An international research collaboration coordinated by UCD 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. 