mutants lacking the target cytochrome P450, implying that both act against more than one target. Both fluorescent azole probes colocalized with the mitochondria, as determined by fluorescence microscopy with MitoTracker dye. Thus, these fluorescent probes are useful molecular tools that can lead to detailed information about the activity and localization of the important azole class of antifungal drugs.