MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY. PHYLOGENY AND EVOLUTION OF Candida albicans
File Type:
PDFItem Type:
Journal ArticleDate:
2014Access:
OpenAccessCitation:
McMANUS BA, COLEMAN DC, MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY. PHYLOGENY AND EVOLUTION OF Candida albicans, INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION, 21, January 2014, 2014, 166 - 178Abstract:
A small number of Candida species form part of the normal microbial flora of
mucosal surfaces in humans and may give rise to opportunistic infections when host defences
are impaired. Candida albicans is by far the most prevalent commensal and pathogenic
Candida species. Several different molecular typing approaches including multilocus
sequence typing, multilocus microsatellite typing and DNA fingerprinting using C. albicansspecific
repetitive sequence- containing DNA probes have yielded a wealth of information
regarding the epidemiology and population structure of this species. Such studies revealed
that the C. albicans population structure consists of multiple major and minor clades, some of
which exhibit geographical or phenotypic enrichment and that C. albicans reproduction is
predominantly clonal. Despite this, losses of heterozygosity by recombination, the existence
of a parasexual cycle, toleration of a wide range of aneuploidies and the recent description of
viable haploid strains have all demonstrated the extensive plasticity of the C. albicans
genome. Recombination and gross chromosomal rearrangements are more common under
stressful environmental conditions, and have played a significant role in the evolution of this
opportunistic pathogen.
Surprisingly, Candida dubliniensis, the closest relative of C. albicans exhibits more
karyotype variability than C. albicans, but is significantly less adaptable to unfavourable
environments. This disparity most likely reflects the evolutionary processes that occurred
during or soon after the divergence of both species from their common ancestor. Whilst C.
dubliniensis underwent significant gene loss and pseudogenisation, C. albicans expanded
gene families considered to be important in virulence.
It is likely that technological developments in whole genome sequencing and data
analysis in coming years will facilitate its routine use for population structure,
epidemiological investigations, and phylogenetic analyses of Candida species. These are
likely to reveal more minor C. albicans clades and to enhance our understanding of the
population biology of this versatile organism.
Author's Homepage:
http://people.tcd.ie/dcolemanhttp://people.tcd.ie/bmcmanu
Description:
PUBLISHED19 November; Epub ahead of print
Author: MC MANUS, BRENDA; COLEMAN, DAVID
Type of material:
Journal ArticleCollections
Series/Report no:
INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION21
January 2014
Availability:
Full text availableKeywords:
Candida albicans, Population structure, Molecular phylogenetics, Evolution, MLST, CladesSubject (TCD):
Immunology, Inflammation & InfectionDOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2013.11.008Metadata
Show full item recordLicences: