Origin of fungal hybrids with pathogenic potential from warm seawater environments

Valentina del Olmo, Verónica Mixão, Rashmi Fotedar, Ester Saus, Amina Al Malki, Ewa Księżopolska, Juan Carlos Nunez-Rodriguez, Teun Boekhout and Toni Gabaldón ()
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Valentina del Olmo: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Verónica Mixão: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Rashmi Fotedar: Ministry of Municipality and Environment
Ester Saus: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Amina Al Malki: Ministry of Municipality and Environment
Ewa Księżopolska: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Juan Carlos Nunez-Rodriguez: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)
Teun Boekhout: King Saud University
Toni Gabaldón: Life Sciences Department. Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC)

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Hybridisation is a common event in yeasts often leading to genomic variability and adaptation. The yeast Candida orthopsilosis is a human-associated opportunistic pathogen belonging to the Candida parapsilosis species complex. Most C. orthopsilosis clinical isolates are hybrids resulting from at least four independent crosses between two parental lineages, of which only one has been identified. The rare presence or total absence of parentals amongst clinical isolates is hypothesised to be a consequence of a reduced pathogenicity with respect to their hybrids. Here, we sequence and analyse the genomes of environmental C. orthopsilosis strains isolated from warm marine ecosystems. We find that a majority of environmental isolates are hybrids, phylogenetically closely related to hybrid clinical isolates. Furthermore, we identify the missing parental lineage, thus providing a more complete overview of the genomic evolution of this species. Additionally, we discover phenotypic differences between the two parental lineages, as well as between parents and hybrids, under conditions relevant for pathogenesis. Our results suggest a marine origin of C. orthopsilosis hybrids, with intrinsic pathogenic potential, and pave the way to identify pre-existing environmental adaptations that rendered hybrids more prone than parental lineages to colonise and infect the mammalian host.

Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-42679-4

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42679-4

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