title: Regulation of phenotypic transitions in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans.
abstract: The human commensal fungus Candida albicans can cause not only superficial infections, but also life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. C. albicans can grow in several morphological forms. The ability to switch between different phenotypic forms has been thought to contribute to its virulence. The yeast-filamentous growth transition and white-opaque switching represent two typical morphological switching systems, which have been intensively studied in C. albicans. The interplay between environmental factors and genes determines the morphology of C. albicans. This review focuses on the regulation of phenotypic changes in this pathogenic organism by external environmental cues and internal genes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China. huanggh@im.ac.cn
authors.forename: Guanghua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D002176:Candida albicans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008954:Models, Biological; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors