DLH1, the Candida albicans homologue of the meiosis-specific DMC1, is not involved in DNA repair but catalyses spontaneous interhomologue recombination and might promote non-crossover events

Is There a Relationship Between Mating and Pathogenesis in Two Human Fungal Pathogens, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata?

Purpose of Review

Human fungal pathogens are rapidly increasing in incidence and readily able to evade the host immune responses. Our ability to study the genetic behind this has been limited due to the apparent lack of a sexual cycle and forward genetic tools. In this review, we discuss the evolution of mating, meiosis, and pathogenesis and if these processes are advantageous to pathogens.

Recent Findings

This review summarises what is currently known about the sexual cycles of two important human fungal pathogens, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. This includes the identification of parasexual cycle in C. albicans and the observed low levels of recombination in C. glabrata populations.

Summary

In this review, we present what is currently known about the mating types and mating/sexual cycles of two clinically important human fungal pathogens, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. We discuss the evolution of meiosis using the knowledge that has been amassed from the decades of studying Saccharomyces cerevisiae and how this can be applied to fungal pathogens. We further discuss how the evolution of pathogenesis has played a role in influencing mating processes in human fungal pathogens and compare sexual cycles between C. albicans and C. glabrata, highlighting knowledge gaps and suggesting how these two fungi have evolved distinct mating niches to allow the development of disease in a human host.

Multiple Stochastic Parameters Influence Genome Dynamics in a Heterozygous Diploid Eukaryotic Model

The heterozygous diploid genome of Candida albicans displays frequent genomic rearrangements, in particular loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) events, which can be seen on all eight chromosomes and affect both laboratory and clinical strains. LOHs, which are often the consequence of DNA damage repair, can be observed upon stresses reminiscent of the host environment, and result in homozygous regions of various sizes depending on the molecular mechanisms at their origins. Recent studies have shed light on the biological importance of these frequent and ubiquitous LOH events in C. albicans. In diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae, LOH facilitates the passage of recessive beneficial mutations through Haldane’s sieve, allowing rapid evolutionary adaptation. This also appears to be true in C. albicans, where the full potential of an adaptive mutation is often only observed upon LOH, as illustrated in the case of antifungal resistance and niche adaptation. To understand the genome-wide dynamics of LOH events in C. albicans, we constructed a collection of 15 strains, each one carrying a LOH reporter system on a different chromosome arm. This system involves the insertion of two fluorescent marker genes in a neutral genomic region on both homologs, allowing spontaneous LOH events to be detected by monitoring the loss of one of the fluorescent markers using flow cytometry. Using this collection, we observed significant LOH frequency differences between genomic loci in standard laboratory growth conditions; however, we further demonstrated that comparable heterogeneity was also observed for a given genomic locus between independent strains. Additionally, upon exposure to stress, three outcomes could be observed in C. albicans, where individual strains displayed increases, decreases, or no effect of stress in terms of LOH frequency. Our results argue against a general stress response triggering overall genome instability. Indeed, we showed that the heterogeneity of LOH frequency in C. albicans is present at various levels, inter-strain, intra-strain, and inter-chromosomes, suggesting that LOH events may occur stochastically within a cell, though the genetic background potentially impacts genome stability in terms of LOH throughout the genome in both basal and stress conditions. This heterogeneity in terms of genome stability may serve as an important adaptive strategy for the predominantly clonal human opportunistic pathogen C. albicans, by quickly generating a wide spectrum of genetic variation combinations potentially permitting subsistence in a rapidly evolving environment.

Genome plasticity in Candida albicans: A cutting-edge strategy for evolution, adaptation, and survival

Candida albicans is the most implicated fungal species that grows as a commensal or opportunistic pathogen in the human host. It is associated with many life-threatening infections, especially in immunocompromised persons. The genome of Candida albicans is very flexible and can withstand a wide assortment of variations in a continuously changing environment. Thus, genome plasticity is central to its adaptation and has long been of considerable interest. C. albicans has a diploid heterozygous genome that is highly dynamic and can display variation from small to large scale chromosomal rearrangement and aneuploidy, which have implications in drug resistance, virulence, and pathogenicity. This review presents an up-to-date overview of recent genomic studies involving C. albicans. It discusses the accumulating evidence that shows how mitotic recombination events, ploidy dynamics, aneuploidy, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) influence evolution, adaptation, and survival in C. albicans. Understanding the factors that affect the genome is crucial for a proper understanding of species and rapid development and adjustment of therapeutic strategies to mitigate their spread.

Parasexuality of Candida Species

While most fungi have the ability to reproduce sexually, multiple independent lineages have lost meiosis and developed parasexual cycles in its place. Emergence of parasexual cycles is particularly prominent in medically relevant fungi from the CUG paraphyletic group of Candida species. Since the discovery of parasex in C. albicans roughly two decades ago, it has served as the model for Candida species. Importantly, parasex in C. albicans retains hallmarks of meiosis including genetic recombination and chromosome segregation, making it a potential driver of genetic diversity. Furthermore, key meiotic genes play similar roles in C. albicans parasex and highlights parallels between these processes. Yet, the evolutionary role of parasex in Candida adaptation and the extent of resulting genotypic and phenotypic diversity remain as key knowledge gaps in this facultative reproductive program. Here, we present our current understanding of parasex, the mechanisms governing its regulation, and its relevance to Candida biology.

The Impact of Gene Dosage and Heterozygosity on The Diploid Pathobiont Candida albicans

Candida albicans is a fungal species that can colonize multiple niches in the human host where it can grow either as a commensal or as an opportunistic pathogen. The genome of C. albicans has long been of considerable interest, given that it is highly plastic and can undergo a wide variety of alterations. These changes play a fundamental role in determining C. albicans traits and have been shown to enable adaptation both to the host and to antifungal drugs. C. albicans isolates contain a heterozygous diploid genome that displays variation from the level of single nucleotides to largescale rearrangements and aneuploidy. The heterozygous nature of the genome is now increasingly recognized as being central to C. albicans biology, as the relative fitness of isolates has been shown to correlate with higher levels of overall heterozygosity. Moreover, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) events can arise frequently, either at single polymorphisms or at a chromosomal level, and both can alter the behavior of C. albicans cells during infection or can modulate drug resistance. In this review, we examine genome plasticity in this pathobiont focusing on how gene dosage variation and loss of heterozygosity events can arise and how these modulate C. albicans behavior.