Carbon substrates promotes stress resistance and drug tolerance in clinical isolates of Candida tropicalis

• Published in: Archives of microbiology 2024-06, Vol.206 (6), p.270-270, Article 270
• Main Authors: Khamrai, Arpita, Paul, Saikat, Rudramurthy, Shivaprakash M, Ghosh, Anup K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation; animal pathogens; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Candida tropicalis; Candida tropicalis - drug effects; Candida tropicalis - physiology; Candidiasis - microbiology; Carbon; Carbon - metabolism; Carbon sources; Cell Biology; Clinical isolates; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Fungal; Drug tolerance; Ecology; Fluconazole; Fluconazole - pharmacology; fructose; Fructose - metabolism; Fructose - pharmacology; Fungicides; glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Humans; Hydrogen peroxide; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Hydrogen Peroxide - pharmacology; Invasive species; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Microbial Ecology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiology; Microenvironments; Original Paper; Osmotic Pressure; Oxidation resistance; Oxidative Stress; Pathogens; Phenotypes; physiological state; Sodium chloride; species; stress tolerance; Stress, Physiological; Substrates; Sucrose; Sucrose - metabolism; Sucrose - pharmacology
• ISSN: 0302-8933; 1432-072X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00203-024-04000-9

Candida tropicalis is a human pathogen and one of the most prevalent non- Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species causing invasive infections. Azole antifungal resistance in C. tropicalis is also gradually increasing with the increasing incidence of infections. The pathogenic success of C. tropicalis depends on its effective response in the host microenvironment. To become a successful pathogen, cellular metabolism, and physiological status determine the ability of the pathogen to counter diverse stresses inside the host. However, to date, limited knowledge is available on the impact of carbon substrate metabolism on stress adaptation and azole resistance in C. tropicalis . In this study, we determined the impact of glucose, fructose, and sucrose as the sole carbon source on the fluconazole resistance and osmotic (NaCl), oxidative (H 2 O 2 ) stress adaptation in C. tropicalis clinical isolates. We confirmed that the abundance of carbon substrates influences or increases drug resistance and osmotic and oxidative stress tolerance in C. tropicalis . Additionally, both azole-resistant and susceptible isolates showed similar stress adaptation phenotypes, confirming the equal efficiency of becoming successful pathogens irrespective of drug susceptibility profile. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first on C. tropicalis to demonstrate the direct relation between carbon substrate metabolism and stress tolerance or drug resistance.