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Last hope for the doomed? Thoughts on the importance of a parasexual cycle for the yeast Candida albicans

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Abstract

The yeast Candida albicans, a commensal colonizer and occasional pathogen of humans, has a rudimentary mating ability. However, mating is a cumbersome process that has never been observed outside the laboratory, and the population structure of the species is predominantly clonal. Here we discuss recent findings that indicate that mating ability is under selection in C. albicans, i.e. that it is a biologically relevant process. C. albicans strains can only mate after they have sustained genetic damage. We propose that the rescue of such damaged strains by mating may be the primary reason why mating ability is under selection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Fundamental Sciences, College of Sciences, Massey University, Science Tower D, Riddet Road, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand

    Jan Schmid & Ningxin Zhang

  2. Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Paul T. Magee & Beatrice B. Magee

  3. School of Physical Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 7001, Australia

    Barbara R. Holland

  4. Department of Oral Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand

    Richard D. Cannon

Authors
  1. Jan Schmid
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  2. Paul T. Magee
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  3. Barbara R. Holland
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  4. Ningxin Zhang
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  5. Richard D. Cannon
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  6. Beatrice B. Magee
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Correspondence to Jan Schmid.

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Communicated by M. Kupiec.

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Schmid, J., Magee, P.T., Holland, B.R. et al. Last hope for the doomed? Thoughts on the importance of a parasexual cycle for the yeast Candida albicans . Curr Genet 62, 81–85 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-015-0516-8

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