Xenosiderophore transporter gene expression and clade-specific filamentation in Candida auris killifish (Aphanius dispar) infection.

ABSTRACT: Candida auris is a critical priority fungal pathogen (World Health Organization). Clinical management is challenging, with high associated mortality, rapidly increasing antifungal resistance, and frequent nosocomial outbreaks. A critical bottleneck in understanding virulence is the lack of gene expression profiling models during infection. We developed a fish embryo yolk-sac microinjection model using Aphanius dispar (Arabian killifish; AK) at human body temperature. This enabled interrogation of infection dynamics via dual host-pathogen RNA-seq across five major clades of C. auris (I-V). Host responses included heat shock, complement activation, and nutritional immunity, notably haem oxygenase (HMOX) expression during clade IV infection. We identified a pathogen transcriptional signature

SUBMITTER: Gifford H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12717273 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature