New insights into fungal infections can lead to better treatments

A team of researchers has identified hundreds of genes subject to recent clinicallyrelevant selection in six species of the fungal pathogen CandidaGlobal fungal infections which affect one billion people and cause 15 million deaths each year are on the rise due to the increasing number of medical treatments that heighten vulnerabilityPatients undergoing chemotherapy or immunosuppressive treatments after organ transplant often present compromised immune systemsGiven the emergence of resistant strains the limited variety of current antifungal drugs as well as their cost and side effects the treatment of these infections is challenging and brings about an urgent need for more effective treatmentsIn this context the team from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB Barcelona and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center Centro Nacional de Supercomputacion BSCCNS led by the ICREA researcher Dr Toni Gabaldon identified hundreds of genes in the study published in the journal Nature MicrobiologyldquoThis work highlights how these pathogens adapted to humans and antifungal drugs and provides valuable knowledge that could lead to better treatments for Candida infectionsrdquo explained Dr Gabaldon head of the Comparative Genomics lab at IRB Barcelona and the BSCBuilding on previous work addressing drugresistant strains the researchers conducted a GenomeWide Association Study GWAS to identify genetic variants linked to antifungal drug resistance in clinical isolatesldquoAdditionally a concerning finding has arisen from the study the potential spread of resistance through mating between susceptible and resistant strains contributing to the prevalence of drugresistant Candida pathogensrdquo explained Dr Miquel Angel SchikoraTamarit a postdoctoral researcher in the same lab and first author of the studyIn addition by focusing on variants acquired recently among clinical strains the researches detected shared and speciesspecific genetic signatures of recent selection that inform on which adaptations might be needed to thrive and spread in humanrelated environmentsThe study provides a valuable resource namely a comprehensive catalogue of variants selection signatures and drivers of drug resistanceldquoThis knowledge not only contributes to our understanding of these infections but also lays the groundwork for future experiments and potential advancements in the development of more effective treatments for Candida infectionsrdquo said the authorsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever