title: Candida albicans cell-type switching and functional plasticity in the mammalian host.
abstract: Candida albicans is a ubiquitous commensal of the mammalian microbiome and the most prevalent fungal pathogen of humans. A cell-type transition between yeast and hyphal morphologies in C. albicans was thought to underlie much of the variation in virulence observed in different host tissues. However, novel yeast-like cell morphotypes, including opaque(a/α), grey and gastrointestinally induced transition (GUT) cell types, were recently reported that exhibit marked differences in vitro and in animal models of commensalism and disease. In this Review, we explore the characteristics of the classic cell types - yeast, hyphae, pseudohyphae and chlamydospores - as well as the newly identified yeast-like morphotypes. We highlight emerging knowledge about the associations of these different morphotypes with different host niches and virulence potential, as well as the environmental cues and signalling pathways that are involved in the morphological transitions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.|Infectious Diseases Division, Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Brittany A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Gianetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Jessica N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Witchley
mesh_terms: D002176:Candida albicans / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000066670:Cell Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D025301:Hyphae / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013559:Symbiosis; D014774:Virulence