Researchers reveal six new genome sequences and fundamental insights to the Candida fungus family
May 25, 2009
Candida species growing as biofilms on catheter material. Image: UCD
An international research collaboration coordinated by UCD (University College Dublin) researchers and involving scientists at 21 institutes including the genome sequencing centres in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, UK and the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, USA have defined six new genome sequences in the Candida fungus family and identified genetic differences in species that cause disease.
The research, published yesterday in Nature, describes how Candida strains have evolved and ensured their survival by adapting their genetic makeup to respond to changes in their environment. Candida species are the most common cause of opportunistic fungal infection worldwide.
The incidence of Candida parapsilosis in particular poses the greatest threat to transplant patients and premature babies as it forms a film that coats the inside of medical devices such as implants, catheters or feeding tubes. The fungus is drug resistant and the only effective treatment involves the removal of the medical device. Prior to this work, very little was known about this species.
The UCD research team led by Professor Geraldine Butler from UCD Conway Institute & School of Biomolecular & Biomedical Science looked at key components of mating and cell division in Candida species, shedding new light on how the fungi reproduce and survive.
Professor Butler, scientific coordinator on this project, began working to identify the sequence of genes of C. parapsilosis in 2003 through funding from Science Foundation Ireland. She said, “We started by sequencing small parts of the C. parapsilosis genome, which led to our collaboration with the Sanger Institute to sequence the entire genome, and finally to combining this genome with others sequenced by the Broad Institute”
Commenting on their findings, Professor Butler says, “Candida species were originally believed to be incapable of mating, and so may have difficulties in adapting to new environments or new hosts. As a result of our analysis, we now know a great deal more about the evolution of mating, and how some species recombine their genes. Interestingly, C. parapsilosis is probably the only species that cannot mate”
By comparing the genetic sequences in disease and non-disease causing fungi, the team found that in general, the disease causing Candida species have many more copies of genes involved in adhesion, and in the cell wall. The stickiness of the proteins in the cell wall makes it easier for the fungi to adhere to the human host. Further research on the regulation of these proteins may lead to developing treatment methods for infections caused by fungi in the future.
More information: ‘Evolution of pathogenicity and sexual reproduction in eight Candida genomes’, http://dx.doi.org/ … /nature08064
Provided by University College Dublin
-
Researchers hone in on new strategy to treat common infection
Oct 27, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Study identifies mechanism underlying multidrug resistance in fungi
Apr 02, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Evolution of the Sexes: What a Fungus Can Tell Us
Jan 09, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Sex life of killer fungus finally revealed
Dec 01, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Yeast missing sex genes undergo unexpected sexual reproduction
May 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (3) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Of microchemistry and molecules: Electronic microfluidic device synthesizes biocompatible probes
Jan 26, 2012 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
-
Stem cell question.
Feb 10, 2012
-
Protease cleavage
Feb 10, 2012
-
Pertubance in a model
Feb 10, 2012
-
Cancer drugs and Alzheimer's, Oh my!
Feb 09, 2012
-
Squishing cells
Feb 09, 2012
-
Any books/articles for evolutionary stable strategy models in humans?
Feb 09, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Biology
More news stories
Entire genome of extinct human decoded from fossil
(PhysOrg.com) -- In 2010, Svante Pääbo and his colleagues presented a draft version of the genome from a small fragment of a human finger bone discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. The ...
Feb 07, 2012 |
4.7 / 5 (58) |
46
|
Why are there so few fish in the Earth's oceans?
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Stony Brook University researcher has found that, contrary to popular belief, there are not plenty of fish in the sea.
Feb 08, 2012 |
4.3 / 5 (17) |
26
|
Miami battling invasion of giant African snails
No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African giant snails has southern Florida in a panic over potential crop damage, disease and general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods.
Feb 10, 2012 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
5
Deciding to go left or right: Researchers use device to determine that lower animals can navigate too
For decades, scientists have associated binary decision making opting to go left or right with higher-ranking animals, including humans. A team of Harvard researchers, however, is rewriting that ...
Feb 09, 2012 |
4 / 5 (1) |
4
|
Study shows chimps able to understand needs of others
(PhysOrg.com) -- By setting up a unique experiment, a small team of researchers has found that chimpanzees are able to understand need in other chimps, despite their general disinclination to offer aid when ...
Google might launch Drive for cloud storage soon
(PhysOrg.com) -- Google's next big move, according to the Wall Street Journal, is a cloud storage service called Drive. Hardly first to the plate, Google is simply catching up to introducing its cloud reposi ...
Walney offshore wind farm is world's biggest (for now)
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Walney wind farm on the Irish Sea--characterized by high tides, waves and windy weather--officially opened this week. The farm is treated in the press as a very big deal as the Walney ...
Latin America mining boom clashes with conservation
Latin America is experiencing a mining boom as prices rise fuelled by a hike in global demand, but the region is also being hit by a wave of violent protests, strikes and rallies by environmentalists.
Love a click away in Indonesia's Twitter Republic
He was a geeky kid from Yogyakarta, she a glamorous city girl in Jakarta. In a country with one of the world's most vibrant social networking scenes they fell in love on Twitter.
Europeans protest controversial Internet pact
Tens of thousands of people marched in protests in more than a dozen European cities Saturday against a controversial anti-online piracy pact that critics say could curtail Internet freedom.
Navy to begin tests on electromagnetic railgun prototype launcher
The Office of Naval Research (ONR)'s Electromagnetic (EM) Railgun program will take an important step forward in the coming weeks when the first industry railgun prototype launcher is tested at a facility ...