Dataset Information

Comparative genomics of the fungal pathogens Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans.

ABSTRACT: Candida dubliniensis is the closest known relative of Candida albicans, the most pathogenic yeast species in humans. However, despite both species sharing many phenotypic characteristics, including the ability to form true hyphae, C. dubliniensis is a significantly less virulent and less versatile pathogen. Therefore, to identify C. albicans-specific genes that may be responsible for an increased capacity to cause disease, we have sequenced the C. dubliniensis genome and compared it with the known C. albicans genome sequence. Although the two genome sequences are highly similar and synteny is conserved throughout, 168 species-specific genes are identified, including some encoding known hyphal-specific virulence factors, such as the aspartyl proteinases Sap4 and Sap5 and the proposed invasin Als3. Among the 115 pseudogenes confirmed in C. dubliniensis are orthologs of several filamentous growth regulator (FGR) genes that also have suspected roles in pathogenesis. However, the principal differences in genomic repertoire concern expansion of the TLO gene family of putative transcription factors and the IFA family of putative transmembrane proteins in C. albicans, which represent novel candidate virulence-associated factors. The results suggest that the recent evolutionary histories of C. albicans and C. dubliniensis are quite different. While gene families instrumental in pathogenesis have been elaborated in C. albicans, C. dubliniensis has lost genomic capacity and key pathogenic functions. This could explain why C. albicans is a more potent pathogen in humans than C. dubliniensis.

SUBMITTER: Jackson AP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2792176 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative genomics of the fungal pathogens Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans.

Jackson Andrew P AP Gamble John A JA Yeomans Tim T Moran Gary P GP Saunders David D Harris David D Aslett Martin M Barrell Jamie F JF Butler Geraldine G Citiulo Francesco F Coleman David C DC de Groot Piet W J PW Goodwin Tim J TJ Quail Michael A MA McQuillan Jacqueline J Munro Carol A CA Pain Arnab A Poulter Russell T RT Rajandream Marie-Adèle MA Renauld Hubert H Spiering Martin J MJ Tivey Adrian A Gow Neil A R NA Barrell Barclay B Sullivan Derek J DJ Berriman Matthew M

Genome research 20090910 12

Candida dubliniensis is the closest known relative of Candida albicans, the most pathogenic yeast species in humans. However, despite both species sharing many phenotypic characteristics, including the ability to form true hyphae, C. dubliniensis is a significantly less virulent and less versatile pathogen. Therefore, to identify C. albicans-specific genes that may be responsible for an increased capacity to cause disease, we have sequenced the C. dubliniensis genome and compared it with the kno ...[more]

PMID: 19745113

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Project description:Abstract: Candida parapsilosis and Candida albicans are human fungal pathogens that belong to the CUG clade in the Saccharomycotina. In contrast to C. albicans, relatively little is known about the virulence properties of C. parapsilosis, a pathogen particularly associated with infections of premature neonates. We describe here the construction of >200 C. parapsilosis strains carrying double allele deletions of transcription factors, protein kinases and species-specific genes. Two independent deletions were constructed for each target gene. Growth in > 40 conditions was tested, including carbon source, temperature, and the presence of antifungal drugs. The phenotypes were compared to C. albicans strains with deletions of orthologous transcription factors. We found that many phenotypes are shared between the two species, such as the role of Upc2 as a regulator of azole resistance. Others are unique. For example, Cph2 plays a role in the hypoxic response in C. parapsilosis and not in C. albicans. We found extensive divergence between the biofilm regulators of the two species. We identified 7 transcription factors and one protein kinase that are required for biofilm development in C. parapsilosis. Only three (Efg1, Bcr1, and Ace2) have similar effects on C. albicans biofilms, whereas Cph2, Czf1, Gzf3 and Ume6 have major roles in C. parapsilosis only. In addition, two transcription factors (Brg1 and Tec1) with well-characterized roles in biofilm formation in C. albicans do not have the same function in C. parapsilosis. We also compared the transcription profile of C. parapsilosis and C. albicans biofilms. Our analysis suggests the processes shared between the two species are predominantly metabolic. C. parapsilosis mRNA profiles of wild type (WT) at 37 degree celcius in planktonic growth conditions and ace2-/-, cph2-/-, efg1-/-, czf1-/-, ume6-/-, bcr1-/- and WT in biofilm conditions were generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq2000.

Dataset Information

Comparative genomics of the fungal pathogens Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans.

Publications

Comparative genomics of the fungal pathogens Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans.

Similar Datasets

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