Candida albicansversusCandida dubliniensis: Why IsC. albicansMore Pathogenic?

Abstract

Candida albicansandCandida dubliniensisare highly related pathogenic yeast species. However,C. albicansis far more prevalent in human infection and has been shown to be more pathogenic in a wide range of infection models. Comparison of the genomes of the two species has revealed that they are very similar although there are some significant differences, largely due to the expansion of virulence-related gene families (e.g.,ALSandSAP) inC. albicans, and increased levels of pseudogenisation inC. dubliniensis. Comparative global gene expression analyses have also been used to investigate differences in the ability of the two species to tolerate environmental stress and to produce hyphae, two traits that are likely to play a role in the lower virulence ofC. dubliniensis. Taken together, these data suggest thatC. dubliniensisis in the process of undergoing reductive evolution and may have become adapted for growth in a specialized anatomic niche.