Abstract
Fungal infections caused by Candida species (spp.) are the most common among opportunistic human fungal infections. Widespread and prolonged usage of antimicrobial drugs in treating infections has led to the emergence of resistance among the various strains of Candida. This acquired resistance mostly results in cross-resistance to many unrelated drugs that share neither a common target nor a common structure, a phenomenon termed as multidrug resistance (MDR). The genus Candida includes about 200 different spp., but only few of them can cause infections. This is because of the fact that these Candida spp. express several virulence traits that lead to pathogenesis. The ability of Candida to express virulence traits marks the success of pathogen to cause pathogenicity. These virulence factors include biofilm formation, cell adhesins, hyphal formation, phenotypic switching, exoenzymatic activity (phospholipase, proteinase) and haemolysin production. Blocking the production of virulence factors that are essential processes for Candida spp. represent an attractive substitute for the development of novel antifungal strategy. Therefore, this book chapter reviews the major virulence factors that mediate the pathogenesis of Candida spp., which may help in better understanding and control of Candida infections.
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Fatima, Z., Kumari, P., Rehman, S., Hameed, S. (2021). Virulence Traits of Candida spp.: An Overview. In: Yadav, A.N. (eds) Recent Trends in Mycological Research. Fungal Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60659-6_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60659-6_19
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