Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update
<i>Candida albicans</i> is an opportunistic fungal pathogen, which causes a plethora of superficial, as well as invasive, infections in humans. The ability of this fungus in switching from commensalism to active infection is attributed to its many virulence traits. Biofilm formation is a...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2018-11-01
|
Series: | Genes |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/11/540 |
id |
doaj-6191c6edf0cd453c827588addbd31a34 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-6191c6edf0cd453c827588addbd31a342020-11-25T00:37:13ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252018-11-0191154010.3390/genes9110540genes9110540Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An UpdatePei Pei Chong0Voon Kin Chin1Won Fen Wong2Priya Madhavan3Voon Chen Yong4Chung Yeng Looi5School of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor, MalaysiaSchool of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor, MalaysiaDepartment of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor, MalaysiaSchool of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor, MalaysiaSchool of Biosciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University Malaysia, Subang Jaya, 47500 Selangor, Malaysia<i>Candida albicans</i> is an opportunistic fungal pathogen, which causes a plethora of superficial, as well as invasive, infections in humans. The ability of this fungus in switching from commensalism to active infection is attributed to its many virulence traits. Biofilm formation is a key process, which allows the fungus to adhere to and proliferate on medically implanted devices as well as host tissue and cause serious life-threatening infections. Biofilms are complex communities of filamentous and yeast cells surrounded by an extracellular matrix that confers an enhanced degree of resistance to antifungal drugs. Moreover, the extensive plasticity of the <i>C. albicans</i> genome has given this versatile fungus the added advantage of microevolution and adaptation to thrive within the unique environmental niches within the host. To combat these challenges in dealing with <i>C. albicans</i> infections, it is imperative that we target specifically the molecular pathways involved in biofilm formation as well as drug resistance. With the advent of the -omics era and whole genome sequencing platforms, novel pathways and genes involved in the pathogenesis of the fungus have been unraveled. Researchers have used a myriad of strategies including transcriptome analysis for <i>C. albicans</i> cells grown in different environments, whole genome sequencing of different strains, functional genomics approaches to identify critical regulatory genes, as well as comparative genomics analysis between <i>C. albicans</i> and its closely related, much less virulent relative, <i>C. dubliniensis</i>, in the quest to increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the success of <i>C. albicans</i> as a major fungal pathogen. This review attempts to summarize the most recent advancements in the field of biofilm and antifungal resistance research and offers suggestions for future directions in therapeutics development.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/11/540<i>Candida albicans</i>biofilmantifungal resistancetranscriptomics |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Pei Pei Chong Voon Kin Chin Won Fen Wong Priya Madhavan Voon Chen Yong Chung Yeng Looi |
spellingShingle |
Pei Pei Chong Voon Kin Chin Won Fen Wong Priya Madhavan Voon Chen Yong Chung Yeng Looi Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update Genes <i>Candida albicans</i> biofilm antifungal resistance transcriptomics |
author_facet |
Pei Pei Chong Voon Kin Chin Won Fen Wong Priya Madhavan Voon Chen Yong Chung Yeng Looi |
author_sort |
Pei Pei Chong |
title |
Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update |
title_short |
Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update |
title_full |
Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update |
title_fullStr |
Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transcriptomic and Genomic Approaches for Unravelling <em>Candida albicans</em> Biofilm Formation and Drug Resistance—An Update |
title_sort |
transcriptomic and genomic approaches for unravelling <em>candida albicans</em> biofilm formation and drug resistance—an update |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Genes |
issn |
2073-4425 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
<i>Candida albicans</i> is an opportunistic fungal pathogen, which causes a plethora of superficial, as well as invasive, infections in humans. The ability of this fungus in switching from commensalism to active infection is attributed to its many virulence traits. Biofilm formation is a key process, which allows the fungus to adhere to and proliferate on medically implanted devices as well as host tissue and cause serious life-threatening infections. Biofilms are complex communities of filamentous and yeast cells surrounded by an extracellular matrix that confers an enhanced degree of resistance to antifungal drugs. Moreover, the extensive plasticity of the <i>C. albicans</i> genome has given this versatile fungus the added advantage of microevolution and adaptation to thrive within the unique environmental niches within the host. To combat these challenges in dealing with <i>C. albicans</i> infections, it is imperative that we target specifically the molecular pathways involved in biofilm formation as well as drug resistance. With the advent of the -omics era and whole genome sequencing platforms, novel pathways and genes involved in the pathogenesis of the fungus have been unraveled. Researchers have used a myriad of strategies including transcriptome analysis for <i>C. albicans</i> cells grown in different environments, whole genome sequencing of different strains, functional genomics approaches to identify critical regulatory genes, as well as comparative genomics analysis between <i>C. albicans</i> and its closely related, much less virulent relative, <i>C. dubliniensis</i>, in the quest to increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the success of <i>C. albicans</i> as a major fungal pathogen. This review attempts to summarize the most recent advancements in the field of biofilm and antifungal resistance research and offers suggestions for future directions in therapeutics development. |
topic |
<i>Candida albicans</i> biofilm antifungal resistance transcriptomics |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/11/540 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT peipeichong transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate AT voonkinchin transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate AT wonfenwong transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate AT priyamadhavan transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate AT voonchenyong transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate AT chungyenglooi transcriptomicandgenomicapproachesforunravellingemcandidaalbicansembiofilmformationanddrugresistanceanupdate |
_version_ |
1725301919987007488 |