IAI FigSearch
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ibrahim, A. S.
Right arrow Articles by Magee, P. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ibrahim, A. S.
Right arrow Articles by Magee, P. T.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, November 2005, p. 7366-7374, Vol. 73, No. 11
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.11.7366-7374.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Ploidy and Mating Type on Virulence of Candida albicans

Ashraf S. Ibrahim,1 B. B. Magee,2 D. C. Sheppard,1 Molly Yang,2 Sarah Kauffman,3 Jeff Becker,3 John E. Edwards Jr.,1 and P. T. Magee2*

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California 90502,1 Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455,2 Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 379963

Received 4 June 2005/ Returned for modification 5 July 2005/ Accepted 8 August 2005

Candida albicans is the most common fungal pathogen of humans. The recent discovery of sexuality in this organism has led to the demonstration of a mating type locus which is usually heterozygous, although some isolates are homozygous. Tetraploids can be formed between homozygotes of the opposite mating type. However, the role of the mating process and tetraploid formation in virulence has not been investigated. We describe here experiments using a murine model of disseminated candidiasis which demonstrate that in three strains, including CAI-4, the most commonly used strain background, tetraploids are less virulent than diploids and can undergo changes in ploidy during infection. In contrast to reports with other strains, we find that MTL homozygotes are almost as virulent as the heterozygotes. These results show that the level of ploidy in Candida albicans can affect virulence, but the mating type configuration does not necessarily do so.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, 320 Church St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Phone: (612) 624-7280. Fax: (612) 624-0426. E-mail: ptm{at}cbs.umn.edu.

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, November 2005, p. 7366-7374, Vol. 73, No. 11
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.11.7366-7374.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. J. Virol. Eukaryot. Cell
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2005 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.