biostudies-literatureUnknown10(4)Schutz KFungal pathogens commonly originate from benign or non-pathogenic strains living in the natural environment. The recently emerged human pathogen, <i>Candida auris,</i> is one example of a fungus believed to have originated in the environment and recently transitioned into a clinical setting. To date, however, there is limited evidence about the origins of this species in the natural environment and when it began associating with humans. One approach to overcome this gap is to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between (1) strains isolated from clinical and non-clinical environments and (2) between species known to cause disease in humans and benign environmental saprobes. <i>C. auris</i> belongs to the <i>Candida/Clavispora</i> clade, a diverse group of 45 yeast species including humanMicrobial genomicshttps://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11092196biostudies-literaturePatterns recovered in phylogenomic analysis of <i>Candida auris</i> and close relatives implicate broad environmental flexibility in <i>Candida/Clavispora</i> clade yeasts.PMC11092196Quandt CASmith SDSchutz KMelie TfalsePatterns recovered in phylogenomic analysis of <i>Candida auris</i> and close relatives implicate broad environmental flexibility in <i>Candida/Clavispora</i> clade yeasts.Fungal pathogens commonly originate from benign or non-pathogenic strains living in the natural environment. The recently emerged human pathogen, <i>Candida auris,</i> is one example of a fungus believed to have originated in the environment and recently transitioned into a clinical setting. To date, however, there is limited evidence about the origins of this species in the natural environment and when it began associating with humans. One approach to overcome this gap is to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships between (1) strains isolated from clinical and non-clinical environments and (2) between species known to cause disease in humans and benign environmental saprobes. <i>C. auris</i> belongs to the <i>Candida/Clavispora</i> clade, a diverse group of 45 yeast species including human2024-01-01T00:00:00Z2024 Apr2026-06-03T01:32:33.442Z2026-04-22T03:13:24.129ZS-EPMC110921963863060810.1099/mgen.0.001233